"Lydia's Story"

   1.  What is Brideau’s main point, and where in the essay is it indicated?

Throughout “Lydia’s Story” up in till it end I believe the main point is to describe the tragic event of Hurricane Katrina, and its affects on the people falling victim to its wrath. The author wanted us to see what people had to go through to survive such a fate, and for what they lost such as there home’s. Jan Brideau makes this very clear in her last paragraph when she writes “For me, the enormity of the double hurricanes became clear only after witnessing so many people left without their homes.”

   2.  What is the primary point of view from which Brideau narrates “Lydia’s Story”? What impact does that point of view have on you as a reader?

The primary point of view from which Brideau narrates is third person. Honestly the reading impacted me by making me feel a sense of dread, and determination. The reason is while yes a third person point of view is looking over “Lydia’s” events, I could also put myself in her place if it were me. The loss of control of things around a person as well as losing things they deem valuable is terrible, but the will to keep one’s self alive despite dire circumstances is brave.

   3. How does Brideau make her narrative “come alive”? Make a list of words she uses to describe the setting and the characters. How do they appeal to the readers emotions?

While reading this narrative I could see that Brideau used words in the second and third paragraph to make the reader get an idea of the circumstances that were about to be retold.  Describing the current setting as seemingly to have a “toxic odor”, and tell us that the inside of the VFW fall was “uncomfortably cold” already showed us that conditions were very poor. Then when the author was used words such as “soft-spoken”, “eager”, “waxed”, “waned”, and “tender” to describe “Lydia” as to what she is like. Through those words I can get the feel that she was a kind elderly women suffering some uncomfortable pains after her past trials. I get the idea of what tragedy befell her, and through the words in the reading get a better idea of how the events played out.

   4. Who would be the audience for this piece, and how does Brideau’s tone suit those readers? Point to specific words, and phrases that create that tone.

The audience in this case would be in the country this event occurred which in this case would be the people of the United States. Through the serious, but informative story I could tell the author was trying to provide the idea through the effective experience “Lydia” of what Hurricane Katrina was for the people who fell victim to it. Again by describing the tale of how heavy homes were being “swept up” by the strong currents, and to describe the sheer force of what the storm brought forth to the people who weren’t there. Using words like “precarious” to tell how challenging it was to evade the harsh water levels, and “spurted” to describe how rapidly the water was gorging in the home’s such as “Lydia’s” were used to point out how dangerous the storm truly was. It was through “Lydia’s Story” that people can see the hardships people faced just trying to stay alive, what they lost, and how the aftermath was still a long hard road of recovery.