comparative commentary, based on article sam cerro

Firstly, in my commentary, the text to the left that is an obituary will be called text A, while the newspaper story, on the right, text B.
The most obvious connections between the two texts, is the theme. The both articles are based on the same piece of information, which is the death of Sam Cerro. Even though the articles have, to a certain extent, a similar theme, the both texts convey different motives.
Another similarity that can be found in the both texts is the cause of Cerro’s death. Although this connection can be perceived, as a close reader, you can notice that in text A the protagonist “died at his home, on August 32, 1994, after a long illness”. The other text transmits the following information “died at St Mary’s Hospital from heart disease”.
An important similarity that you have to take in consideration is that the both texts are paradigmatic. Text A can be classified as paradigmatic because of its structure and language. An obituary is always compact, but very efficient. For example, in its first part it describes Cerro’s personality and conveys what kind of person he was, while the second part of the obituary gives you information about the funeral. The compact form is also combined with a big number of adjectives. These adjectives are words that usually describe the main character in a positive way. “We thank God for the 68 years we were allowed to share his life and know his love.” In the obituary Cerro is described as: beloved, loving and a person that the family members will miss. Text A follows the pathway of an obituary. The text is compact and packed with adjectives that describe the positive properties of Cerro, something that logically affects the readers thinking.
In the same way is the reader affected in text B, which is a newspaper story. Likewise text A, the structure and language of the newspaper story makes it paradigmatic as well. The pathway of a newspaper story consists, unlike text A, of a big number of verbs, while the structure is much longer and divided in columns. The usage of the big number of verbs occurs in order to keep the audience read and get informed through a fast way. As I stated above, the fact that both texts are paradigmatic, makes one similarity that has to be taken in consideration.
It is crucial to understand that even though the both texts are based on the same theme, they convey different motives. Already through the headline in text B, you encounter the word “crime figure”. The subtitle strengthens the negative picture of Cerro even more with the help of the incomplete sentence “Record includes drugs, gambling”
In contrast to text B, text A, already through the first words, the protagonist is given the role of “beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather…” In text A, the presence of the emotional atmosphere describes gives the reader an opposite appreciation.
The texts are dissimilar mostly because their complete different purposes. Text B is a newspaper story, something that forces the journalists to use terms of exaggeration or situations that attract the readers in order to be published. The terms of exaggeration can be noticed between the lines. Throughout the text, the newspaper story infers details of the main character’s life and off-putting arguments that construct an interesting article. There exist several examples that do so, one of them can be “... to have supplied cocaine to the men…”. The use of cocaine works as an eliminating factor from today’s society. A person that makes use of this drug might be shut from the society. In our case the author accomplishes his goal.
On the other hand, text A has a completely different purpose. The obituary has the aim of informing the society of the death of a normal person. Unlike text B, the obituary is most probably written by Cerro’s family. The members of his family, in this case, want to convey the genuine person behind the descriptions of the media, something that can be understood with the help of the presence of love and respect for Cerro in the obituary. The following example “We will love him forever and miss him greatly” confirms the purpose of the obituary, because it argues against text B, which may have been published before text A. The previous example above shows that although Cerro might have had difficulties during his life with following the law, he was a remarkable person, which will be remembered by his family forever. The different purpose of the texts is an important factor that proves the vast differences between the texts.
Another enormous difference is the usage of language in the texts. In text A, the author uses a special kind of vocabulary. This specific code describes the positive properties of the central figure and his/her personality or attitude, “Sam loved the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees and all the animal life beautified from his loving care.” Here the words work together to classify Cerro as a normal genuine person, precisely like everybody else. Unlike text A, text B uses an entirely different language, “Cerro’s long career in local crime included drugs, tax evasion, gambling and illegal abortion.” This example, unlike text A, analyzes what the central character did during his life and what kind of person he was. The poetic way of writing in text A and the journalistic text in the newspaper story makes the two texts even more dissimilar.
Ultimately, if you do not take the paradigmatic form in consideration, it is interesting to analyze what devices the two texts use for the information. Unlike the obituary, in text B, you can notice the presence of the authority of voice. This means that the journalist notifies important associations as the coroner’s office and hints the situation to negative figures, as Garrot the pimp, to influence the reader in the way they wish. In text A, the author uses the presence of several members of family to make the protagonist as normal as possible, “He is survived by his daughters, Linda, Michelle, Cathy and Jacky, his brother, John, and sisters Nellie and Joe and many grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.” The usage of different tools to influence the reader and win his attention is an important difference that has to be taken in consideration.


Word Count: 1068