Thinking about the Text: Lydia's Story

                The main point in Lydia’s Story, by Brideau, a descriptive account of what happened to a sixty-year-old woman in Hurricane Katrina and Rita, is to give people strength in their own problems(bottom of page 131). I believe it is mainly directed at people whose lives were disrupted by the same hurricane to help them have the same faith in themselves that Lydia had in herself during, but mostly after, the hurricane. Being written in third person, for me as a reader, helps make the story more believable. For instance, a fisherman would be more likely to tell a big “fish story” about himself and build up his own reputation, rather than someone else’s. It also makes me have more sympathy for Lydia. This is because I am seeing it through the eyes of a sympathetic author, rather than “soft-spoken” Lydia (Brideau).

                In this story, the word choice really makes it “come alive”. Examples of such words are; toxic, illuminating, cackle, precarious, tender, and strong. These word made me, as the reader, feel concern for Lydia and urgency at her predicament. These types of feelings for a character in a story make the reader feel a connection to the characters which, in and of its self, makes the story “come alive”.

                The audience is the body of people that were affected by the hurricane and the state government of Louisiana. It is meant to make the government aware of how bad the shelters for the homeless were, and to give the people affected by the hurricane hope. For instance, in the beginning of the story, Brideau describes the shelter: “…we were struck by a chemical odor of a cleaning solution so strong that it seemed toxic. The hall had no windows; only fluorescent lighting illuminated the large space.” This shows her obvious disgust with the housing of the homeless, which lead us to infer that she is asking for improvement in that area. Evidence of the second is given when Brideau says, “But its Lydia’s story that stays with me the most, probably because it represents the essence of hope and determination in the face of terrible adversity.” It is this line that sets the hopeful while intense tone of this article.