Closed Reading: "Casey Anthony Pleads the Fifth in Video Deposition from Undisclosed Location"

Casey Anthony Pleads the Fifth in Video Deposition from Undisclosed Location

http://abcnews.go.com/US/casey-anthony-plead-video-deposition-undisclosed-location/story?id=14690394&page=2

Casey Anthony's case has been quite a controversy, especially in the past few months, and this article addresses certain parts of her case. In her statement, Casey Anthony had said that a woman named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez was the nanny when her daughter Caylee had disappeared, but this was seen to be false. Now, Casey Anthony is pleading the fifth against Fernandez-Gonzalez, and the writer uses diction, syntax, and details to provoke readers' opinions on Casey Anthony.

The diction of this article is extremely strong and thought provoking. The use of the word "Invoked" is used in place of the word "pleaded" when talking about the fifth amendment at one point to make readers think that Anthony is refusing to plead guilty to the case. If the word "pleaded" had been used, like it is used in many scenarios, it would have made readers believe that Anthony is more vulnerable, less guilty, and less crazy than if the word "invoked" is used. Also, in the ninth paragraph, the writer uses the word "compel" to provoke opinions about Casey Anthony. The use of this word is stronger than other words possibly used in this context, such as 'force'. The use of the word 'compel' makes readers feel like Morgan's questioning is powerful, and Anthony will not be able to answer the questions without self-incrimination, thus making readers' believe that Casey Anthony is guilty.

The use of syntax in this article is also very important in provoking opinions. The majority of the sentences in this article are all mid-length, lacking in variation of length. In some cases, the lack of variation could cause blandness, but in this article, it causes the tone of the article to become more formal and serious. Entire paragraphs are written in these somewhat bland lengths, but it creates the effect of an urgently serious issue that must be resolved, which causes readers to believe that this case truly is urgent; that Anthony's hearing is headline-worthy and time-worthy. If the sentence length had a variation, the article might have been a bit more interesting, but a lot less serious, losing the effect to make readers feel extremely opinionated on the case of Casey Anthony.

The details that the writer uses also creates opinions about Casey Anthony's trial. The most obvious detail used is "pleads the fifth". Pleading the fifth is invoking a Constitutional right, and by bringing the Constitution into the entire article shows the severity of the case. Also, the writer brings up Anthony's previous trial over the summer, the one that found her not guilty of murdering her daughter Caylee. The detail of mentioning of the emotional trial that had many people outraged in July provokes opinions about Casey Anthony, as most believed that she was in fact guilty of murder. With this thought provoked, it is more likely that people will also believe her to be guilty of falsely accusing Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, and therefore is guilty of causing the disturbances to Fernandez-Gonzalez's family's life. The writer uses this detail to specifically lead readers' opinions to believe that Casey was in fact guilty.

Through the use of diction, syntax, and details, the writer, Christina Ng, provokes opinions about Casey Anthony's latest trial, as well as opinions on whether or not she is truly guilty.