Dave Cullen’s journalistic portrayal of the infamous school shooting in Columbine reveals the raw truth of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris’ murder spree while uncovering misconception surrounding it. Cullen dives deep into the heart of motive and recovery, offering a newfound understanding of both the victims and the killers. The tragedy at Columbine was planned as a series of explosions that would have killed nearly 2,000 students. The bombs failed, however, so the shooters abandoned their plan and went on a spree through the school instead, using semiautomatic weapons they acquired at a gun show, where background checks can be bypassed. This cost thirteen lives before they both committed suicide. Police arrived shortly after, but delayed taking …show more content…
The biggest misrepresentation was the immortalization of Cassie Bernall to the Christian community. Cassie was reported to have been murdered by Dylan after she bravely professed her religious faith when asked if she believed in God. In reality, it was Val Schnurr, a survivor, who proclaimed her belief, and was later vilified for supposedly stealing Cassie’s martyrdom. The media also made the mistake of conceptualizing Dylan and Eric as social recluses who were bullied by jocks and didn’t fit in at school. In reality, however, the boys were outwardly well-adjusted, and had markedly different personalities. Eric was a highly intelligent rebel and a charmer, whereas Dylan was smart but self-conscious and prone to wild outburst of emotion. FBI agent and domestic terrorism specialist Dwayne Fuslier would later diagnose Eric as a young psychopath, an unfeelingly manipulative play-actor who knew how to get what he wanted out of everybody. Eric wanted to prove his superiority to the world and wanted to leave a legacy by striking fear into the hearts of his “audience,” the students left alive and the horrified world. But Dylan, who Fuslier diagnosed as depressive and self-medicating with alcohol, wanted primarily to end his own life. Regardless of motive, their actions would forever alter the lives of those affected by the
When he talked about Eric he described a psychopath: Charming, frequent liar, and killing is something that amuses them. “Dylan wasn’t planning to kill anyone, except, God willing, himself.” ( Cullen 174). On the other hand the author used the words depressed, lonely, and sad to describe Dylan. Which was the total opposite from Eric.
Columbine High School can forever be associated with the massacre that took place April 20, 1999. Dave Cullen, author of Columbine, captures the heart wrenching and cruel events that unfolded that April through his analysis of the normalities within the day and specific dialogue. Using many rhetorical devices, Cullen develops an agonizing emotion behind the terrible truth; it can happen anywhere. While spreading the terrible truth, he manages to also spread light on the events of April 20 in order to debunk bullying motives and help all people understand the idea of psychopaths.
In the book, it says, “Dylan Klebold was meek, self-conscious, and shy” (pg. 7) This is presented at the beginning of the book as crucial information. People don’t imagine Dylan as someone with feelings; they imagine him as a monster. Cullen writes about how Nate Dykeman, a friend of the boys, felt during the shooting. He writes, “Dylan would break his heart.
Christopher also got sent to jail for attempted murder. Him and three other guys grabbed a random boy and threw him onto train tracks(61). Both Eric and Christopher committed crimes with friends. It seems as if their friends may have played a role in influencing
“As of this writing, a Google search for the SPU shooter’s name brings up 409,000 hits—52,000 more than for Jon Meis, the 22-year-old student who selflessly subdued the shooter before he could claim more victims” (Herz). More people chose to follow up on the shooter rather than
Journalist and author, Dave Cullen, in his book, Columbine, redefines how his readers understand the Columbine tragedy. His purpose is to illustrate the misconceptions Americans have of the shooting by explaining how these misconceptions came about and became rooted in Americans’ minds, although they were so unbelievably wrong. Cullen creates a blunt tone in order to get straight to the facts to show who Eric really was. Through his use of rhetorical devices in this passage, Cullen unravels that Eric was not a bullied outcast like so many believe, but a psychopath.
This article has great viewpoints, use of argumentative reasoning, and shows what truly happens in the hallways of a school shooting. The main person he explains is Eric Harris, who killed over two-thousand students and faculty in a Colorado high school in 1998. He set off bombs all over the school and used a semi-automatic
April 20, 1999, was far from peaceful in Littleton, Colorado. Two seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered twelve students and one teacher before ultimately killing themselves at Columbine High School and injuring an additional twenty-three people. At the time of the shooting, Columbine was the most fatal school shooting in United States history. Myth is a story or historical event that unfolds part of the world’s view of people, beliefs, and natural phenomena (“Myth” 1). In a rush to make sense of the killings, the media spread a lot of information that was inaccurate.
Columbine, by Dave Cullen is a non-fiction book documenting the horrific massacre which took place in Littleton, Colorado on April 20, 1999. Not only does the writer give great detail about the shooting itself, he also gives and in depth look into the lives of the killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and their victims. The focus of this book is for the author to attempt to bring to light what really happened and hopefully gain better understanding as to why it all took place. Cullen, a journalist, begins an extensive nine year research in order to achieve awareness of the happenings before, during and after this tragic event. Entries from the perpetrators personal journals, stories from the ones who witnessed the shootings first hand, countless interviews from the victim’s families, as well as multiple other pieces of information give the reader an extremely up close and personal surrounding Columbine.
Columbine by Dave Cullen analyzes the use of journals and specific language to advance the idea that the massacre that happened on April 20, 1999 was the planned and executed by two boys with horrific intentions. Cullen writes with the intention to share the the somber story, while allowing the readers to understand Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's mental status and prove how the killers felt rather leaving room for assumptions. Cullen emphasis the importance of journals to further the idea that the events of Columbine were executed by two boys with terrible intentions. By quoting the killers journals, the readers are able to know exactly how the kellers felt.
Personal Essay - Public Shootings Recently, there have been many tragedies in the world, such as shootings, bombings, and terrorist attacks. We all are affected differently by them, some more than others, but these events affect the way we live and how we act. The recent public shootings have affected my life and changed how I live it. The Sandy Hook Elementary and the Aurora movie theater shootings were a result of guns in the hands of the wrong people, and because of this, my life is different than my parents’ lives were when they were kids. Our world has become dangerous and I don’t feel safe anymore.
Informative Speech Going Out with a Bang General Purpose: To inform. Specific purpose: To inform my audience about the causes of school shootings in America. Central Idea: The main causes for school shootings are easy access to guns, mental instability and trauma. INTRODUCTION I. (Attention Getter)
Eric had a friend, Dylan Klebold saw each as being rebels. Dylan, who had long hair and braided was more believable over Eric which might have been a lead to some problems. Both Dylan and Eric were very intelligent senior
On April 20, 1999, two disturbed teenage boys Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris began a killing rampage at Columbine High School in the suburban town of Littleton, Colorado. This was considered one of the worst school shootings to occur at that time. In the morning of April 20, before noon, the two juveniles had killed 13 people to include 12 students and 1 teacher; they also wounded another 23 people before turning the guns on themselves. This event would change the theories as to why school shootings would occur. (History)
Eric’s actions clearly convey gender discrimination during the time and how men took advantage of a women. The greatest crime committed throughout the entire play was by Eric, a man in his “early twenties” who is “half shy” and lacks on confidence meaning he has a hard time expressing emotions and is easily controllable. The crime Eric committed: Eric driving himself on Eva Smith/Daisy Renton.