The lead I found amazing is from the Pulitzer website that talked about a girl who has been abused in the most rundown, putrid home that has ever been found. The lead was amazing because it used emotions to captivate the reader to continue reading each and every paragraph to find out what would happen next. The feature has a group of police storming into the house and they find maggots and cockroaches everywhere along with feces and other matter. It makes the reader cringe and holds them onto the edge of their seat as they wait to find out what will happen next.
Every paragraph beautifully transitions from one obscene detail to the next. There are not many quotes but has lots of brimming information about the venture through the house to rescue the 7 year old girl. This is an example of the wonderful writing that went into this piece, "She lay on a torn, moldy mattress on the floor. She was curled on her side, long legs tucked into her emaciated chest. Her ribs and collarbone jutted out; one skinny arm was slung over her face; her black hair was matted, crawling with lice. Insect bites, rashes and sores pocked her skin. Though she looked old enough to be in school, she was naked — except for a swollen diaper." (DeGregory) This scene describes the unfortunate girl's situation living at this rat house.
The article uses lots of sensory detail to get the story across to the reader. ""It sounded like you were walking on eggshells. You couldn't take a step without crunching German cockroaches," the detective said. "They were in the lights, in the furniture. Even inside the freezer. The freezer!"" (DeGregory) As disgusting as this is, it appeals to the senses because cockroaches are very nasty creatures that appeal to the basic human senses of people's fears of insects.
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