The first story I listened to was about a father and a wolf. The story followed a man who did not have the best relationship with his father because of his father’s PTSD after WWII. The father did not spend too much time with his children because PTSD made him afraid to be around people, so he spent his time hanging out with his pet wolf. The story talked about how he eventually had to give the wolf away, but that he went to the zoo to visit him. The wolf recognized him right away and played with him just like old times, but the story ended sadly because the zookeeper hit the wolf in order to get him away from the father.
The story started and ended with some light guitar, and I felt like it contributed to the slightly somber tone of the story. I feel like the music at the end went a little long, but that is just a trivial matter. There was a slight introduction once the music started to play that was necessary for context. I thought the sound quality was excellent because I was able to hear the speaker getting slightly emotional in his voice as he told the story, which provoked my emotions as the listener.
https://storycorps.org/stories/the-wolf-was-his-best-friend-remembering-henry-kendall/
The second story I listened to was called about William Lynn Weaver who was a black student that participated in the integration of an all-white school and football team. He recounted multiple experiences during his high school football career of blatant racism towards him and his brother. He also discusses how his father made him feel safe unlike his teammates at the time.
I thought this was an excellently made audio clip as well because it included multiple elements that worked all together. For starters, there was a slight introduction for context but got right into William’s experiences. I also thought that the sound quality and pace of the speaker was incredible because the way he spoke was so powerful. Finally, I loved the ending because William says his final, lasting words, which are then followed by a strong piano soundtrack. I felt like the music came in at the perfect time, which perfected the story’s influential message.