Category

Oral - Textual or Investigative

Description

This study attempts to answer the question, “How does the symbolic interpretation of innocence in Little Billy's letters influence the responses from famous individuals?” Over a period of several years, a little boy named Billy Geerhart wrote fan letters to a range of notable individuals: Richard Nixon, Mr. Rogers, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Graham, Johnny Cash, Charles Manson, and thousands more (Harness, 2010). He captured their attention through humorous, innocent, and whimsical letters. To his surprise, almost all of these celebrities responded to him in personalized letters. On a superficial level, this might seem like an obsessed kid reaching out to his idols. However, Billy is not a real child but rather a fictional persona created by William Geerhart, a 30-year-old man posing as the 10-year-old version of himself. William Geerhart assumed these famous individuals were more likely to respond to an innocent little boy, and he was right. This study used Little Billy’s letters as the artifact and analyzed the patterns and themes found in his rhetorical language. It also applied a leading communication theory: Symbolic Interactionism. Possible implications and contributions were uncovered. This research contributes to the understanding of how individuals interact with childlike language and how they trust those with perceived innocence. The goal of this study is to show the symbolic interpretation of innocence in Little Billy's letters. Also, this analysis adds depth to the discipline by comparing the findings to a theoretical framework. Ultimately, this research advances the idea that humans are more willing to communicate with the innocent, and people adopt the symbol of innocence to persuade others.

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Apr 17th, 10:00 AM

Deceptive Innocence: Exploring the Symbolic Interpretation of Purity in Little Billy's Letters

Oral - Textual or Investigative

This study attempts to answer the question, “How does the symbolic interpretation of innocence in Little Billy's letters influence the responses from famous individuals?” Over a period of several years, a little boy named Billy Geerhart wrote fan letters to a range of notable individuals: Richard Nixon, Mr. Rogers, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Graham, Johnny Cash, Charles Manson, and thousands more (Harness, 2010). He captured their attention through humorous, innocent, and whimsical letters. To his surprise, almost all of these celebrities responded to him in personalized letters. On a superficial level, this might seem like an obsessed kid reaching out to his idols. However, Billy is not a real child but rather a fictional persona created by William Geerhart, a 30-year-old man posing as the 10-year-old version of himself. William Geerhart assumed these famous individuals were more likely to respond to an innocent little boy, and he was right. This study used Little Billy’s letters as the artifact and analyzed the patterns and themes found in his rhetorical language. It also applied a leading communication theory: Symbolic Interactionism. Possible implications and contributions were uncovered. This research contributes to the understanding of how individuals interact with childlike language and how they trust those with perceived innocence. The goal of this study is to show the symbolic interpretation of innocence in Little Billy's letters. Also, this analysis adds depth to the discipline by comparing the findings to a theoretical framework. Ultimately, this research advances the idea that humans are more willing to communicate with the innocent, and people adopt the symbol of innocence to persuade others.

 

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