#14 Across the great divide

   
     The title, as part of the paratext, has the function of catching reader’s attention and interest by giving them a general idea of the text. "Across the great divide" is the title given to an article by Charles Wallace published in Time magazine which main topic refers to the Berlin wall and the division that still exists between East Germany and West Germany.

     In spite of the fact that this wall was demolished in 1986, ten years after this event the capital of Germany is still divided. It is no longer a matter of a physical wall which separated them some time ago, it has to do with an imaginary barrier made of their personalities, attitudes and ways of living which differentiate them according to the side of the city where they have lived. At the beginning of the reunification, it was believe that once the wall was destroyed Berlin would became a unified city were western and eastern citizens would live together, however, economic, social and political differences emerged and made a deep gulp between them.  Even though Berlin is, nowadays, a unified city again, the two distinct worlds that existed on either side of the wall do not considers themselves as part of the same German society.

Taking into consideration the macrostructure of the whole article, we can state that it is made up of thirteen paragraphs which its own concepts:

• Paragraph 1 and 2: Berliners’ personal experience.
• Paragraph 3: A symbolic barrier replaced the physical wall.
• Paragraph 4 to 5: ideological and political division
• Paragraph 6: sociocultural analysis.
• Paragraph 7:  disappointment over social security and living conditions.
• Paragraph 8: current women working situation.
• Paragraph 9: life changed radically.
• Paragraph 10: Social and economic differences.
• Paragraph 11: Ostalgia: nostalgia for the old way of life.
• Paragraph 12: High cost of reunification.
• Paragraph 13: expectations about the future.