Close Reading #3 (11/18/12)

http://thegloss.com/beauty/eva-braun-hitler-biography/

In a biographical article about Eva Braun (wife of Adolf Hitler), Ms. Jennifer Wright follows the ups and downs of Ms. Braun's life with a dry sarcasm and poignant voice. Through the use of syntax, language, and details she eloquently communicates, not a dull biography, but a story, riddled with facts, reflection, and...strong...opinions in this addition to thegloss.com's Shelved Dolls series with: Shelved Dolls: Eva Braun - Satan's Bride.

Throughout the article Wright utilizes syntax through sentence length. Using short/medium sentences for the factual portions of the article. she keeps the readers jumping from fact to fact, keeping the information relevant and concise. "Political problems. Months went by with no letters from him. Eva fell, once again, into deep despair." When used to show the author's opinions this use of short, almost abrupt, sentence length effectively mimics one's thinking patterns, helping the reader hear Ms. Wright's voice. For example, when reflecting on Ms. Braun's teenage years she uses short sentences like "I don't think she started out that way," and when describing her first meeting with Hitler, transitioning from thoughts to reflections, "This kind of makes sense. I firmly believe that if anyone comes into contact with someone whose poster hung on their wall as a teen, despite the fact that that person might be weird...we would still experience a certain amount of desire for them."
The only times Wright uses longer compound and complex sentences is when she is hashing out her own thoughts and opinions on Ms. Braun's actions, building an idea or theory. For the most part, the rest of the article's contents are stated in a concise, straightforward manner, showing her thought process during the parts of the article that spark a reaction.
Following the sentence patterns, Wright uses a distinct sentence pattern when starting her reflections. The repetitive use of "I" often begins an arrangement of ideas in each paragraph. Starting with a fact of summary of Ms. Braun's life, Wright will then transition into a reflection, and end with stating her opinion towards the end of the paragraph.

Another aspect of literature that looks at an entire body of work is language. Throughout the article Wright uses emotional language to get her point across. Practically screaming her opinions at you, she isn't afraid to use italics, bolded words, and all-caps to communicate with emotional writing. On Ms. Braun's meeting with Hitler she states: "How? How was that possible? She saw this photo first thing every morning?" and "Dude. HIS PHOTO WAS IN ALL IN THE WINDOWS." With rhetorical question scattered throughout, Wright almost prompts a writer-reader interaction. Through the use of literal language, she builds an informal back-and forth banter with the reader. On the topic of Hitler becoming Chancellor, she states "However, Eva seemed oblivious. She was doing yoga. Seriously." This repetition of up-front candid facts and opinions builds an informal tone.

Wright inserts specifics and opinions about the factual information through the use of detail.  Entwining facts with opinions she creates an up-front analysis of Ms. Braun's relationship with Hitler. For example, when describing their letters Wright says "She wrote him love letters telling him how much she missed him. Hitler was the kind of asshole who didn't write back. I mean, I know he was busy, but I think Hitler is someone we can use the word "asshole" about without fear or judgement." And when describing Ms Braun's persuading Hitler NOT to stop cosmetics and hair products form being produced in Germany Wright says "So she had influence. Influence which she applied terribly." Through the use of personal detail Wright adds tone and opinion.

Overall, Wright takes a sarcastic, humorous approach to something few people would find funny. Connecting to readers through syntax, language, and detail, she brings forth a distinct voice in the article Shelved Dolls: Eva Braun - Satan's Bride.


PS - On a side note, I almost chose the article about Coco Chanel being a Nazi, but decided against it because it included orgies and car crashes.