The issue for a writer is how to close the gap, often yawning, between the writer's subject and the reader's experience. Give one example of how Richard Harding Davis creates reader admiration and/or sympathy for Rodriguez in his story. You should cite a specific image, description, etc., rather than make a general statement. Notice, too, how he leads us to feel quite the opposite about the Spaniards.
Please respond by 4 p.m., Sunday.
19 comments:
“With us a condemned man walks only the short distance from his cell to the scaffold or the electric chair, shielded from sight by the prison walls, and it often occurs that even then that the short journey is too much for his strength and courage.”
This was the first sentence that grabbed me and I felt sad for the person being executed. Even with the prison walls hiding the prisoner they almost always break down. These are tough guys, soldiers we’re talking about here. It is the last few moments of life, only to die around strangers. The despair created with this sentence really hits hard.
With the first couple of paragraphs RHD touches on the soldiers refraining from being anti-government. These people are afraid for their own lives. They don’t feel sympathy because sympathy is a weakness, and the man being executed is the enemy. The author does a good job at hinting at some of the soldiers not feeling right about the execution, but they wouldn’t dare do anything about it. This is what makes you feel like maybe this man shouldn’t be getting killed. I start to sympathize with him because of this part in the story. The bleak, dark, sad final moments of a young man’s life is written to make you sympathize for him.
The best part about this sentence is it breaks down all the hostile feeling you have at this point. If you start reading this story with a objective attitude RHD does a good job at shattering it when he says at the end that the courage and strength are being sucked out of the man as he awaits his judgment.
I could see how when RHD wrote how the man was handsome, and had “whistful eyes,” this could also create some sympathy for the man. It certainly helps. And then when the author talks about how the man gets back up after the execution blunder, it makes the main seem unafraid to die, no matter how inhumane, and horrible this style of execution is. When he got back up I thought hero. RHD also writes that the man was not cocky, but just fearless men of faith.
"But the Spaniards on this morning made the prisoner walk for over a half mile across the broken surface of the fields. I expected to find the man, no matter what his strength at other times might be, stumbling and faltering on this journey; but as he came nearer I saw that he led all the others, and that they were tripping on their gowns and stumbling over the hollows in their efforts to keep pace with him as he walked, erect and soldierly, at a quick step in advance of them."(73)
I liked the technique RHD used in the above paragraph. Instead of simply saying that Rodriguez was brave or that he showed no fear, RHD shows it with this description. RHD gives readers the image of a man not trying to prolong the last minutes of his life, but confronting death as if he is going to battle with it. What also makes this image strong is the way that RHD contrast Rodriguez against the priests and Spaniards, who stumble and trip over their feet as they try to keep up with him. This also shows how brave Rodriguez is without it directly being said. If anyone should be stumbling or walking slow, you assume it would be him, but RHD shows us something different. Rodriguez, even in the face of the ultimate opposition(death), doesn't even flinch. He becomes almost super human because of this and the reader admires him for it. He becomes the ultimate bad ass. RHD describing him calmly smoking his cigarette also adds to that image.
It's a great example of "showing and not telling," as we discussed Thursday in class.
What makes Davis' piece work is how he turns the entire situation into an "Us vs. Them" relationship. Using specific details of his solitude and loneliness, readers immediately identify with Rodriguez, no matter what he's done to get to this situation.
"This man was alone, in sight of the hills he knew, with only enemies about him, with no source to draw on for strength but that which lay within himself." At that point, who wouldn't want to have his back?
Davis also uses familiar archetypes to get us to feel a certain way about the Spaniards. Almost immediately, they are the cold, unfeeling soldier who only does as he is told. "The officer had given the order, the men had raised their pieces, and the condemned man had heard the clicks of the triggers ..." He turns them into robots, and in an emotional struggle between a human (regardless of his status as a criminal), I think humans always win out.
"The man had steeled himself to receive a volley of bullets. He believed that in the next instant he would be in another world; he had heard the command given, had heard the click of the Mausers as the locks caught - and then, at that supreme moment, a human hand had been laid upon his shoulder and a voice spoke in his ear."
This scene is, as Richard Harding Davis writes, torture. The reader can't help but feel sympathetic for Rodriguez. He is forced to face his mortality alone, looking out over the familiar mountains. He is jerked back to life with a cruel touch. So many things could have been going through his mind at this contact. Maybe the Spaniards were going to allow him to say goodbye to his father. Maybe the unthinkable had happened and he had been pardoned. No, they just needed him to move a few steps over so that Spaniards would not be shot.
