Obit Example (Sir Malcolm Arnold)

Sir Malcolm Arnold, one of the best-known British composers of the 20th century, who wrote nine symphonies, composed 132 film scores and won an Oscar for the soundtrack to “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” died Saturday in Norwich, England. He was 84 and lived in Attleborough, near Norwich.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/arts/music/25arnold.html?ref=obituaries

1. I thought that this obit was constructed very well. It started out with a list of his work and the impressive amount that he was able to put out. I thought this was a good way to outline the significance of the Arnold.

2. From there, the article opened up and became more than just a list of accomplishments. It, to it's benifit, started talking about the more complex of Arnold. I thought it was good that it briefly mentioned the problems Arnold faced in his personal life without making it seem like his life was overly dramatic.

3. I thought it was good that they gave examples of his problems. The one I like the most was that he shot himself in the foot to get out of Military duty. That story really stuck out for me. Without that unusual refererence, I'm not sure the story - or Arnold, himself, for that matter - would have seem so well rounded.

4. One thing I didn't like all that much was the reference to all of his suicide attempts. I felt that it was important to mention that he was troubled (and the article did just that). However, I didn't think that we needed to know about these suicide attempts to define the life of the composer. It said he was troubled, drank too much and had to be institutionalized, but it could have left it at that.

5. Overall, the article was good and I liked how they made an old British composer seem interesting to any reader. By describing his music, his personal life and his brilliance, I felt that I got a good idea of who this man was. The length of the article was also a big plus. It was long enough to cover multiple insights about Arnold, but, luckily, it didn't drag on too long and lose my focus or attention.