This was an amazing first hand experience of September 11, 2001. I couldn't believe the courage it took the author to write this only one day after the horrific attacks. I liked how the author went through a timeline of what happened when he was trying to get out of Tower 1; this gave the reader a sense of what he went through that day. This story was remarkably different from the other two stories we just read, though it is a tragic story, it became positive towards the end and made the reader feel proud to be an American.
The story of Harry Ramos was one of the most inspiring stories that occurred that day. Harry Ramos was just an everyday person who became a hero in his time of need. I hope, if I'm ever put in a situation like the one Mr. Ramos was put in, that I would act the same way he did. Mr. Ramos is a true hero because he gave his life even though he didn't know he was going to not make it out of the North Tower alive; he refused to leave someone behind. He was among many people who gave their lives that day by trying to help others.
Like in the second story, the author felt a sense of responsibility for what happened to his friend and the firemen who tried to go up and save him. He realized that the firemen would have gone up regardless, so this relieved him of any responsibility for their fates. I felt like the author nailed the spot in the last paragraph by saying that the attacks only made America stronger by uniting us all to help each other and that the terrorist failed in terrorizing us. The ending was extremely strong, especially the last sentence, "The very moment the first plane was hijacked, democracy won." because the author was saying as soon as the terrorist decided to go through with the attacks, Americans started helping Americans as seen with the passengers who fought back and took control of a hijacked plane that later crashed into the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
No comments:
Post a Comment