Would Terry Fox Have Run Farther With Today’s Sleek
Prosthetic Blades?
Published
on Fri. Sept. 13, 2013 By: Leslie
Scrivener
Terry Fox's prosthetic leg was big,
heavy, and it slowed him down. What if he had a more modern leg, like the ones
made today? Today's prosthetic legs are much lighter and more comfortable.
According to his brother, he would have run farther, while in less pain. He
might have even been able to complete his whole journey! Real legs have bend
and shock absorption, while Terry's leg didn't, and he had to use up to 70%
more energy to move it, which made it even harder for him. The old legs hurt
the owner's stump, while the new ones are soft and cushioned, but above all
what really got Terry that far was his determination. It is due to this, that
Terry truly inspires many people.
I have decided to analyze the
article using the media triangle. For “Media Text”, the values that are
promoted are how you should never give up, because even though Terry had an
artificial leg, he still ran a marathon every single day. Another value
promoted was that people shouldn't be embarrassed about being different, like
in this example, having an artificial leg. Terry didn’t try to hide his condition
at all, and ended up helping thousands and being admired by many more. For
“Audience”, it appeals to me because it provides interesting information about
the story of Terry Fox, which is a Canadian legend, and about how he possibly
could have actually completed his “Marathon
of Hope”. Most of all, everyone can relate to the importance of not giving
up, even if the task ahead is very difficult. For “Production”, the article was
made by gathering information from people who knew Terry and could provide
information about him, people who believed that Terry could make it, and
researchers that studied prosthetic legs, who explained how they work. The
article itself was written by Leslie Scrivener, who works for the “Toronto
Star”, and can be found on their website, which is where I found the article.
The reason that I liked the article
was because it was about the legacy of a Canadian hero, Terry Fox, who went through
great pain to raise money and awareness for cancer research. It’s a very
important theme, and the article is about how he could have maybe even finished
his journey, which was an interesting topic for me to read about. I also liked
it because it also covered the topic of how technology has advanced so far that
people today who share the same condition as Terry can live their normal lives
without pain or embarrassment from having a prosthetic leg. That never would
have happened without Terry.
