TOW #17 - "Running Away with the Circus"

In “Running Away With the Circus”, Taffy Brodesser uses anaphora, and symbolism in order to share with the readers the lives of circus performers and the dying legacy of circuses. The author starts the article by introducing the different people involved with the Ringling Brothers Circus, a well-known circus that’s been around since 1884. He incorporates anaphora by beginning all the sentences in the first paragraph with “you could see (a person’s name)” and descriptions of them, such as their jobs or titles, then finish the sentence with what they do. For example, “You could see Edward Billings, the King of the High Stilts, as he confounded audience members with his height and balance” (1). With his use of anaphora, he is able to introduce his entire article with a satisfying rhythm and an interesting way of introducing the “characters”. Also in the beginning, the author tells the story of the first time people witnessed the light bulbs Thomas Edison had invented, and how amazed they were by the miraculous inventions. The light bulb, which became the symbol for the circus throughout the article, was the fresh and original idea that people were newly shocked by back then, but is now something that no one pays any attention to anymore, which is similar to the idea of circus. The author, when talking about the reasons behind the decline of popularity in circuses, states, “maybe they don’t have their new light bulb yet, but they already have a lot to work with” (20).  This shows that although they haven’t found the one thing or idea that today’s people will be amazed over yet, they are still working on developing new and improved ideas to please their audiences. With his use of anaphora and symbolism, Brodesser is able to successfully share the stories of circus performers and their dying legacies.