Dramatic Nonfiction - Miles

My question is a bit of a broad one. How does the casual, novel-like approach affect how the reader views the actual event? - Miles

Like I’ve stated before in comments and Chris has said, King crafts this book the same way a lot of authors would craft novels. He has a clear protagonist, in Thurgood Marshall, the everyman character who the reader identifies with as a person with good morals and a great sense of right and wrong. He has a clear antagonist, in Willis McCall, the brutal sheriff who, as King said himself in an interview with the New York Times, “made Bull Connor look like Barney Fife”. He even introduces the scene and characters similar to the way a novelist might. The structure is clearly there. Another question to consider here is whether King purposely writes this way, or if life simply imitates art in this sense. But getting back to the original question, it seems like this style of writing grips me more as a reader. I’m more invested in the story, not just because it’s real, but because it’s written in a way that captivates me like a dramatic novel would. But is the book realistic? Did everything happen the same way in real life? Obviously certain things were exaggerated, as is the case with every non-fiction history book out there, but I’m curious to know how alike these things really were. The chilling racism exhibited by McCall for one, as well as how Marshall really fought for these four boys. To me, the style makes it a more interesting book to read, as King isn’t simply spouting facts at me. - Miles