The American Man: Age 10
Susan Orlean
The New Kings of NonFiction

The voice of this essay was perfect for the topic. I was continually amazed with the ease Orlean included all her information. She created a childlike vibe to the profile.  She approaches her subject with respect yet curiosity-- "For fun, we would load a slingshot with dog food and shoot it at my butt. we would have a very good life."

The combination of quotes and explanation I felt balanced well. "The girls in Collins class at school are named Cortnerd, Terror, Spacey, Lizard, Maggot, and Diarrhea, 'They do have other names, but that's what we call them,' Colin told me."

Orlean has decent but not over the top imagery which lends itself well to her subject-- "The walls are mostly bare, except for a Spiderman poster and a few ads torn out of magazines he has thumbtacked up."

The ending provided a deeper conclusion than I had expected from such a story-- "That's the point,' he said. 'You could do it with thread, but the fishing line is invisible. Now I have this perfect thing and the only one who knows about it is me." The author hands us this child who is on the edge of innocence and unaware of it. He is content to yet be perfect for no one other than himself.

Questions:

How long did you observe Collin?
How much do you see being observed affecting Collin's behavior?