Summary Of The New Republic Who Shot Johnny By Debra Dickerson

When tasked with writing a piece of prompted literature, anyone from age seven to a college professor has the same question plaguing their mind: how can I formulate my knowledge to fit this prompt? While it is valid to believe that the daunting task of writing is primarily in order to communicate an idea with the reader, it is quintessential to realize that writing from its most primal or sophisticated form serves as a mode of inquiry, as Stephen Jay Gould puts it, that allows the writer to intrapersonally reflect and perhaps even learn something from their own writing, while causing the reader of their work to self-analyze as well. It is easiest to illustrate when the writer first begins to ponder the prompt for the essay how writing

by Debra Dickerson. While Dickerson does use typical paragraph format to communicate her story, like Kincaid, she uses a voice that many readers are not used to hearing from scholars. Debra Dickerson, a Harvard University graduate, writes an emotional, thought-provoking, and sometimes even slightly amusing anecdote about her nephew Johnny’s nearly fatal run-in with what she later explains to be a stereotypical African- American male (I would call him a man, but that allows him too much dignity). Dickerson’s complex writing personality is what makes the story interesting and easier to grasp. The scholarly-article type persona she carries throughout the first paragraph strongly appeals to a reader’s logos, as she defines herself by her alma mater, womanhood, feminist status, race, and previous literary compositions. As the story changes, however, Dickerson’s use of sophisticated vocabulary and academic-style writing flows into use of commentary, emotional wording, and anecdotal style writing. Consequently, as Dickerson was writing Who Shot Johnny? in this abnormal approach, she delved deep into her feelings and opinions on the matter and branched into an educated and relatable argument about the stereotype of African-American men and how this man she believes shot her nephew, Johnny, encourages the rest of America to continue to view the entire African-American community in that