Most Americans are too well aware of the problem that the U.S.A faces surrounding school shootings. However, one of the most tragic shootings was at Sandy Hook Elementary School where 20 innocent children were brutally shot and 6 adults died protecting them. Dawn and Mary by Doyle rivetingly retells this tragedy with the untold angle: that of the principal Dawn and the school psychologist, Mary. The lives of these brave women, who sacrifice their fulfilling lives to go against natural impulses, are presented as heroic. By the use of parallelism, imagery, and most importantly juxtaposition Doyle successfully advocates that we remember the human altruism that “leapt” to the occasion rather than focus on the maniac that was responsible for wasted innocent blood. He further compels us to never forget “that there is something is us beyond sense and reason” because in the future our turn may come when we need to be ordinary heroes. Otherwise, “what good are we?” (Doyle).
Doyle transforms the “two staffers” from a vague concept into real breathing people. Dawn is the “principal” and Mary is the “school psychologist” (Doyle). By naming the victims, the attention immediately is focused on them rather than on the shooter he never names. Further, the shooter is dehumanized to more drastically push him out of our minds through the use of imagery such as “pop-pop-pop” and “the bullets” (Doyle). Only much later is the shooter simply referred to as “the boy with the rifle” (Doyle). This belittles the adult shooter. On the other hand, Dawn and Mary are named from the start and continuously referred to. In fact Doyle dramatically retells parts of their story again and again. For example, he retells the following information at least twice: Dawn said “Lock the door after us”, “jumped, or leapt, or lunged”, and that they would “kneel down to care for small beings” (Doyle). By doing this, Doyle is shifting the personal narratives which we have about school shootings to be victim-focused or, as he would prefer, hero-focused.
Doyle presents a paralleling snapshot of the rich, meaningful lives that these women lived prior to the fatal day. As he does, these women become a unified symbol of heroism. Both women seem to mirror each other since both had two daughters, were married, and enjoyed vacationing by a “lake” (Doyle). This image of familial life bliss resonates with the reader because it is one of the American ideals. The readers can feel the victory and perseverance of Dawn’s husband who thought so highly of her that he “proposed five times before she’d finally said yes” (Doyle). The wisdom that comes with age settles on the reader’s mental picture of Mary who “was due to retire in one year” (Doyle). The many small scared children with trials beyond their age, who Mary must have saved throughout her many years, can almost be visualized. Naturally, the readers become invested in their lives. It is then that Doyle highlights the most vivid fact about these women in order to help the readers realize they are caregivers. They both “liked to get down on [their] knees” to do mundane beautiful caregiving tasks (Doyle). This parallelism of their lives and roles unites these two women as an intertwined symbol of vibrant love, heroism, and protection that continues throughout the story. No wonder, they “leapt” “toward the bullets” (Doyle). Despite or even because of the seemingly ordinariness of these women, the readers begin to adopt them as their hero’s rather than merely as heroic. This is vital to Doyle’s argument because as the readers increasingly feel for and identify with Mary and Dawn, they will begin to desire to become like them and finally see the heroism within society at large and in themselves.
Possibly the single most significant and extensive rhetorical device used by Doyle in this artwork is symbolic juxtaposition. This serves successfully to help the reader compare the actions of Dawn and Mary to the other staffers in order to persuade the readers ultimately that they need to resemble their bravery, heroism, and morality. The first way that he uses juxtaposition is by comparing “most” of the staffers who act with “sense and reason” with “but two of the staffers” who will go against “sense and reason” (Doyle). Even that but informs the readers that there is something special about Dawn and Mary. The readers can hear the silent echoes that the other staffers may have later stammered that what they did was “the reasonable thing to do, what they were trained to do”. In fact this justification exactly matches many prevailing lines of thought within society. Doyle is challenging this and suggesting that there could be another reasonable way as he holds up our heroic standalones amid “most” staffers beneath the tables. Perhaps it really is time to teach something more divine.
