Tom Junod is an American journalist who has won two National Magazine Awards. This document discusses two of Junod's notable articles. The first is a 2012 Esquire article where he writes a letter to President Obama in the second person discussing Obama's use of drone strikes. The second article is a 1995 GQ article where Junod explores the complex issues surrounding an individual, Mitch Gaff, who raped two sisters in 1984. The document analyzes Junod's style of writing which includes repetition, reframing issues from different perspectives, and raising philosophical questions about human nature.

1. Tom Junod
Writing in fear and desperation

2. Tom Junod (1958-)
• American journalist
• Won two National Magazine Awards
• Has worked for GQ and now Esquire since
1997

3. The Lethal Presidency
of Barack Obama

4. • Esquire August 2012
• Discusses Obama’s use of Predator drones
• Focuses on the death of two Americans
• Written in 2nd Person (or in form of letter to President)
- “You are...” - reframes to put reader his position.
“You are a good man.You are an honorable man.
You are both president of the United States and
the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.You are both
the most powerful man in the world and an
unimpeachably upstanding citizen.
You were proud that you were able to kill Anwar
al-Awlaki.”

5. • Narrative from Obama - Killing is hard,
• Junod raises a counterstory:
“That killing individuals identified as our enemies
isn't hard at all.
That it's the easiest thing humans — particularly
humans in power — can do.”

6. The Rapist Says He’s Sorry
• Published GQ, 1995
• Story of Mitch Gaff who raped two sisters,
14 and 16 in their home in 1984
• Often dark story, explores the grey areas of
human heart
• Junod says this piece changed his writing
and life.
http://gangrey.com/?p=1151

7. Structure
• Junod included a reflective afterward, which
describes his changing practice with this piece.
• Introduces first, the man, through his voice, then
slowly builds up the image - alternating
descriptive sections with anecdotes
“The first thing that strikes you about Mitch Gaff is his
voice. It is a voice Mitch Gaff has put together—has
devised and constructed—with great care, great
courage, great effort, and at the cost of great pain”

8. • After two 20,000 word versions, he came up with the “This
is a story of...” version which frames the moral questions.
• Junod with editor David Granger - collaborative
relationship: “If a story is about murder, you have to show
the murder... if a story is about rape you have to show the
rape”
• Showed the rape from 3 perspectives
1. responsible “journalistic” point of view - voiceover
2. Mitch Gaff’s point of view
3. Victims point of view
“This is a story about how hard it is to be good—or,
rather, how hard it is to be good once you’ve been bad;”

9. Style
• Junod uses repetition heavily in his writing. The reader gets
a sense of immediacy. He is writing on the spot, about
complex issues, that have to be described, and re-described.
Framed, the re-framed.
• Really clever wordplay - amazing to read.
“Mitch Gaff is or has been a human being who hurts other
human beings for sexual pleasure: not out of need, but out of
want - because he likes it. It’s the wanting that scares us the
most, of course, because of what we know about our own
wanting—that it rises from someplace deep within us, that it
is immune to intention and that it doesn’t just go away.
We want Mitch to go away.”

10. The Author’s Voice
• Does not so much proclaim, but raises questions
• Paints one picture of Mitch, then destroys it with a graphic
retelling from a counter perspective
• Well researched, spent time with offender, victims, their
families and authorities
• We are left with observations of human nature through the
author’s perspective (adopts ‘you’ again) - Mitch is crying
Your instinct is to reach out to him, to give him a hug, to offer
him the comfort of a human hand on his shoulder… but you
don’t. You don’t because of who he is, and what he’s done.
He has to cry? Let him cry.

11. Author’s Reflection
• Used to write complete first drafts, and
submit as-is - this story changed that (3
drafts)
I still try to write perfect first drafts; but in general
“perfection” usually means drafts rendered lifeless by the
presumption of perfection, and the constrictions of structure.
So I wind up writing fast, in fear and desperation and
mounting self-loathing, until the death of the story allows it to
live in a form different than the form I imagined and tried to
impose.

12. Discussion (if time)
• Observations of the human condition.
Junod had objective and subjective views of
Mitch Gaff - he could portray both sides,
and the story is better for it
• Imagine you are Junod - Interview as
performance, what did Junod have to go
through to gain his trust, what beliefs did he
have to temporarily adopt?
• I guess - how does one write ‘the truth’ of
such morally grey subject?