Alan Rabonowitz Continued

I noticed that Alan also used a significant amount of emotion in his story. There were a couple of particularly emotional moments in the story, but overall, the whole story was deeply underscored with emotion. One moment that really involved me emotionally was when he was talking about his parents trying to give him the therapy, and clinical guidance to overcome his stuttering problem. When he said that his father had to sell something that was really valuable to him in order to send him to the speech therapy clinic in Genesseo, I was really touched. I know that my parents have invested a lot in me, and I cannot even express the amount of gratitude that I have for them. It was obvious to me that Alan felt the same way.

The amount that Alan had invested in this story is probably one of the factors in why their was so much emotion in the telling. Essentially, the story was about Alan's life, including his deepest pains and greatest accomplishments. The way that his story was basically outlined and mapped out was very intentional. By beginning his story at the Bronx zoo staring at the Jaguar, he was able to bring his story to a beautiful ending looking into the eyes of the large jaguar in Central America. His story structure was paralleled throughout. He basically mirrored himself with the Jaguars, and ultimately the entire animal kingdom, throughout his entire story. This could especially be seen in the way that he showed that he had to withdraw from people because they attacked him in the same way that Jaguars had to withdraw so that they would not be hurt, or even killed. He also spoke about how he felt safe in the closet with his animals as well as safe in the wild with the animals.

Overall the story mapping that he used was a rounded design in which the story beginning wrapped around until it came back to the beginning. There was a great sense of completion in the stories design, and he was able to use himself as a hero without seeming to be an arrogant or prideful teller. The way that he did this was because the story was not just about him. It was about bigger issues.

The first big issue that Alan spoke about was the way that people treat each other. He was really speaking for anyone that has an impediment or a disability. His story also addressed the animal's rights concept. As a matter of fact, the driving force of the story was the idea that, "Animals have feelings too." He was able to create a sense of bias within the audience to the idea of animal rights with that simple message. His goal was clear. He wanted to be the voice fr animals, and that was exactly what he was doing inside the story and outside in the telling world as well.

Alan moved across the terrain of many issues including people's desire to prove themselves better than others through sports and academics. He also noted the difficulties that exist within the communication system that surrounds an individual's voice in the realm of government. He spoke of the importance of parent support for children, and of the value in lowering the costs of treatment for things that could be considered disabilities. Although most of these ideas were not clearly stated, they were present within the narrative.

Alan showed how he had invested in the animal rights movement with his intellect (pursuing a doctorate degree for the study of animals) and his emotions, from his commitment to be the voice for animals, to his endeavors in Central America, his story continually emphasized his investment to the animal cause.