What courage most people possessed at this moment would have crumbled. Not Rodriguez. He stands straight and proud. I can honestly say that most knowledge of the Spanish-American War mysteriously left my head the day I left high school. But by the end of Davis' piece, I can promise I am not on the Spaniards side.
This piece reminded me a lot of Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” At least the beginning, really. It brought on that same feel of someone at war about to be killed in front of other people.
Anyway. I think what surprisingly evoked the most admiration or sympathy for me was Davis’ choice of using the phrase “the figure” after Rodriguez was shot. I thought this was an extremely interesting tactic to use for such a heavy piece. Throughout the story, Rodriguez’s character is being created. He’s described as a man with “a handsome, gentle face of the peasant type, a light, pointed beard, great wistful eyes, and a mass of curly black hair.” Davis continues to offer information about his life, right before his death, to the reader. However, as soon as he is shot, he immediately becomes this image, symbol even.
“The figure was a thing of the past,” is such a simple phrase but evokes so much meaning – this once living thing, with curly hair and wistful eyes, is now just a figure of the past. Davis refers to “the figure” five times on the last page, no longer citing his name. As a reader, it brought on an emotional standpoint – once we die to we too just become figures? No longer with names, occupations, memories, etc., are we too just figures of the past? I think Davis really nailed it here with this idea.
I think that, throughout the story, Richard Harding Davis does a great job of bringing the reader to the moment. I could see what was going on clearly. It was easy to imagine, and is a good example of the “show, don’t tell” discussion we had in class on Thursday. Davis shows us what things are like, rather than telling us.
The passage I chose illustrates this further:
"The man had steeled himself to receive a volley of bullets. He believed that in the next instant he would be in another world; he had heard the command given, had heard the click of the Mausers as the locks caught - and then, at that supreme moment, a human hand had been laid upon his shoulder and a voice spoke in his ear."
It’s impossible not to feel sorry for the condemned when reading this passage. No matter what the charges may be that led to the proposed execution, this poignant description brings out the stark terror of the situation. This man is about to die, and he can almost count the seconds until it happens. He can hear the steps that are required until he is shot, and we, as readers, are forced to live through it with him.
By the way, I'm liking the new layout.
"The men in the crowd behind them were also grimly silent. They knew that whatever they might say would be twisted into a word of sympathy for the condemned man or a protest against the government. So no one spoke; even the officers gave their orders in gruff whispers, and the men in the crowd did not mix together, but looked suspiciously at one another and kept apart."
This passage shows how much fear was a part of everyday life for these people. Even the soldiers, who were clearly not anti-government were afraid to speak or show any sign of malcontent because of the possible consequences.
The remarkable part about the passage is that although it doesn't mention Rodriguez once, it tells me more about his courage and character than any other part of the story. The fact that the "young" Rodriguez joined the insurgents without thought and went down fighting shows his disregard for safety in order to defend what he believed in. That passage about the soldiers actually created the most admiration of Rodriguez for me.
The description of the walk to the execution spot being "the short journey is too much for his strength and courage," turned my admiration into sympathy. I feel that the way Harding treats the situation with empathy, the soldiers description is treated as carefully as Rodriguez's, allows for the reader to feel sympathy, not be told to feel it.
This piece of writing is a perfect example of how to use details to set the context of the story. RHD uses humanizing elements to describe the prisoner, so to effect the emotion the reader has about him. This begins right from the beginning of the story, in describing the setting as there being a full moon, and “thick, high grass.” This is something every reader can envision. He also describes the prisoner in terms everyone can envision. “He had a handsome, gentle face,” Davis writes. This goes beyond just purely describing his face, in a “he had a large, round nose” sort of way. By using adjectives such as “handsome” and “gentle” it becomes apparent how emotionally effected he was by watching this scene, and lets the reader make up what they think is a gentle face in their own imagination. Davis doesn’t try to hide himself behind objectivity in this piece; he makes his opinions clear, such as when he says “he was shockingly young for such a sacrifice.” By mixing this with the real details of the story, such as the tired soldiers walking, he gets the imagery across in the way he wants the reader to see it. And while he does do more describing of the prisoner, which makes you empathize with him more while feel less and less sympathetic with the Spaniards, he uses some details to humanize everyone in the story. He tells of the prisoner smoking a cigarette – and then, after the execution, he describes the Spaniards smoking cigarettes, showing we’re always more similar than we think.
