Conceptualizing an Article
When conceptualizing an article, and therefore putting pen to paper, the author is faced with the decision of using various literary instruments to express their message or knowledge. The persona, tone, and point of view or viewpoint from which the article or statement is written are the most noteworthy. The style in which the speaker addresses a topic is referred to as the author's point of view. In this respect, the point of view can be expressed in the first person, as well as in the second and third person. The major distinction is that the first-person essays and arguments are written using personal pronouns and are a direct account of the author concerning the events or experience in the essay. The use of the first person is less formal but may identify and resonate with the reader on a more personal level than the use of the third party would.
Persona, Tone, and Point of View
Persona, on the other hand, is the writer's appearance or presence in writing. The persona is not always the writer as a writer may employ different personas in various writing endeavors to enhance receptivity by the reader. Tone refers to the feelings and emotions that are expressed and evident throughout a given text. Tone enumerates the writer's attitude toward the subject matter, toward themselves, and the reader.
Persona in Gawande's "Let it Go"
Atul Gawande's article, entitled "Letting Go," is centered on the dilemma that many couples and families face when modern medicine fails to resolve their health issues. Should one give up or should one keep attempting new drugs, procedures, and treatments in a bid to save their lives? Gawande presents the story of Sara Thomas Monopoli as a statement to the difficulty of the choice. In his argument, Gawande takes on the persona of a doctor. Being one makes his persona a character with wide knowledge on the issue of death and the reach of modern medicine. In the article, Gawande explicates the various means by which lung cancer can be combatted, the success rates of such actions, and the care with which such information is divulged to the patients and their families. The doctor persona in the argument proves effective not only by reassuring the reader that the facts purposed by the article are genuine and credible but also enables the reader to examine the issue of mortality from the doctor's perspective. In doing so, the reader is better placed to appreciate the arguments brought forth by Gawande, a fact which stands in favor of the author and his goal to tackle the issue of what to do when modern medicine fails.
Point of View in Gawande's "Letting Go"
Gawande's argument makes use of different perspectives at different sections. At the beginning, where he explicates the tragic account of Mrs. Monopoli's life, he addresses the reader in the third person. By doing so, the author can alleviate any personal considerations he may have and focus only on delivering the story of Sara to the reader. By doing so, Gawande is effectively able to capture the reader's undivided attention as he enumerates the discovery and attempted treatment of lung cancer in Sara. Later in the argument, Gawande makes use of the first-person perspective. In so doing, the author can offer his considerations regarding the topic of cancer, its manifestation, and the various means by which the same can be combated. For instance, Gawande makes a note of the fact that the extent to which chemotherapy can lengthen a patient's life is usually a year, a fact which doctors are not too enthusiastic to convey to their patients. This is in pursuance to maintaining an optimistic and positive outlook on life by the patient and his family. First person is also used during dialogue to highlight the actual words said by an individual which works to strengthen Gawande's argument.
Tone in Gawande's "Letting Go"
Gawande, all through his argument, portrays a somber and formal attitude toward the subject matter, that is cancer. In his description of the events that unfolded about Sara Thomas, he makes sure to add details pertaining to the enormous emotional burden that the patient and the family subject. This enumerates an empathetic and sympathetic tone toward the families aggrieved by illness. However, when Gawande talks about the issue of cancer from an objective lens, he takes on a formal tone. It is imperative to the efficacy of the essay that he does so as it adds to the credibility of the information he conveys. His tone toward the audience is also formal as he endeavors to use formal terms to perpetuate his knowledge and beliefs regarding cancer. Gawande's emotions about cancer and its tendency to place people everywhere in impossible situations, such as it was in the case with Sara Monopoli, are those of despair of a doctor who cannot help a patient as curing cancer lies beyond even cutting-edge modern medicine, and those of grief, particularly when a patient is lost to the terrible condition. The emotions are evident throughout the argument and enable the reader to gain a glimpse of the complex and powerful emotions experienced by doctors, patients, and their loved ones.
