"Talk of the Town"

Going into this assignment, I really didn't know what to expect. I mean, I wasn't sure what it was going to be about or what I'd get out of it. And let's just say that when I finished reading this, it got me thinking about things I never really thought about before. These essays were on a subject not many people my age remember, including myself. When the twin towers were hit I was a young five-year-old just about to turn six a month later. I don't remember anything about that day--not what I was doing, or wearing. I don't recall where I was when it happened, or whom I was with. Though I don't personally remember the day, I'm well aware of the horrific event that occurred in New York City on September 11th, 2001.

While I was reading what John Updike remembers about the day, it brought me to wonder what it would be like to be able to recall that day in time. The way he tells exactly where he was, what he was doing, and who he was with is almost sickening. If he was asked to describe any normal day that happened several years ago, he might not have been able to go into such detail, but because he was so close to where it happened, and was old enough to process the event, he is able to write about and share things about that day that I will never be able to. I cannot even begin to imagine how he felt when he watched the towers fall. He was simply visiting some family, when everything changed in a split second.When I read this, an awful image was projected onto my brain. I could just picture him and his wife just holding each other as they processed what they had just witnessed. And to know that this man will never be able to shake the haunting memory of that day from his mind is so upsetting, for anyone who can remember the day.

Reading the second part of the essay gave me a different look on the 9/11 attacks. While Updike talked about what he saw and what he did on the day of 9/11, Susan Sontag gives a different delivery of her memory. Sontag called the attacks a "monstrous dose of reality" which she later backs up with her exclamation harsh words that showed her anger towards what happened. The way she wrote about this event make it clear that she didn't know anyone who lost their life due to this event, and in a way it makes me believe that she didn't witness it first hand either. She had no compassion for all the lives affected by this infamous event, like she wasn't even thinking of those who lost someone close to them. The vibe that this essay gave off was the polar opposite of the one Updike provided. The first one made me feel sad, and upset that someone had to have such vivid memories of something who horrible. Whereas Sontag made me a little mad that someone who sound so heartless and show no sympathy for those affected by the attacks on September 11th.