Tow #2- Is There a Santa Claus?

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

In the late 1890's, an editor and publisher, Francis Pharcellus Church, wrote an editorial piece for a politically conservative, very well respected, New York newspaper called The Sun. This piece, Is There a Santa Claus?, soon became his most famous editorial as he addressed the simple question of the existence of Santa Cause with a deeper, more philosophical answer. Church starts the editorial with a representation of a letter that a young girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote him explaining that she is eight years old, her friends said that Santa Clause does not exist and that her father told her "'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.'" O'Hanlon writes to The Sun with one simple purpose, to find that truth. Starting this editorial with that letter does a number of effective things for Church. It first gives the reader something to relate to as most people can imagine a childhood filled with "Santas", "Easter Bunnies" and "Tooth Fairies". A time filled with imagination and faith, but also filled with evident splashes of doubt. It is easy to remember being a child, believing in something you have never really seen and having people around you tell you it is false. This letter also establishes a certain sense of ethos. The fact that this girl's father told her that if it is in the Sun it must be true shows how much faith and respect people had in this newspaper at the time. Church's purpose in responding to that letter with his editorial is to answer whether Santa Claus exists, but more accurately, explain that anything we believe in does exist as long as we have faith in it. He wants O'Hanlon and anyone else reading the editorial to understand that just because you don't see something does not mean it isn't there. Church very effectively achieves his purpose in many ways. He starts his response by blatantly saying that O'Hanlon's friends are wrong. He uses a metaphor toward the beginning comparing humanity to insects, so small and clueless to the boundless world around it. By doing this, he helps the reader really put things into perspective, to understand that human beings tend to rely on logic and the apparent facts too often. This gives O'Halon and anyone else reading the piece hope that maybe there truly are things that exists beyond the realm of reason. Church also tries to explain that a world without belief in things like Santa Claus is not a world worth having, it is a world filled with dreary facts and a strong lack of emotion. This encourages the reader to believe and continue to hold fast to what others may doubt. Church even uses an analogy to draw parallels between the existence of fairies and Santa Clause. He explains that though you may never see fairies, "that doesn't mean that they are not there". Once again he desperately aims to help the reader understand that no one has the ability to imagine all of the wonders the world holds. In Church's opinion, the world is absolutely nothing without belief in the things beyond our ability to see. Through human faith, love, generosity and imagination, anything exists in reality that one desires.