What Bullets Do to Bodies (7800 words)

In Jason Fagone’s article, “What Bullets Do to Bodies,” he takes an in depth look at the experiences of a trauma surgeon working at Temple University Hospital, specifically at her experiences with shooting victims. From the very first line, the reader is drawn in by the subject of the article saying that said article would be pointless. This paired with the title of the piece immediately made me want to keep reading. 

The strongest aspects of this article are it’s emotional appeals. Something about a long form profile made the subject even more impactful; centering the story around someone that not only deals with victims nearly everyday, but who has also been doing it for 30 years offers a unique perspective on the subject. Looking at the issue from a hospital is something that the average person would not give much thought to. You can hear about shootings on the news, but it’s always talked about very clinically. Reading in graphic detail the physical ramifications of those shootings paints them in a whole different light. Fagone’s approach to the story emphasized the individual aspect of an issue that is so often looked at from a broader perspective. 

The use of photographs struck me. It was one thing to read the description of the tools that the surgeons would use and another to see them laid out. Even though they were clean, it helped me picture them being used and seemed that much more horrific. Having the article broken up into sections was also useful while I was reading it. It meant that transitioning from one subject to another, ie from the general procedure that Dr. Goldberg goes through every day to a specific patient she operated on, felt more natural than abrupt.