"The American Male Age 10"

Orlean truly captured, as Waverly put it, "the essence of childhood." As it did with Waverly, I found this aspect of her writing to be the most captivating. The paragraph that struck me most was the paragraph in which Orlean displayed how Colin's young mind perceived death, "worrisome" events, and also how Colin began to have increasingly more realistic day-dreams. I believe the reason why this paragraph stood out more than others is because of its staunch accuracy. When Orlean describes the cluttered mess that his mind is becoming, and furthermore how this mess will ultimately shape the man he will one day become, I squirm in my seat with excitement. Why? Because I can remember countless times where young Cole was conflicted about how to process these newly discovered "adult" things. As Orlean words it, "The collision in his mind of what he unsderstands, what he hears, what he figures out, what popular culture pours into him, what he know, what he pretends to know, and what he imagines, makes an interesting mess," Colin is experiencing the clashing of his childhood brain with the forming of his "adult" brain. I believe this to be the quintessential turning point of one's childhood.

In regards to Orlean's writing style, I believe what I enjoy most is her use of incorrect, or slightly confused, nouns, themes, and ideologies concerning video games, race, marriage, current events, and every day problems. I believe it is this technique that allows Orlean's to capture the thoughts/demeanor of a child. For example, when Orlean has characters refer to "Nintendo Street Fighter II," I find it adorable because that's exactly what children do with video game titles. They either know them all too well, or they get confused with what the proper title is. Again, I find this interesting (and humorous) because I did the same exact thing that these "mini-adults" are doing.