In Drea Knufken’s essay entitled “Help, We’re Drowning!: Please Pay Attention to Our Disaster,” the horrific Colorado flood is experienced and the reactions of worldly citizens are examined (510-512). The author’s tone for this formal essay seems to be quite reflective, shifting to a tone of frustration and even disappointment. Knufken has a reflective tone especially during the first few paragraphs of the essay. According to Drea Knufken, a freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor, “when many of my out-of-town friends, family and colleagues reacted to the flood with a torrent of indifference, I realized something. As a society, we’ve acquired an immunity to crisis. We scan through headlines without understanding how stories impact people, …show more content…
even those we love” (510-512). After reflecting upon the reactions of her family, friends and colleagues, she came to a realization which became the main statement of her essay. Additionally, she reflects or remembers the beginning of the flood in Boulder, Colorado. This reflection is seen when Drea Knufken contends that the flood was welcomed as children splashed happily in the muddy waters and families trundled into newly formed lakes with their inner tubes (510-512). Her reflective tone continues as she recalls the happenings of the first night of the flooding. The author’s tone seems to become one of frustration in “Help We’re drowning!: Please Pay Attention to Our Disaster,” when she contends that “ nobody ever anticipated a FEMA-level disaster.
And when it became clear to us that things were bad, the rest of the world still lacked comprehension.. We don’t see our own vulnerability until we’re standing knee-deep in mud in our basements” (Knufken 510-512). Her frustration about the desensitization of disasters and people’s reaction towards them is portrayed through statements such as this one. A different form of frustration is also noticed when she claims that she “wanted to help, but the rain wouldn’t stop. All I could do, all any of us could do was watch and wait, watch and wait"(Knufken 510-512). Her tone of frustration at this point is due to her reflection upon the inability which she had to help, her powerlessness and the lack of ability which all of the victims of this disaster had. This tone continues throughout most of the essay as she compares disasters such as this flood, to being another face in the crowd of headlines. She furthers this frustration by stating that “today alone, I read in the news that 260,000 people had to evacuate Kyoto due to a typhoon. In Washington’s Navy Yard, someone murdered 13 people with a gun. There’s the new episode of “Breaking Bad” and the threat of war in Syria. every headline screams to be first in line. Everything is a crisis” (Knufken …show more content…
510-512). Drea Knufken’s tone shifts to one of disappointment when she thinks about the reactions of her out-of-town friends and family.
She claims that only one of her friends called to check on her during the first morning of the flood. This must be quite a disappointing occurrence, in addition to the reaction of her family, stating that they knew about the floods, however, did not realize that she was affected (Knufken 510-512). In her conclusion, Knufken’s tone of disappointment continues as she examines human’s reactions to disasters becoming passive and disconnected. According to Drea Knufken, “I’d like to think that in our networked world, it’s easy to comprehend how the things we read about in the news or on social media might be impacting friends and loved ones. It seems, however, that we’re so drowned in data that we’ve become comfortably numb” (510-512). Drea Knufken’s thesis statement is that “As a society, we’ve acquired an immunity to crisis” (510-512). This means that humans in general, or citizens of the world, have become completely desensitized to disasters, we think of them as just another headline, without any understanding of their impact upon fellow
citizens. As a consumer of news, visuals are extremely important to me. Visual rhetorics add vast amounts of substance to any article, which may allow the reader to understand a certain report in ways which are impossible through text. It may be due to the era which I was born into, however, visuals are a big part of storytelling. In a different time, when newspapers were solely text, humans were unable to effectively understand the results of an epidemic, disaster, or anything of the sort. Through images and videos, we are now able to see parts of the world which we have never been to, viewing stories in first person, as if we were there to witness it ourselves. This is why visuals are so important to me as a consumer of news, it allows me to have sense of context, including the scene, setting, and changes in this context especially in regards to disasters. For example, the feelings evoked from reading about 9/11 and actually watching documented footage of the tragedy, are drastically different. Additionally, images provoke me to learn more about an issue. If it is an issue about a disaster or a murder, etc. A picture of the suspect or victims, often provokes me to learn more about the issue or these people and their backgrounds, it makes me realize that these are humans just like myself, with families, connections, dreams and aspirations. It is different from reading news without images as I would not be able to fully understand how persons may be impacted by a disaster or what the true consequences of a disaster may be, without seeing the aftermath. As humans, I believe that we tend to emphasize with persons when we can see what they are going through, for this reason, an issue reported with the assistance of photographs, video, etc. provoke me to learn more about that issue. Works Cited
Rankine also shares the horrible tragedy of hurricane Katrina experienced by the black community, where they struggled for their survival before and post the hurricane catastrophes. She reports that the lives of black people in the disaster were of no cost for white administration and they delayed the help. She expresses this by writing, “I don’t know what the water wanted. It wanted to show you no one would come” (Rankine 94)(11).
