Naked in Orlando by George Koch - Essay Example

Heading: Naked in Orlando by George Koch Speaker: The essay under consideration was created by the civil rights activist and Oracle Corp. vice president, by a man with a rich life background who later became a pastor of Resurrection Church (Chicago). It seems that the author has written this piece to entertain the reader as this short ‘horror’ story contains many humorous exaggerations, jokes, witty phrases about “overeager housekeepers” and thoughts of the obituary of “a naked man starving to death in the bathroom” or “horror stories of people buried alive”. So, this is a funny story of a serious businessman working in a large company. [98words]
Occasion:
The current essay is a humorous piece, so it has more of entertaining meaning and probably was written as a kind of ‘intermezzo’. As we can see from the text itself, the author was inspired by the comical incident in the hotel room that happened to him “recently”, when he was to “introduce the president of the company to the group of customers”. However, a funny (or terrifying?) situation that occurred to Koch, made his president “give up waiting and introduce himself” without Koch’s help. Thus, there were no specific occasions for publishing this essay except entertainment and fun. [100 words]
Audience:
As a piece written in humorous style, ‘Naked in Orlando’ addresses no particular audience or certain group of people. The essay is obviously directed to the wide audience of readers preferring light reading. The author uses neither specific language nor references to ‘global topics’ like religion, history, nation or nature. Koch just painted his ‘horror bathroom story’ in bright colors describing his “adventure” in detail. However, even though the essay is intended for a wide audience, its humoristic nature would probably be better understood by those who are familiar with Agent MacGyver series which was on TV till early 1990’s. [100 words]
Purpose:
The purpose of the piece is entertaining the reader and conveying the message that nobody is secured from a misfortune (either funny or serious) and sometimes only good fortune can help as it actually did when the “maintenance guy” appeared and helped the narrator out of his prison with “mirrors and high-voltage light bulbs turning it into an oven”. The author uses numerous dramatic exaggerations to make the story sound more serious and funny at the same time. Turning an ordinary nasty misfortune into an action with ‘thrilling’ descriptions and allusion to agent MacGyver help to convey the humoristic message of the piece. [100 words]
Structure:
This essay is contains no deep considerations and philosophical arguments, the main intention of all its parts is to describe vividly the events (maybe even spicing them with a pinch of fiction) and make the story be a kind of parody on the action movie plots. As the essay begins, Koch makes a small introduction into his occupation and general circumstances of that unlucky day. Then there is a rather detailed description of his “adventures” in the bathroom in attempts to open the door written with comical pathos. At the same time, the conclusion of the story is rather brief. [100 words]
Tone:
The tone of the essay is very dramatic and even a little bit pompous intended to create an effect of seriousness and ‘dramatism’ of the author’s misadventure. The words and metaphors are selected with care and the language is even excessively bookish and complicated. Nevertheless, the story leaves a humoristic aftertaste. The author begins the story with relaxed introduction and then proceeds with vivid and detailed description of his actions and emotions while he was locked in the hotel room “at the end of the hallway at the end of the hotel facing nothing – just outside air 20 stories up”. [100 words]
Assumptions:
Talking about the presuppositions the author of this very essay has, one would experience some difficulties in defining the life position and the prejudices typical for him as the essay is far from being philosophical or developing some arguments or points of view. It is focused more on actions, not on thoughts (which is also adds to easiness in reading it). However, there is an allusion to agent MacGyver who seems to be a stereotype of “bravado” and inventiveness for the author. In the essay, Roger Koch first starts thinking of what Mr. MacGyver would do in the same situation. [100 words]
Reference:
Koch, George Byron. "Naked in Orlando." Wall Street Journal. 1 November 1993. Read More