Final answer:
The narrator's use of 'massacre' to describe an autopsy suggests a brutally violent treatment akin to savage killing, highlighting the horror of the act. Such dramatic language aims to provoke a strong emotional reaction from the audience and often criticize the inhumanity of the events depicted, whether in fiction or historical accounts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The use of the term massacre to describe an autopsy suggests a violent and devastating approach to the task, likening it to an act of savage killing rather than a clinical procedure. In literature, narrators may use such language to convey a sense of horror and brutality.
The violence and the response to it, as depicted in various texts, can represent the shock and the condemnation of the act, such as in the September Massacres or the Boston Massacre, where the use of the term suggests excessive violence and intentional killing. The vivid descriptions in these texts aim to invoke a strong emotional response from the readers and highlight the casualties and the merciless actions that occurred.
Descriptions like William Shepherd's emphasize the tragedy of the event he's reporting on—the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—and serve to garner public sympathy and outrage, which could lead to social and political changes. Similarly, in historical references like the Colfax Massacre, the choice of words can underline the racial tensions and the gruesome reality of the conflict while underscoring the disproportionate impact on Black individuals.