Raising the Dead

1. What captivates you about the story? How does he paint a picture for the reader? Cite the passages that are most compelling for you.

Noah Shachtman storified his article. He vividly presented the situation enabling his readers to envision the environment in that place. The story gives a historical background, which provided the readers a greater grasp of the story.

"As Riddle kicked through the leaves and brush, his foot caught on something solid. It was a green burlap sack, the kind carnies use for carrying big-top tents, tied with a tan cord. Inside was a woman's body. She was naked except for a shred of cloth diaper draped over her shoulder. Her eyes had rotted away. She had three broken fingernails - part of a futile attempt, apparently, to claw out of her shroud."

"The Tent Girl could have been like so many of the 5,400 John and Jane Does taking up space in morgue freezers and potter's fields around the US--nameless forever. Attaching identities to those bodies from the pool of 100,000 known missing persons would be an overwhelming task, even if it were a priority for every cop in every city and town. Without families, without live leads, the Does often end up in the arctic interiors of the cold case files."

"A few feet into the reeds, a golden retriever's bloated corpse lies on its side, flies picking at its liquefying eyes and genitals. To the right, among trash bags and soda cups, sits a pile of brown and white deer fur, loosely attached to leathery skin. And everywhere there are mandibles and animal hips, femurs and skulls, hair clumps and bone chips. A roadkill graveyard."

2. Who is the target audience for this publication? How does the story relate to them? Does the story appeal to other demographic groups as well, and if so, why?

The target audience of Wired are technology enthusiasts but this story does not only attracts techies. It also attracts those who might be in need of a device to search for missing persons. The article is informative on what to do.

3. What "rules" did the writer break?

I don't know any rules.

4. How does the writer end the story? Why is it effective?

Noel Shachtman ended the story by bringing back the personal aspect of Matthew's attachment to the Tent Girl. He reminds the readers how Matthew is still affected by the lost of his siblings. It is effective because it touches the hearts of its readers. Also he wrote about Matthew's siblings through their graves providing more link between the Tent Girl and Matthew.