Tuesday, November 5, 2013

TOW#8: "A Stolen Life" By Jaycee Lee Dugard (IRB)

Who Knew?

At the end of "A Stolen Life", Jaycee Lee Dugard describes her freedom after 18 years of captivity. Oddly enough, it was her kidnapper, Phillip, who admitted that he kidnapped her. One day, his parol officer calls him down to the station and Dugard happens to be with him. The officer asks Jaycee what her name was. She had not said her name in 18 years. Finally, she writes her name down on paper instead. The parol officer did not recognize the name until Philip admitted that she was the girl that he had kidnapped. In that moment, Dugard was free.

How did Dugard write about such a story? Wasn't she afraid? She felt that she was protecting him if she had not told people her story. Throughout this horrifying journey, she remained sane. She said that if she got angry, then Philip would have won. Dugard is one of very few people who survive kidnapping and assault. This allows her to appeal to ethos because it shows that she is a very bold woman. No one can make any comments contradicting what she has to say because she lived through it. People do not know what she truly felt despite her detailed descriptions throughout her book.

Dugard wanted to show other that if she could survive something as horrible as that, then other people should be able to stand up to pretty much, everything. She is reaching out to people who are scared and intimidated of speaking out. She is also trying to show other people who may misunderstand what really happens when someone is kidnapped. People are deceived by hollywood movies because the kidnapping that occurs there isn't AS bad as what people are used to hearing. Now after hearing a real, tragic story, people see a new side of the idea of kidnapping.

Dugard appeals to pathos throughout the entire memoir. Since the story is in first person, readers can understand her feelings throughout the journey. She talks about how she is always lonely, which allows people to pity her. The fact that she was such a little girl when she was kidnapped makes people feel awful for her and saddened by her situation.

Dugard most definitely achieved her purpose. She appealed to ethos, pathos, and logos. Her purpose was to show a real story of a kidnapped person. By using all these strategies, Dugard was able to achieve her purpose.

( http://news.lalate.com/category/jaycee-lee-dugard/)
Jaycee Lee Dugard-Now







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