Doyle begins to build on the juxtaposition by showing the strength and decisiveness of Dawn and Mary in choosing to sacrifice everything rather than hiding underneath the tables. This helps the reader to develop more empathy for these women and to comprehend the magnitude of their sacrifice. Not only did they not “dive” to the ground, but Dawn and Mary “jumped, or leapt, or lunged” “toward the bullets” (Doyle). The repeating sense of motion in this description juxtaposes with the stillness and “reasonable” response of the other staffers (Doyle). The readers can feel the strength, effort, and resolution in these three simple words. They are decisive and brave. The reader’s respect and attention is gained as they question who they would resemble in this situation. However, “towards the bullets” (Doyle) suddenly feels very vulnerable to the readers because they understand the consequence of the crossfire. All of a sudden Doyle stops the narrative and provides the background information about these women. This has already been examined but it is important to consider the genius of the sequencing of Doyle’s storytelling. It is almost as if that in the split second before they “jumped, or leapt, or lunged” that they reflected. The readers begin to understand that these women were definitely rational. They knew that their ordinary but absolutely unique and marvelous lives were about to be sacrificed. They knew. Now the readers know. The anticipation and desperation of the situation is beginning to climax. Some readers are almost begging for these women to turn back, others are simply watching with their mouths gaping open in awe. The readers in essence are using Dawn and Mary to debate within themselves at this moment whether they would turn back, whether sacrificing all they have as Dawn and Mary did would be worth it.
It is now that Doyle juxtaposes the vulnerability of Dawn and Mary with both the safety of the other staffers who are locked in a classroom and their ancestors who chose to “[leap] away from danger”. This helps the readers to realize that because Dawn and Mary are free agents that perhaps they can be too. The vulnerability of Dawn and Mary is further expanded upon when “Dawn said, Lock the door after us” and they entered the hallway (Doyle). They are in the shooters path and the reader is covering their eyes so to speak because they know the end. The distinction between these brave women and the other staffers is even clearer. They are biting the bullets while the others cower beneath the tables. He dramatically implies that these women have not only behaved defiantly in comparison to the live breathing people beneath the tables but they are also opposing the “millions of years of bodies that had leapt away from danger” in the past (Doyle). These women are change agents. The imagery is strong and beautiful. They are not a product of either society or biology. They are both a free acting woman who “[snarl] at death and [run] roaring at it to defend children” (Doyle). The readers are silently captivated with the notion. They begin to feel within themselves the desire to do likewise because as Doyle gently reminds us “there is something in us beyond sense and reason”.
Doyle is aware that although his readers want to become heroes but they are afraid. So he acknowledges it in order to validate his readers and to help them slowly accept that even though facing the bullets is tough and comes with a cost, it is better than taking the easy way out. Doyle acknowledges that just as Dawn and Mary wanted to “dive under the table” because “that’s how you live to see another day”, it is normal for the readers to feel this when in demanding situations. He is kind and empathetic towards his readers as he examines the human condition. Yet, he inspires them and while he cheers Dawn and Mary on, he cheers on his readers. And just in case we missed his climax, he repeats it one last time in the final paragraph. By choosing to leave Dawn and Mary at their climax, Doyle promises that the cost is worth it. He knows that the readers will perceive the ending because of their familiarity with the fatalities of school shootings. But Doyle shows that the final fall is not as significant as when they, for the final time, “jumped, or leapt, or lunged”. Their “names” and “what they did” must live on (Doyle). Likewise, the readers begin to realize that it is not the outcome of their lives or heroic actions that matter, but rather it is the journey to heroism. One which the reader feels compelled to embark on. They want to take that “[leap]” (Doyle). In fact the readers, at this point, conclude that they must because that is how they retell the heroism of the two women. That is how they remember “all children are our children” (Doyle). That is how their memory will not be “murdered too” (Doyle). Otherwise, “What good are [they] then?” (Doyle).
Doyle does an absolutely marvelous job at prying open his reader’s eyes to see the beauty and resilience within humankind through Dawn and Mary. This was accomplished through a myriad of rhetorical tools including unifying parallelism, startling juxtaposition, and vibrant imagery. Since Doyle’s writing was so authentic the readers really feel connected with Dawn and Mary as their story comes to life. By the end of it, the readers feel compelled to follow in their footsteps and face their fears because there is something beyond violence and fear. We may not all face actual bullets, but we all will have the choice to the bite the bullets that come and be moral hero’s no matter the outcome.
Works Cited
- Doyle, Brian. “Dawn and Mary.” The Sun. 2013. Web. 26 February 2019.