"...I confess to have felt a thrill of satisfaction when I saw, as the Cuban passed me, that he held a cigarette between his lips, not arrogantly nor with bravado, but with the nonchalance of a man who meets his punishment fearlessly, and who will let his enemies see that they can kill but cannot frighten him."
There is something incredibly enticing about a character that conveys a sort of invincible, untouchable nature about them, though they are very much mortal. We so easily relate to mortality–that ability to feel pain, sadness or anxiety–that we often root for the underdog, or the lone man that stands against an army of men. RHD portrays the Cuban to be of a higher caliber, unphased by the torment he is about to endure. The prisoner strides along with determination, though he understands those steps will be his last. His stance is sturdy and with purpose, unlike the stumbling militants before him without concern for what is about to happen. He is seemingly indifferent towards death.
It is easy then, once Rodriguez falls to his death, to see the Spaniards in a negative, dark light. As Zan points out, RHD then refers to the prisoner only as a figure, much less than a human being. The “figure” lay on the floor, while the line-up of soldiers walk away, most without so much as a glance, towards the dead man whose blood began to sink in “the soil he had tried to free.”
At his execution, there was no one present who demonstrated genuine care for his final hours. It is at the very end of the story, that I grew most sympathetic. Though the Cuban spent his final breaths with dignity and acceptance, we can infer that he will not be remembered by that, or anything else.
"As an exhibition of self-control this should surely rank about feats of heroism performed in battle, where there are thousands of comrades to give inspiration. This man was alone, in sight of the hills he knew, with only enemies around him, with no source to draw on for strength but that which lay within himself."
This kind of motivated me in a way. Harding Davis portrays this man as a hero simply because he was undeterred when he was ordered to change his position, so he could be executed properly. Davis observed this and makes the reader think of this man as a person with an infinite amount of internal strength. The reader then views the Spaniards negatively because it seems like they are doing everything they can to take away this man's dignity, honor and courage.
It doesn't matter what he did to get into this situation, he is now being bullied around by a whole group of Spanish soldiers , and he is not letting it be known that their treatment is affecting him. It's a him versus the world mentality that anyone can relate to.
The whole first half of page 73 is a tribute to the courage, fearlessness and all around badass-ness of the Cuban. While the first page drops us into the scene of the dawn before the execution, the first half of the second page is devoted to the writer's impressions at-a-glance of Rodriguez. The fact that he can tell so much from such little observation is powerful enough to make you hope the poor guy escapes.
There are two sentences within that half a page that cement how you will feel about Rodriguez for the rest of the story. The first creates sympathy.
"You could imagine him sitting on the quay at Naples of Genoa lolling in the sun and showing his white teeth when he laughed." Here I imagine a man who leads a life of simple pleasures -- nature and laughter -- pure forms of human enjoyment, things that are incorruptible. I felt sympathetic because something so corrupt as war was to be the cause of his death, the cause of a beach with one less body.
Then, immediately after, comes admiration.
"He held a cigarette between his lips, not arrogantly nor with bravado, but with the nonchalance of a man who meets his punishment fearlessly, and who will let his enemies see that they can kill but not frighten him."
Yes. This guy is awesome. Now, it doesn't matter that he was ever laughing on a beach with his friends. Now I know that he gave it up voluntarily. The soldiers leading him to his demise were his enemies, and if they did not deserve to see his spirit break. I imagine him looking straight into the shooter's eyes as they fire, as if to say "See you on the other side, dirtbag!"
While none of it may be true, I think the important thing here is to realize that there is so much one can see without hearing anything. There is no dialogue because it is a story about impressions, about energy given off in a somber and probably mostly silent situation. Like I said, Harding-Davis could have been completely wrong about this man. But I don't think he was.
RHD uses a great technique to engage the reader in the action of the story in order to bridge writer’s subject and reader experiences. As he describes his account of the incident he places his own biases into the description of individuals, therefore guiding readers to view these characters in a painted view. RHD portrays the individual prisoner being executed as a hero, constantly referring to the integrity in his demeanor and in his description. Heroic characters tend to be beautiful in physical appearance and RHD’s description of the character awarded him these credentials, creating reader admiration and sympathy.
