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Columbine Analysis

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The Truth About Columbine Dave Cullen’s purpose in writing Columbine is to expose the truth about the killers. Dave Cullen exposes Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris the Columbine shooters; everything from their extensive planning, their motives, and the harrowing results of the massacre are revealed throughout Columbine.
The writing technique used throughout Columbine exemplify the different treatment of the killers. Eric being a psychopath that felt no remorse, and Dylan being humanized as a person who is lost in his own sadness. Cullen treats the boys differently by using techniques such as plot order; using a rearranged common plot order makes Dylan seem like a more relatable person, and more deserving of forgiveness. Cullen uses a reassembled common plot order by starting the book with a scene that happened a week before the shooting. But instead of following the normal path, Cullen then uses background information which includes the feelings of the killers. He then changes to a scene from the past again to further progress to the climax of the book. Cullen uses this technique to create bonds between the reader and the characters; in the process of doing this he makes leeway for Dylan’s “softer side” to be shown. It is important that he does this so that he can fully expose the innermost thoughts of the killers. Throughout the book there are many accounts of the journals written by each of the boys. However, Dylan’s writings are where people tried to find truth. The

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