Metaphors of Terror article summary

Metaphors of terror

In this article which was made 5 days after the devastating events which took place in September 11, it talks about the perspective of a man who witnessed the tragic event and how it affected him mentally. The article is, in a sense, autobiographical. He claims that the event didn’t just affect his mindset, or the mindset of all of New York, but it affected the minds of every citizen of America. He said that he saw the Manhattan skyline, which the twin towers once resided on, as a symbol of the end of oppression. He saw it as a sign of peace, freedom and protection. He also states that the skyline had meant a lot to him, because reminded him of his mom, because it was built around the time she came to America. The author then uses the human body as metaphor for the twin towers. How when the two airplanes crashed onto the towers it was like a bullet going through a living human head. Ending his passage by telling the reader that his view of his country is destroyed after the twin towers were attacked, and that he must change his mindset about the world and the country.The next page then goes into extreme detail to describe the metaphors and the symbolism of 9/11.

He describes and analyses the event in a very horrifying way. That’s what makes the text so effective it’s symbolism. He see’s the ashy remains of the two buildings which he describes as a metaphor for hell. He then gives the reader the image of the plane hitting (penetrating) the center of the pentagon, which in a bird's eye view can be seen as a sexual assault. He also describes the twin towers as people and when the planes hit them, they were being shot to death. And when they crumbled to the ground the bodies were falling. When the author speaks it sounds like it hurts him mainly because when he looked at the Manhattan skyline, which the twin towers once stood on, he thought of his mom. He also saw it as an american symbol, showing that people were safe from oppression and violence.So when the twin towers fell it was almost as if he saw the image of a free America, and his mother's struggles fell too. The whole concept of the September 11 attacks can be an example of pathos, The use of symbolism, and his perspective of the event can be an example of Ethos. The long page of symbolism at the last page can be an example of logos.