Topic_Week Three Discussion B

10/14/21, 6:30 PM Topic: Week Three Discussion B

https://online.valenciacollege.edu/courses/123618/discussion_topics/1556636 1/2

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Summer Cooper 11:05am

1. His style of writing is very composed. His order of how he words things is all very precise with intention. I found it to be effective, it made it able for the viewer to understand clearly what

he is saying. 2. Vidal wrote this essay with the intention of showing the opposite perspective of what we’ve

been taught and told to look at. 3. This essay was so controversial around this time because the terrorist attacks on the

World Trade Center happened, which devastated many Americans making it hard to see what Vidal was trying to say or do.

4. Vidal understands that he is a terrorist. But, he didn’t do it all with chaos and destruction in mind. Vidal feels more empathetic because although he’s against what he did he understands what he thought he was doing because of the same motives that empowered McVeigh he wrote about himself.

5. I think the structure of the essay was in a structure that could walk you through the progression of the story to understand him. I think it was designed well.

6. I think the intended audience for this essay is Americans who were conflicted on the situation of McVeigh and the approach of the government on issues such as these. I’ve come to this due to the way Vidal writes in a persuasive way.

Shannon Ohanlon 2:49pm

1. Vidal's style of writing is descriptive and narrative. I find his style mostly effective because he goes through everything clearly

including things people clearly didn't want him talking about, like when the ABC host cut out audio. Sometime however, I feel he goes off on a tangent in an unclear direction. It is appealing because it feels like being in a live narrative.

2. Vidal's purpose in this essay is to give insight to why McVeigh did what he did and show a different perspective to what we have been taught. He also seems to try to discredit the FBI especially in the beginning.

3. The essay was controversial because of the terror attacks that had happened on 9/11. Since what McVeigh did was also a terrorist attack on our own soil, Americans most likely were not interested in seeing his side on anything.

4. Vidal is empathetic towards McVeigh. He knows that what he did was wrong, but he also sees how the FBI has mishandled the situations that led up to this so he sees why he did what he did.

5. The structure made it a little hard to follow. While things seemed to go on order, Vidal tended to branch off a lot that made going back and forth in the what was being talked about a little confusing.

6. The intended audience is any American that has controversial thoughts about the government. His essay seems to try to show you corruption from within and help to show why McVeigh did what he did.