Evaluation of New York Times Stories

The New York Times is a popular option for people to be informed of what is going on in the world. The nice thing about the New York Times is that they separate articles into different categories like Science, Politics, etc. In the Science section there is an interesting article about the Locust plague in Argentina and in the Health section there is one about Oxygen causing lung cancer.

Yanivmatza, "Locust Jumping", 4/8/2014, CC0 Public Domain

Locusts- Science
1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?
The main "characters" or the protagonists of the story are the farmers and fumigators in Argentina who are trying to suppress the large amounts of locusts that are trying to eat away at their crops. They are the center of the story because the locusts are trying to destroy their sources of food and income and in order for the farmers to survive the locusts (the "antagonists") must be eradicated. The Fumigators are the "protagonists" that are fighting the locusts.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
The specific setting of this story is in the farmlands of Argentina where there is a locust problem. Farming is a major source of Argentina's trade and with the destruction of the crops, Argentina will have financial problems along with a lack of food for their people.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
There is a small debate in the article about why the locust population is larger this year than last year. Some people think that it is related to the warming climates but there is no evidence to support this theory. People also blame the previous president and his lack of concern and action concerning protecting this year's crops.


Oxygen- Health
1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?
This story does not have any "main characters" or "protagonists" because the article is about everyone and lung cancer. So I guess there are antagonists: Lung cancer and Oxygen. The important characters are the two graduate students that submitted the paper on how oxygen causes lung cancer because people in higher altitude don't get cancer as much as lower altitude people.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.
There is no specific setting that the story takes place other than PeerJ, the place where the paper was published. The broad settings could be high ground and low ground where the amount of oxygen is different.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?
The debate featured in the article is the one whether or not oxygen causes lung cancer. The two graduate students believe that oxygen is a cause of lung cancer. The opposition, including the article's author, believes that it is just a coincidence like how the amount of letters in the winning spelling bee word is the same as the amount of deaths by spiders every year.