Shannon Dawdy Invaders In Building The Devil's Empire
Shannon Dawdy succeeds in Building the Devil’s Empire to establish her idea that Louisiana was a “rogue colony.” She established her idea by displaying detailed descriptions of the history, the people and the surrounding environment. In the first chapter, she expressed that she wanted to bring French colonial Louisiana “alive in her imagery.” In my opinion, Dawdy did this in her own way. Not only did she use her own thought about rogue colonialism, but also used historical figures words and thoughts. She allowed the reader to have other point of views to compare to her so they could see the differences as time went on. She described the historical figures by pointing out that “they brought their books…[and]…built laboratories and observatories.”
(p.34) In my head, this covered the gap between a normal breathing human being and the historical figures she mentioned. Through her descriptions of New Orleans as “dilapidated buildings sagging under vines and sinking into mud.” (p.27) To most people, this sentence would make New Orleans seem like a nasty, grimy, nothing to it type of town. To me, this statement puts an image in my head of a town full of old buildings hiding under beautiful vines and sinking into the background of the city. Dawdy successfully filled in the space between a historical “story” and real life.
(p.34) In my head, this covered the gap between a normal breathing human being and the historical figures she mentioned. Through her descriptions of New Orleans as “dilapidated buildings sagging under vines and sinking into mud.” (p.27) To most people, this sentence would make New Orleans seem like a nasty, grimy, nothing to it type of town. To me, this statement puts an image in my head of a town full of old buildings hiding under beautiful vines and sinking into the background of the city. Dawdy successfully filled in the space between a historical “story” and real life.