Susan Orlean immediately grabs reader attention with bold statements that have an intentional comic undercut. She opens the piece with a very deliberate play on words that at first shocks readers until they understand that she’s using “bitch” in the traditional sense of the word – to describe a female dog. She goes on to describe Biff, a “boorish” canine that would have captured her heart had she been a dog. The key thing to note here, however, is that she never explicitly states that Biff is a dog. She anthropomorphizes him and describe his actions in such intense detail that readers can almost forget she is describing a dog and not an actual human being. Once she is done describing his personality, she states that he is, in fact, a boxer.

Her sensationalist writing style makes it clear that every show dog has its own character and quirks, and that they are treated in such a sensational way that it is almost a bit ridiculous. She incorporates sly tones and sarcastic humor to show just how over-the-top and extravagant the entire dog show competition idea is. She goes on to say that, “Pretty soon, Biff won’t have to worry about his diet.” Is this something a boorish boxer is really worrying about – gaining pounds that could jeopardize his chance at a ribbon? It’s clear this is an albeit ridiculous concern voiced by the owner of the dog, but Orlean does a fantastic job of using this dry humor to provide a whimsical and engaging social commentary of a scene she appears to find entertaining if not slightly over-the-top.

Throughout the entire piece, her conversational syntax is entirely accessible – it is not overly wordy, drawn out, or verbose. There is a simplicity to her writing and conversational, easy-going humor that makes it easy for readers to establish a relationship with the text. I think this was my biggest takeaway from the piece. When writing a profile piece, it is important to make readers want to care about something or someone they may not know anything about, nor have any interest in doing so. Orlean takes a very specific community, those of the show dogs, and writes about them in a way that is comic, easygoing, and engaging. More importantly, she uses her tone to create an element that makes readers care and want to keep on reading. Her bold approach and easy humor throughout the entire piece kept me engaged, and really showed the importance of using voice to establish an intimate connection with the reader.