Profile Assignment

Write out the lead.
ROME, April 19 - The man who has become Pope Benedict XVI was a product of wartime Germany, but also of a deeply Roman Catholic region, Bavaria.

As the Nazis strengthened their stranglehold on Germany in the 1930's, the strongly Catholic family of Joseph Ratzinger moved frequently among villages in rural Bavaria.

"Unemployment was rife," he wrote in his memoir, "Milestones." "War reparations weighed heavily on the German economy. Battles among the political parties set people against one another." His father, he wrote, was a determined anti-Nazi.

The Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Ratzinger recalled, was his bulwark against the Nazi regime, "a citadel of truth and righteousness against the realm of atheism and deceit."

But he could not avoid the realities of the day. In an episode certain to be scrutinized anew, Joseph Ratzinger was briefly and unenthusiastically a member of the Hitler Youth in his early teens, after membership became mandatory in 1941, according to a biography by John L. Allen Jr., who covers the Vatican for The National Catholic Reporter.

In 1943, he and fellow seminarians were drafted. He deserted in 1945 and returned home, but was captured by American soldiers and held as a prisoner of war for several months, Mr. Allen wrote.

Analyze the lead: Is it one paragraph, or multi-paragraph? Does it fit any of the categories we discussed in class? If so, which one? If not, how would you describe it.
This multi-paragraphed lead most closely ressembles the "Knocking down the straw man" lead. The author here paints a picture of the new pope based of his background, allowing the reader to draw there own conclusions about what type man he is and pope he'll be, then goes it goes into the the facts surrounding this.

What is the main point of the story? Does that main point appear in a “nut� or summary paragraph?
I think that it is pretty evident what the main point of this article is about, even within the first paragraph.

Which paragraph comes closest to being a nut graph? Write it out.
Along his way to the papacy, he built a distinguished academic career as a theologian, and then spent nearly a quarter century as Pope John Paul II's theological visionary - and enforcer of strict positions on doctrine, morality and the primacy of the faith.

Which of the following techniques does the writer make good use of: scenes, dialogue, foreshadowing, and anecdotes. Describe how one of those techniques is used.
The author of this article made, I think, great use of scenery to write this profile. The desciptive usage of the Nazi backdrop and WWII landscape help the reader achieve a sense of origin and direction.

How well does the reporter convey a physical sense of the person profiled? What details are included?
The reporter leads with a quote that begins the description of the Pope: from childlike qualites to calm demeanor, fearsome reputation to dry sense of humor. “He is a diminutive man with deep-set eyes and white hair, and speaks Italian - the language of the Vatican - with a strong German accent. Unlike John Paul, he had little time for sports or strenuous activity, other than walks in the mountains.”