The readers experience sympathy when the hero RHD presented to the reader early in the text becomes violently executed in a horrific manner. RHD goes into great detail throughout the story, noting specifics such as the moon, sun, and other elements of the events that he witnesses and he doesn’t spare any details in the murder scene. The most elaborate description in the novel may be when RHD described how the bodies fell to the floor. “His body fell slowly, as though someone had pushed him gently forward from behind and he had stumbled” Pg. 74.
Through the elaborate descriptions of the events taken place and the portrayal of characters allow for writers to bridge the gaps between writer’s meaning and personal reader experience because people become attached to characters and view their situations in sympathetic ways.
I deleted my post? Try number two:
Richard Harding Davis often uses descriptive language in order to connect the reader to the subject of the piece. One of the many lines that best illustrates this is "He held a cigarette between his lips, not arrogantly nor with bravado, but with the nonchalance of a man who meets his punishment fearlessly, and who will let his enemies see that they can kill but not frighten him."
This line does not make the readers pitty the soon to be executed, but admire him. Harding Davis puts the 'criminal' in a hero's light. He is fearless even in the moment of death. Harding Davis is careful not to describe his in an arrogant or privileged way. He describes him as a normal person about to face his death, which is what helps the readers to admire him. The reader can easily put themselves in the place of Rodriguez, but can not comprehend his bravery in the situation. The symbol of the cigarette is used throughout the story, even after his death. The cigarette continues to burn on the floor after he is executed. This symbolizes the last of his life, and contributions to the world. The cigarette allows the reader to sympathize with him. The only thing he left behind in the world is a half smoked burning cigarette. Once this cigarette burns out so will the memory of his life. A reader can not help but feel bad for a man who fearlessly approaches his death, and at the end of his life leaves nothing behind but ash and ember.
Richard Harding Davis creates admiration and sympathy for Rodriguez in a very interesting way, he shows Rodriguez strengths but also makes it a point to repeatedly show the reader how nonchalant and insignificant this death was. One of the best examples of Rodriguezs strength would be “the officer gave the first command he straightened himself as far as the cord would allow, and held up his head and fixed his eyes immovably on the morning light...” This gives the reader a true depiction of Rodriguez being a hero in one way without pointing out all his faults as a “condemned man”. Although there were a lot of example of how brave and strong Rodriguez was there was also a lot of detail showing how unimportant this execution was in the bigger scheme of things. “The figure still lay in the grass untouched, and no one seemed to remember that it had walked there of itself...” This excerpt really struck me as an important sentence because Davis put so much into explaining the walk to the shooting site and then within moments non of that matters. What seemed so important about Rodriguez was all in the past and dead. No one cared about his walk there and the strength that accompanied it. As a whole I think that Davis made Spaniards out to be heroic figures in a way by just telling this one guys story to his death.
"He held a cigarette between his lips, not arrogantly nor with bravado, but with the nonchalance of a man who meets his punishment fearlessly, and who will let his enemies see that they can kill but not frighten him."
This entire article is great PR for Rodriguez. I chose this sentence because it shows the immense amount of courage this great hero Rodriguez has. This man is no action hero, or a leader of any marches or protests, he is a wrongly imprisoned patriot. He is also the quintessential man who sheds no tear at his coming death. Davis paints a beautiful portrait of the man on the edge of the cliffs greeting the sunrise, whose shadow envelopes the wrongdoers behind him. It's all very moving.
My favorite description of the Spaniards is the one of them leaving the execution site. Tripping over each other and quickly leaving to shoot another innocent man the next day.
I was most definitely rooting for Rodriguez.
"It was difficult to believe that he meant to lie there, that it could be ended so without a word, that the man in the linen suit would not rise to his feet and continue to walk on over the hills, as he apparently had started to do, to his home..."
This passage describes a melancholy awe for death that I feel anyone who has experienced loss relates to, and can sympathize with. Not only is Richard Harding Davis creating sympathy for Rodriguez because he is reminding the audience that his death is final and he will never return home, but the emotion is reflective of what Rodgriguez's family might experience (the denial or disbelief that their beloved actually died, and is never coming home). RHD, in this line and in others, shows us the details that compound the finality of death.
Also, it points to the apathy surrounding Rodriguez's death. His life was ended "without a word," making the execution inconsequential for those who carried it out, simple, like ashing a cigarette with a flick of a hand. RHD gives the illusion of this when he talks about the Spaniard who gives the order to fire. He is mechanical, and expresses a selfish embarrassment because of his mistake in positioning the squad. The complete lack of acknowledgment towards Rodriguez and his impending execution definitely creates sympathy, and even feel animosity for those responsible.
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