Man and Beast Assignment

Phonetic – when he says the word stutter around 1:00 “…I was handicapped with a severe, severe stutter.” The last part of the sentence is in and of itself a stutter. The word severe is repeated which is a type of stutter and the word stutter itself has three “t” letters which seem almost to be another stutter. Phonetically it looks something like this:

aɪ wʌz hændiːkæpd wɪɵ eɪ sevɪər sevɪər stʌtr

Emotional – When speaking of his Dad selling one of his precious possessions to be able to pay to send him to a special school. You can tell from the way his voice waivers and almost falters that he is at the point of tears. This suggests that whatever was sold was highly valuable both monetarily and emotionally and that selling it was a sacrifice made out of love for his son. This was a very touching moment for me because I know the sacrifices that my own family has had to make over the years to give me the opportunity to grow. Self sacrifice seems to be a commonly understood act and almost always causes some level of emotional reaction.

Discourse: Path of the Narrative
Character Introduction – Five year old boy looking into the Jaguar’s eyes. Whispers gently to it which is quite an accomplishment, because of his obstacle/character flaw… his stutter.

Scene is Set – He is hindered by his school and misunderstood by his teachers.
Heroic Action sets the Bright Future in motion – His father sacrifices something valuable that his son can overcome his stutter.

Promise to an Old Friend – Because animals “listened” to his problems and hopes he promises to his animals while in his closet that he would be their voice is he could ever find his voice.

Overcoming the Character Flaw or Personal Obstacle – many types of therapy are gone through to no avail. Senior year in college he is given the opportunity to join an expensive clinical group that helps him overcome his handicap. He works hard to do so.

Keeping the Promise – All his pursuits outside of his promise fall short of his desires. He begins to study animals at UT. He is given the opportunity to study in Belize. This would be in line with his promise.

Fulfillment of the Promise – He goes to Belize and begins studies on jaguars which interestingly is the animal that started the story with. He makes his life about the animals, not just studying them but keeping them safe. He is instrumental in establishing the world’s first and only jaguar preserve.

Facing the Beast – a month later while following Jaguar tracks faces the biggest Jaguar he has ever seen and the realization that his promise has been fulfilled. The Jaguar could have killed him but instead only watches him as if acknowledging the fulfillment of the promise. Not only has the promise been fulfilled but he has grown and overcome his former self. He whispers again to the jaguar.

The overall progression of the story is from external problem to internal problem. Then the long trial of overcoming the internal problem and then the external problem.