06.11.09

The girl in the window
By: Lane DeGregory
DeGregory’s account of “the girl in the window” was both painstaking and heart wrenching to read. This feature story details the life of Danielle, or Dani, who was found in Plant City, Florida by authorities, four years ago, living in a feces filled, cockroach infested, urine saturated, decaying apartment. Danielle herself was emaciated, covered in bug bites and rashes, and was wearing a leaking diaper. She was immediately taken from the home where her mother and two older brothers resided, and rushed to the hospital where she remained for six weeks to regain her strength. Unfortunately, Danielle was unresponsive to most stimuli and unable to speak, eat, or even use the restroom.
After a lengthy stay in the hospital, it was time for Danielle to find a more permanent residence. Bernie and Diane Lierow would be just the saviors Danielle needed. They knew that Danielle, or Dani as they called her, would not be easy. However, they rose to the challenge and became her adoptive parents. Although not jailed, her biological mother believes that she has done nothing wrong, and that she is the victim.
Because of her new life, Dani is now developing. She is able to look at people, allows others to hold her, can chew food, and is even able to swim and horseback ride. Her future will be a challenge, but one that is manageable because of the support and endless love that she will obtain from the people who love her most, her family.
I believe this story won the Pulitzer Prize for numerous reasons. Two of those reasons are discussed below. First, DeGregory’s story won because of its originality. Personally, I have not been touched by an article quite like this one before. It is honest and that honesty is able to convey many emotions within the reader; feelings of anger, hate, sympathy, and love emerge and stay with the reader. I also believe DeGregory won the prestigious award because of her quality of writing. Through her word choice and wide range of vocabulary she was able to create an atmosphere where the reader feels as if they are in Dani’s presence, feeling what she is feeling, experiencing what she is experiencing.
There is nothing about this story that I disliked. Few writings can keep me intrigued for the entire article. Usually, I end up zoning off half way through. This article was different. I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next. Although some of the horrid descriptions were hard to bear, they were necessary to encapsulate the essence of the story, which is another reason I liked it so much. It was honest, brutally honest, but it told the truth, one that needed to be heard.
From this story, I can see how important it is to be a fluid, well-spoken, articulated, individual in order to convey these types of ideas and stories. One must have a diverse vocabulary along with investigative skills and a drive to write these eye-opening accounts. Also, one needs to hold an objective opinion in writing. DeGregory does an astounding job at this when she interviews the abusive mother and remains neutral in her retelling of the meeting. DeGregory also used first-hand interviews to obtain her evidence, which lends the story credibility.
In all, 27 sources where used along with 57 quotes to tell the dramatic story of Dani. These sources came from those directly involved in Dani’s life, from the policemen who found her, to the doctors who saved her, to the people who became her saviors. Lane Degregory simply acted as the seamstress who threaded all the pieces together to create the finished article, an article that will seldom be forgotten.
DeGregory, Lane. “The girl in the window.” St. Petersburg Times 3 Aug. 2008, E1+. http://www.pulitzer.org/works/2009-Feature-Writing