Up, Simba

Upon completing “Up, Simba” I was impressed by the ethos that Wallace builds for himself at the beginning of the article. I think they way he presents himself not only caters to the right audience but also is effective in creating a non-biased representation of the John McCain’s campaign. Since this article was written to be included in an issue of “Rolling Stone” the colloquialisms and phrases he uses properly fits into the foundation of the magazine.

For example, numerous times in his article, Wallace uses curse words like “bullshit” and “shit”. While this fits in with the decorum established by “Rolling Stone”, it wouldn’t be acceptable in a formal newspaper. I think this is why this article is so fascinating. In the foreword at the very beginning of the article, Wallace establishes himself, in a very similar way to Sontag’s “Trip to Hanoi”, as “NOT A POLITICAL JOURNALIST” and has “no partisan motives or conservative agenda behind [his] article”.

Both of these elements help to improve how enjoyable the piece is to read. By having Wallace establish that he is not a qualified political journalist and that he can cater to a younger audience just by the language he writes with, brings a fresh perspective to a topic many citizens consider uninteresting. This hooks the reader at the beginning of the article and slowly transitions to talking more about campaigns and politics.