After reading Updike’s essay on the horrendous events of
9/11, I was left with sorrow I have not felt since the first time learning
about these events. To hear him describe what it was like to be up close and
personal when the planes hit and the towers fell was so real that I couldn’t fathom
being there with them. Only the people at the scene know the true catastrophe
that occurred. It is one thing to watch those events unfold on television, but
one gets a completely different view when at the scene. Updike used such vivid
phrases and words to paint an everlasting picture in my mind. The line that
caught my attention the most was when Updike described the sights of the World
Trade Centers, “It seemed, at that first glance, more curious than horrendous:
smoke speckled with bits of paper curled into the cloudless sky, and strange
inky rivulets ran down the giant structure’s vertically corrugated surface.”
This line is riddled with descriptive words that only add to the jaw-dropping
experience. I liked that Updike talked about how Americans have to pick up the
pieces and move on from this tragedy. This was a positive note to end on, and it
left me with a new sense of hope for our country.
When I finished reading Sontag’s essay I did not have the
same feeling of sorrow and hope that I did after reading Updike’s. Sontag rattled
about, “The public is not being asked to bear much of the burden of reality.”
To me, this was not fair to families who lost loved ones on that tragic day. It
would not be right to say that they did not take enough burden by only losing a
member of their family. This declaration, paired with the statement that our
democracy and public office say they can manipulate us, put a double bash on a
country that already has its plate full. I think that America knows our government
is not flawless, but now is not the time to try and perfect it. I hope no one
who lost a loved one in these terrible events has to read this essay and feel
even worse about how little they can do for our country. Even though I did not
agree with the message Sontag was trying to send, I did admire her writing
style. She fills sentences with rich word choice that add to the anger
portrayed in this essay.
Ali, I also felt sorrow when reading this. It was hard to imagine being so close to this horrific event when it happened! It totally would have been different to be there instead of just seeing it on the television.I feel like it would have caused a much stronger emotion and traumatized the onlookers more afterward. I wonder if that is why Updike and Sontage wrote about it. Maybe it was a relief to them to explain their emotions.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Sontag's essay was a lot less depressing. Sontag's essay seemed more of an opinion than a story of what happened.
Hey Ali! Updike's essay was a tough read and hit me hard too. It sounds like it really affected you though! It's rough: on the bright side, your writing is beautiful. I really admire your style, especially when you said that "Updike used such vivid phrases and words to paint an everlasting picture in my mind." It's true: he did that to everyone reading his writing. His vivid words capture your attention instantly. You seemed angry about Sontag's paper: me too! Her traitor style qualities did not sit well with me, though her writing style is admirable as well. (Just like you said!) I find that reading pieces with emotion, though, are more powerful, and Sontag had emotion, yes. Yet her emotion of anger and almost annoyance didn't overwhelm the depressing and heart-wrenching feel of Updike’s. His was much more powerful and more enjoyable (in a sad sense) in the end, and from the looks of it, it seems you feel the same!
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