Close Reading 4

      Although Christmas brings much joy to children it can also be a devastating time. Or so Elizabeth Weingarten thought throughout her life. Although Weingarten believed she had destroyed many kids lives she now understands that it was not the kids who were ruined as she takes us through her emotional journey using strong  syntax, imagery and details to show her feelings from guilt to understanding on the topic of Santa Clause in Spoiling Santa Clause: On Ruining Christmas for a Third Grader.  
      Weingarten uses a variety of sentence structures to allow her feelings to hit home in this article. In the beginning she uses short meaningful sentences to show her raw guilty emotion for exposing the truth of Santa to her class mates. She writes, "Now, they’re paying for it." and "I feel their pain." which allows the reader to feel Weingarten's regret. But once she researched the subject of how kids react to the truth of Santa Clause her feelings and sentences become less severe. As her article became more influenced by other's thoughts she is able to write longer sentences like "She’s watched kids hear the truth before, but it has “never destroyed anyone." which become filled with information and keep a steady flow to show her gain confidence in her self again as she realizes she did not ruin her friends' lives. Varying her sentence patterns help show her contrasting feelings from her initial guilt to her knowledge filled relaxation, but without her vivid images readers would have a difficult time relating. 
        The description of the moment she "killed" her friend Jacqueline's soul is gives the reader a vivid image of the moment her life was changed. She sets the scene by describing her elementary's art room "groups gathered around long, paint-splattered tables, coloring with broken crayons and chewed markers." recalling the room in such detail helps the reader relate to their own art classes. She then goes on about her feelings the second she tells the kids that Santa is not real  saying "All I recall is wishing I could dissolve into metallic goo and seep away through a hole in the ground" here you can feel her horrified feelings of guilt and embarrassment. This contrasts to the way she finishes her story when she does her research in which she purposefully leaves out vivid imagery because Weingarten is connecting other people's opinions to her own. This connection is achieved through well placed quotes "When I saw her reply in my inbox a couple days later, I clicked anxiously. 'To be honest,' she wrote, 'I have zero recollection of that happening.'" which shows her guilt lessen and her life less horrifying then the moment of truth only paragraphs earlier. By having strong imagery when the guilt is most strong and contrasting it with a lack of imagery when she loses this guilt Weingarten is able to show the reader her emotional journey without having to spell it out. 
     With the help of well planned out details Weingarten is able to make the reader bend to her will. In the beginning her details were focused on the feelings that she had and the exact moment of the revealing of Santa. She gives specific details about her age "I was 8", her reasons for learning of the lie of Santa, being Jewish and not receiving presents from the chimney, and her "deliciously superior" feeling of knowing this before any other kid. Building the reader's anxiety for the moment of truth allows the reader to feel the full force of Weingarten "spilling the beans". But as with the other literary devices she avoids this style when she is comforted. Once she realizes that she did not ruin her friends' childhoods she was able to focus on well formulated quotes and left out the details of her life and her feelings because it is clear from her reassuring  conversations with teachers and friends that she feels fine. 
       Weingarten is a skillful writer using contrasting syntax, imagery and details to show her growth from guilt to reassured relief. Her writing in this article gives a sign of hope for any reader who thought that they have spoiled Christmas for others because knowing the truth on Santa will not devastate a kid.