“The Boston Photographs” by Nora Ephron

The Boston Photographs In “The Boston Photographs” by Nora Ephron, Ephron used most of the time writing about the reactions of the many readers all over the nation and world whom were shocked by the pictures that were published in their local newspapers. She should have used most of the time writing about the day when the incident happened. By doing this, it would have affected people a lot more than seeing the bad of it.

In telling the facts, Ephron only provides factual information such as whom took the picture, what the picture is about, what type of camera he used, and what a variety of newspapers all over the nation did with the pictures. Ephron dedicates a large amount of writing telling the reactions to the photographs by first expressing her own reaction to the pictures and then in detail the reactions of readers and publishers whom published the set of pictures in their newspapers.

Ephron gives a small amount of writing to editors and their defense of the photographs. Ephron only explains how several editors wrote columns defending the pictures. For Ephron’s own analysis she dedicates a very large part to explaining her analysis of the pictures and the people reactions of the publishing of the pictures and her views on the treatment of publishing such pictures for the general public. Ephron explains how the phone calls, letters, and Seib’s own reaction, were occasioned by one factor, which was the death of a woman.

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She explains how everyone’s reaction to the picture would have been different if the caption said that the women didn’t die or the child was killed instead because the picture would always be the same, but everyone’s reaction would be different. In the end Ephron explains how newspaper editors are afraid to publish such pictures such as the Boston pictures because they fear the reaction of the people and so they continue censoring such pictures.

In my opinion, Ephron stabilities these numerous perceptions in not such a good style of writing because she doesn’t provide an equal amount of words for each perspective and what needs to be addressed by each point of view and the importance of each view. I think if she spent more time giving equal opportunity to each perspective so that there is a balance in information that is being presented by each viewpoint then her essay would be a whole lot stronger and I would think that it would be less opinionated.

In reading this essay I kind of wanted to know more about the people’s reaction as well as how numerous editors defended the photographs and the outcomes of those editors defending the publishing of those photos. For example, when the author say’s “The photographs are indeed sensational. They are pictures of death in action, of that split second when luck runs out, and it is impossible to look at them without feeling their extraordinary impact and remembering, in an almost subconscious way, the morbid fantasy of falling, falling, off a building, falling to one’s death” (Ephron 657).

This quote proves that the author uses her opinions rather other people opinions. Also, by using her opinions, her form of writing is not strong. If she used other people’s thoughts with her beliefs, then her writing would be strong enough to back up the information she is trying to present. I disagree with the author, because she doesn’t use vivid examples throughout the story. She should have written more about the special incident that happened and how everyone felt about it.

Instead, she wrote who took the picture, what the picture is about, what type of camera the person used, and what did all the newspaper company’s all over the nation did with the pictures. For example, when the author says “The pictures were taken by Stanley Forman, thirty, of the Boston Herald American. He used a motor-driven Nikon F set at 1/250, f 5. 6-8. Because of the motor, the camera can click off three frames a second” (Ephron 657). The author should have not put this information in the story, because is it unnecessary in the story, and does not belong in the story.

The article makes me think about the incident that happened to the world trade center on 9/11, because it reminds me of people that had to go through the whole attack and how they felt about it. It is similar to The Boston Photographs, because the photos where published in the newspaper. After the 9/11 attack, seeing the photos on the front page, people went insane just as in The Boston Photographs. Works cited Ephron, Nora. “The Boston Photographs. ” “The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2012.

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