There
are several aspects to The Marathon
by Grantland.com that gives different accounts of the Boston Marathon bombing,
but it also feels like it is all from the author’s vision. After looking up the
author, Charles Pierce, I was surprised to find out it wasn’t Bill Simmons.
Pierce does a beautiful job explaining the scene going from all the different
points of the horror: after, during and different accounts of the tragedy.
Pierce’s
look as a writer is almost comical in a very difficult time. I like this use of
writing because he uses it to lighten the mood of an otherwise completely depressing
topic. Although the Boston Marathon bombing became one of the most tragic
sporting events ever, Pierce attempted to make it lighthearted. Mocking sports
writers and the event itself brings the bombing tragedy to a more positive
feeling. Pierce tries to make the reader feel like they’re in the bleak,
saddened, empty streets. My favorite aspect of his writing style to start the
piece is that he brings the reader into a dark place without making them feel
dark themselves.
After
he gets past walking down the emptiness, he goes to the bombing that happened
prior. The people running through the streets, the terrified faces and the
familiar feeling during a tragedy became the focus. My favorite part from this
section is we return to reality. The bombing brought the entire city, marathon
and nation to a stop. A source he quoted said it made him think of September
11, 2001. The scariest part of that sentence is that when 9/11 happened the
United States had never experienced something like that. Now, we seem to have a
tragedy like that once every few months. Pierce brings a lot of visual imagery
that I think is a lost art in print writing. Print brings only so much to the
table, but Pierce paints the picture that you need to see in order to fully
appreciate the trauma and death the runners, spectators and bystanders
witnessed. The bombing also did what the attacks on 9/11 did, brought the
nation together. Pierce captures this as well.
People
were lost and confused, but hopeless at the same time. The feeling of
hopelessness is not easily captured in words or through print text, but Pierce
finds a way to describe it as well as you can. Being hopeless is a feeling you
can only feel. A true feeling of hopeless can never be captured in words.
Pierce follows that with describing a family’s rejoice to reunite after the
explosion. This part of the story brings us back to the hopeful, upbeat
aftermath of the explosion. It is really hard to feel happy during a tragedy,
but the relief of seeing your family is unlike any other. The tragedy that some
felt will never be fixed, the feeling of loss is never filled. Pierce’s writing is a nice way to tell the
story of such a danger and scary reality in our world. The reality being that
we can never fully feel safe, and that’s really disheartening. He touches on
that a little by saying that the Marathon will never be the same, now there
will be security checks at every point; people will not be able to just go
enjoy the race. Now the race is a spectacle and a worry that the worst could
happen again. His style of writing here makes me feel sad. He’s right, as more
bad happens we lose the innocence of the world of sports. His honesty is
actually really refreshing in a sports piece. Now that’s not to say that other
sports writers are liars, but it is different to see more honest analysis
instead of straight fact or opinion.
I
also like the talk about the recovery tent. The imagery of the exhausted
runners who finished before the explosion is so underrated. I never even
thought about those people because you are so focused on the blast and the
repercussions of the disaster. I can only imagine the scene of resting and
relaxing turn to panic as the injured were rushed into the tent. The terrifying
truth came out in Pierce’s story. I loved his inclusion of this part. It
humanizes the event even further. It’s hard to imagine such an event, and (like
myself) I’m sure people didn’t know about the recovery tent was used as a
makeshift hospital. Choosing to include this was a great addition to his piece
and brings so much insight to such a depressing time.
His
close was an interesting choice, but I think it works. He talks about the woman
being upset that no one would let her in to pee. Pierce tries to bring more
humor to the otherwise super-depressing story. It is very complicated story,
and if he misses with those last two paragraphs, he could ruin the whole
article. He finds a way to make everything fun and happy looking at the future
of the Boston Marathon.
More
and more sports bring people together, and the Marathon has grown since the
tragedy. The Boston Marathon also brought the nation together and through
tragedy, the United States always joins together and feels each other’s pain.
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