“The Silent Season of a Hero” is an interesting and well-written profile piece on Joe DiMaggio. The piece, written by Gay Talese, provides specific details and observations to allow the reader to form an image on DiMiaggio. In the piece Talese speaks in detail on the appearance of the baseball player and how he seems to age well. In the excerpt it states, “At 51, DiMaggio was a most distinguished-looking man, aging as gracefully as he had played on the ball field, impeccable in his tailoring, his nails manicured, his 6-foot-2 body seeming as lean and capable as when he posed for the portrait that hangs in the restaurant and shows him at Yankee Stadium, swinging from the heels at a pitch thrown 20 years ago.”
It really paints a great image in my head and it is something he does throughout the story. In the profile he goes on to talk about DiMaggio’s personal life, such as his relationship with Marilyn Monroe. When reading this you get a really good idea of who DiMaggio is and his personality, which is something I attribute to Talese’s storytelling. The article goes back and forth with different moments of the ex-Yankees’ life, keeping the reader (including me) compelled. The creativeness of the piece really does stand the test of time and makes it an enjoyable read no matter when you read it, whether during the 1960’s or now.
What I enjoyed most from this piece is that although it is meant to entertain the reader because of DiMaggio’s stardom, the human nature of the story is very compelling. You kind of forget that you are reading about a baseball player, but instead about an actual person. Obviously when the story mentions names like Marilyn Monroe it is hard to ignore, you really do get the human element of the story and know DiMaggio as the person behind the legend he is.
When reading the piece, I also got the feeling of sadness. There is a part where you get the feeling that DiMaggio lost his love for the game of baseball. In the excerpt it states,” ‘Ohhh,’ DiMaggio yelled, dropping his bat, his fingers stung. “I was waiting for that one.” He left the batting cage, rubbing his hands together. The reporters watched him. Nobody said anything. Then DiMaggio said to one of them, not in anger or in sadness, but merely as a simply stated fact, ‘There was a time when you couldn’t get me out of there.’”
Overall, this was a fantastic read and very well-written. The storytelling was phenomenal and you are so intrigued and soaked into the story that you really forget that you are reading it because the details provided give you the sense that you are seeing it come alive in your head. It is a style of writing that many journalists should strive to write like.
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