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Columbine

In: English and Literature

Submitted By lucifer27
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Columbine, by Dave Cullen, is the story of the Columbine High School Massacre that happened on April 20, 1999 in Columbine, Colorado. Cullen uses a peculiar style of writing; he alternates between the story of the aftermath and the planning details of the massacre to demonstrate how Eric and Dylan plan worked and how it affected the people that were injured as well as what caused Eric and Dylan to do the things that they did. He does an excellent job in letting the reader know what happened during the massacre and what the outcome of that action was. Cullen alternates between the planning and the aftermath to show the reader how the plan worked and what the outcome was. An example of this is in Chapter 16. In chapter 16, Cullen describes the death of a young teenager and then he alternates to the aftermath at how the teenager’s parents reacted to show the reader the outcome of Eric and Dylan’s decisions. He does this to appeal to the reader’s emotion and to make the reader realize the pain that many felt after the shooting. He does this throughout the entire book to show specific portions of the shooting and the aftermath. Cullen also alternates between the shooting and Eric and Dylan’s past to show the reader why they did the things they did. An example of this is in Part III of the book. In Part III, Cullen describes the lives of Eric and Dylan years before the incident, to show the reader how Eric and Dylan changed throughout their lives and what caused them do the things they did. “Eric would prove the easier killer to understand. Eric always knew what he was up to. Dylan did not.” (Cullen 193). This quote from the book shows that Eric knew what his was doing and why he was doing it but Dylan did not. Cullen then goes on to describe important sections of their dairies to show the reader why Eric and Dylan did the things they did. Dave Cullen does a brilliant job on showing the reader what actually happened at Columbine on April 20, 1999. He uses an unusual style of writing that does a fantastic job on showing what a tragedy Columbine was. He alternates between the planning and the aftermath to show the reader how and what happened during the shooting and what the outcome was.

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