After my long day of boating, in
the hot northern Wisconsin sun, I was not expecting to come back and read such
a powerful and mood changing essay. I really enjoyed the vivid word choice that
both authors used with ease in the essays. Years ago, I took a trip to New York
City as a vacation to see the great sites. At that time, I witnessed the
cleanup of our two great towers. Through John Updike’s words, I could
completely picture what the area of the destruction looked like; I re-lived the
same intense emotion I experienced while I was down at the base of the towers
when I read this essay.
It caught me by surprise when he explained the
event as a “nightmare ballet,” I had never thought to think of it in that
sense. Both authors were blunt, to-the-point, and opinionated in their writing
styles. The raw language that they explain this event as was refreshing and
engaging to read. Susan Sontag almost seamed anti-government at some points in
her essay. She chastised our “robotic president” who only ever babies the
citizens. Reading these essays after a long day of swimming was relaxing and I
truly enjoyed the open minded opinions of both these authors.
