Chuck Klosterman, Tim O’Brien, and Chimamanda Adichie are some of the most prolific writers in the literary world today. Their works have a characteristic uniqueness. They often give a thought-provoking and introspective analysis of salient societal issues and examine intricate questions about human interactions. To achieve this, the authors use various calculative strategies of definitions and tone shifts making the profundity of their subject matters more discernable to the keen reader. Additionally, the strategies they employ have a bearing on the readers’ understanding of the topics presented by the authors and offer clarity on how certain issues in society should be perceived.
Chuck Klosterman’s I Wear the Black Hat highlights the various evils in society. In his definition of these evils, he opts to consider them villainy. However, the author does not seem to be focused on elucidating the nature of villainy. His differing definitions of evil, therefore, are because he is more interested in examining the reasons and contexts in which villains fit into the murals of popular culture. The tone shifts in the book are unmistakable. The author’s tone often has a nuance of subtlety. His arguments are characteristically circuitous and occasionally reminiscent and self-indulgent. Though passionate, his wiles are presented with appreciable emotional distance giving the book a clinically objective outlook. While presenting his definitions, Klosterman is seemingly careful not to devolve into arcane intensity or rants. Instead, he maintains a sober tone keeping the intellectual vigor of his message.
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Tim O’Brien’s How to Tell a True War Story similarly employs a unique strategy of definitions. It is a testament to the power of storytellers to shape their opinions and experiences of their listeners. The description of gruesome and deathly scenes deviates from the typical horrifying accounts as the author seems to focus more on the positive aspects of the scenes. O’Brien’s tone is generally detached and his description detached. His definition strategy acts as a salve that allows readers to cope with the complexities of war. From the outset of the story, O’Brien sets the tone of his argument – an almost conversational and factual tone. Specifically, the narrator uses an analytical tone and tries to be informative to convey the true message about the misplaced anger and bitterness that soldiers grapple with due to their horrible experiences while at war.
Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story espouses the negative effects of learning only one stereotypical perception of another person, culture, gender, race or country. Chimamanda particularly uses the word ‘danger’ in the title of her talk to imply the deleterious effects of sticking to a single story and not having a complete perspective of things. She also employs critical definition strategies and tone shifts in her presentation. Chimamanda’s talk raises the question of cultural awareness – a rather serious topic with much relevance to modern-day society. However, Chimamanda uses an anecdotal approach to create a light and playful tone to address a serious subject. This helps her to deliver her message. Throughout her speech, Chimamanda uses an optimistic tone to warn the audience about the assumptions and misunderstandings that could arise from having a skewed perspective of things from one's judgment of facts.
Overall, the strategies employed by the authors help to create a vivid picture of their subject matters and enhance the effectiveness of message delivery. However, the views presented in these works depend on the perception of the reader. Klosterman’s analysis of evil and the use of real-life examples could be misconstrued as a targeted attack to prominent persons rather than a call for morality. Similarly, O'Brien's story could be considered a critique of the concept of truth as it seemingly problematizes the relationship between truth and the values with which it is often linked such as morality. Thus, the clarity of Klosterman’s and O’Brien’s works is largely dependent on the readers’ perceptions. However, their relevance to salient societal issues is unquestionable. Chimamanda's talk, on the other hand, is mostly direct and provides a framework for critical thinking that should be adopted by people of different cultures to end the vicious cycle of stereotyping.
