08.03.2014 Views

AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

16 What’s Yours is Mine 189<br />

A Life Revealed<br />

The double-spread of images marks a shift, the ‘Afghan Girl’ still nameless<br />

but now, with the turning of every page, unveiled. The title reflects<br />

this undressing, ‘A Life Revealed,’ where wording such as ‘told’ or<br />

‘asked’ is not used, but ‘revealed’ as if to imply a grand opening and excavation:<br />

a lifting of the burqa for Western eyes. This heading is subtitled,<br />

‘Seventeen years after she stared out from the cover… a former Afghan<br />

refugee comes face to face with the world once more.’ The<br />

disturbing phrase, ‘face to face,’ immediately begs the question: Can she<br />

see us, the audience, from the page? We, the well-to-do buyer, can see<br />

her face, scrutinize the two photographs, ourselves the intimate explorer,<br />

comparing features, discovering matching freckles and liplines, like a<br />

one-way sexual expedition. And her? What did she find in her tiny distorted<br />

reflection mirrored in the camera’s lens? The passage of time is<br />

suspenseful. Seventeen years of waiting: what will she say? The sentence<br />

concludes with ‘once more’ to confirm the reader’s relationship with this<br />

character. This is a sequel, a catching up of old friends….<br />

After the sequence of ‘thrilling’ headlines, photographs and suspenseful<br />

captions, readers finally have access to the story. The actual article<br />

begins with an engaging opening paragraph, including the ominous abstract:<br />

‘She remembers her anger.’ The author engages readers here with<br />

raw emotion, a glimpse into the ‘mind’ of the anonymous woman<br />

through constructed inner dialogue.<br />

2. Orientation<br />

The Orientation is an introduction to characters, temporal and physical<br />

settings, and situation, usually by using ‘past progressive’ timing (Johnstone<br />

2001:638).<br />

Orientation of Memory: Romantic Encounter<br />

The text begins in present-tense, describing the 1985 encounter and establishing<br />

relationship: ‘She remembers the moment. The photographer<br />

took her picture.’ ‘…She had not been photographed since,’ prioritizing<br />

time shared with the photographer. The recollection is set metaphorically,<br />

‘the light was soft,’ creating a romantic setting. The Hero ‘noticed<br />

her first,’ reconfirming her unique value. The constructed monologue<br />

moves readers through McCurry’s memory.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!