Danika Miller

             For centuries, humans have sought a transcendent escape. They have sought it in religion, they have quested for it in nature, and they have imagined it in our literature. What are they seeking? Magic.

 

             One man, with a Mouse and a dream, mastered this magic. He used it to create a place all could enjoy. Disneyland. I take this time, my dear seekers, to tell you about this magical place. 

 

             The Magician himself, Walt Disney, believed that if one can dream it, one can do it. And so he dreamt it and he did it. And it was good. He dreamt of rivers, waterfalls, and mountains in the same space as flying elephants and giant teacups, a fairy-tale castle and moon rockets. He forged those dreams into a reality. And then he opened those gates for all to enjoy. Whether age six or sixty, all would be filled with child like wonder upon entering.

 
              People of this Earth often doubt such big dreams. The Magician once said, "I could never convince the financiers that Disneyland was feasible, because dreams offer too little collateral." But he was not a greedy sage, therefore his magic was the purest. Naysayers claimed such a place would not appeal to adults.
 

               And yet he made believers of us all. 

               No shortcuts were taken and Walt went to lengths to create his land. The Magician conjured real human skeletons for use in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, he had an apartment above the Main Street Firehouse to be closer to his magic, and he transformed actresses into mermaids who spent hours in the lagoons.
 

               Walt Disney made sketches move in the very first full length animated film, he brought machines to life and called them animatronics and the Disneyland Monorail was the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere. His imagination became our reality.
 

               He teleported guests from a deep African Jungle to the hopping streets of New Orleans. Disneyland allows teleportation from the Great American Frontier to the future in Tomorrowland to the animated Toon Town. Walt created magic that allows guests to travel through land, time and dimension.

              Though the great Magician has performed his last greatest act, a disappearance from our world, his legacy is stronger than ever. Six decades later and his magic still pours into the souls of countless peasants.
 

               Patrons often cry complaints about the high expense that allows access and enjoyment of the Magic Kingdom. Yet does Magic really have a price? Is it not worth any number of meager human currency to just get a taste of such magic? One kind of treasure for an even rarer form.

 

               Disneyland, a place where all the stories of our childhood come alive.

 

   Disneyland, where dreams come true. 

 

   Disneyland, where magic is real. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               High Style is one for elevation. It is meant to uplift content matter to an immortal status. Often used in oration, High Style employs techniques that work well for audiences who will be hearing a piece. Repetition and parallelism work well in this piece to emphasize ideas and create rhythmic cohesion. I aimed to move the audience, to compel them to action. It encompasses playing on memories and emotions and pulling at the soul of a person. Sentences are complex and varied and the language is what drives this piece, more so than it’s content.

 

               In sticking with my theme of Disneyland, my High Style piece was all about glorifying that place and the magic it creates. This piece went further into a elevation of Walt Disney, the man who created all this magic.

 

               I start with the problem that humans have had for centuries, a magic that has not been harnessed and then gave the credit of that to Walt Disney. I go on to recount how he created a place to share that magic and turn his ideas and inventions in magical acts and performances. This establishes a footing with the audience, one where they understand that I'll be talking about something that isn't easily accessible to this Earth and that the subject matter is meant to be a gift to humanity. I empoy an emotional pathos to urge the audience to appreaciate the magic that has been captured into Disneyland. 
 

               I've been using tropes for so long in my writing that I didn't even know some of them were tropes! Because I took a more serious tone with my High Style piece, there were a few tropes that wouldn't work without poking fun at my subject. I used a bit of hyperbole and anaphora, to really nail in that emotional importance and inspirational phrases.

 

              I struggled to provide facts and details without breaking High Style. I also fear some elements simply sound silly, though that could be considered effective. I capitalized on terms related to magic and magicians such as “conjured”, “teleported”, and “sage.” These terms came out more in revision as well as more examples of the magic he created. I included more details about Disneyland and the magical things that occur due to Walt. 

              I use rhetorical questions to call the audience out and point to truths about the pricelessness of magic. I end the piece with a rhythmic repetition and parralelism of the magical place that is Disneyland. I believe this piece would ring effective if orated.