A storm such as Katrina undoubtedly ruined homes and lives with its destructive path. Chris Rose touches upon these instances of brokenness to elicit sympathy from his audience. Throughout the novel, mental illness rears its ugly head. Tales such as “Despair” reveal heart-wrenching stories emerging from a cycle of loss. This particular article is concerned with the pull of New Orleans, its whisper in your ear when you’ve departed that drags you home. Not home as a house, because everything physical associated with home has been swept away by the storm and is now gone. Rather, it is concerned with home as a feeling, that concept that there is none other than New Orleans. Even when there is nothing reminiscent of what you once knew, a true New Orleanian will seek a fresh start atop the foundation of rubbish. This is a foreign concept for those not native to New Orleans, and a New Orleanian girl married to a man from Atlanta found her relationship split as a result of flooding waters. She was adamant about staying, and he returned to where he was from. When he came back to New Orleans for her to try and make it work, they shared grim feelings and alcohol, the result of which was the emergence of a pact reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. This couple decided they would kill themselves because they could see no light amongst the garbage and rot, and failure was draining them of any sense of optimism. She realized the fault in this agreement,
Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You” portrays a speaker who contemplates the state of their romantic relationship though reflections of their partner’s tattoos. Addressing their partner, the speaker ambivalence towards the merits of the relationship, the speaker unhappily remains with their partner. Through the usage of contrasting visual and kinesthetic imagery, the speaker revels the reasons of their inability to embrace the relationship and showcases the extent of their paralysis. Exploring this theme, the poem discusses how inner conflicts can be powerful paralyzers.
“My Son the Marine?” was written by John and Frank Schaeffer in 2002. This story was written in the 1st person. It focuses on the struggle a father is having about his son joining the military. “Separating” was written by John Updike in 1972 and is written in the 3rd person. It is about a family going through a divorce and focuses on the emotional toll towards the children during the separation. “Those Winter Sundays” was written in 1966 by Robert Hayden. Written in the 1st person, the focus of this poem is to show the regret of a young boy who never showed the appreciation that his father deserved. All of these stories appeal to “The things They Carry” because of the emotional aspect. In all these stories there are signs of guilt, confusion, and regret.
Hurricane Katrina has affected the lives of thousands of Americans. According to Anne Waple of NOAA’s National Climate Data Center, Katrina is “one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent US history” leaving “At least 80% of New Orleans…under flood water”. Film director, Spike Lee, in his documentary, When the Levees Broke, looks into the lives of the people of New Orleans that was affected by Hurricane Katrina. Lee’s purpose is to address racial disparities, political issues, and the discrimination against helping victims during the storm. He adopts a straightforward tone from the victims and outsiders in order to illustrate how the residents of New Orleans were affected by failures of the government for the duration of Katrina, before and after. Despite the government programs and their slow attempt to help, the government did not act quickly in the events of Hurricane Katrina because many residents of New Orleans did not receive the great amount of aid they were promised.
In Josh Neufeld’s Trauma novel, A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge the personal aspects of Hurricane Katrina are emphasized and explored. The book follows representative Katrina survivors, highlighting their experiences and coping with the aftermath of the storm. None of characters in the book are presented as having the “right” answers, but Denise, had a full experience of the chaos, horror, and destruction that Katrina inflicted on New Orleans. She had full exposure of the traumatic event, and the novel gives the reader a unique insight into her experiences.
The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely
When Dorothy was six years old, the Day family packed up for a long journey from New York City to the west coast. Her father’s job as a sports writer settled the family in Berkeley, California at first, and then in Oakland. Just as the children were starting to call California home, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck this new home, striking their hearts as well. This life-changing disaster was the first experience Dorothy had of people really getting involved with helping strangers. Unfortunately the help from neighbors was not enough to fix the permanent damage within the Days’ Californ...
...aphy of Catastrophe: Family Bonds, Community Ties, and Disaster Relief After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire." University of Southern California. 88.1 (2006): 37-70. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. .
middle of paper ... ... The. “Hurricane Andrew: The Human Side of Recovery.” Disaster Recovery Journal, System Support Inc. 1 Sept. 2001. Web.
The natural disaster in 2005 proved to be a major blow to many authoritative figures and organizations. Their failure to responsibly provide citizens’ safety at emergency situations left scars all around the world. The federal government had failed to completely step in when stae and local authorities exhibited minimal signs of motivation to support the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. In response to the film “When the Levees Broke” by director Spike Lee, the documentary clearly displayed the devastating situation that citizens were stuck in, but with few and late assistance from their own governmental representatives, citizens were fighting to survive. To make matters worse, the people were the first in sight to provide assistance to their
My article talks about how Hurricane Harvey is still a threat in Houston and has now threatened southwestern Louisiana with an additional rainfall of 3 to 6 inches. The main issue that arises in my article is the reality that there are many people in the Houston area who are still endangered because of Hurricane Harvey. One sad instance of how destructive Hurricane Harvey is, is how a little girl loses her mother in the floodwaters when her mother heroically lays down her life for her daughter. Fortunately for the little girl, rescuers were able to reach her in time in an effort to save her; in addition, the little girl is now in stable condition with hypothermia. On the other hand, any additional moments would’ve engendered an instance of
Several people are still struggling to get back started again in their lives. They have lost their homes and sadly everything in them. Some people are still living in shelters or with relatives with no real “home” to go back to. The businesses flooded by the storm used to be people’s jobs. Now, several people are not getting the paychecks they need.
‘The Falling Soldier’ is one of many poems by Duffy which deals with the subject of human mortality. Duffy expresses what could have been over a harsh reality; this is characteristic of her as also seen in ‘Last Post’ and ‘Passing Bells’ which both seem to be largely influenced by poet peer Wilfred Owen’s personal experiences of war. In the ‘The Falling Soldier’ Duffy paradoxically captures the essence of Robert Capa’s famous photograph of a man falling after being shot during the Spanish Civil War (1936). She employs the form of an impersonal narrative voice, using second person to question the possibilities, to explore the tragic and cyclical nature of war. The futile reality of war contrasts to her central theme in ‘The Bees’ anthology of bees symbolising the grace left in humanity.
Throughout history we have experienced disasters as individuals and groups; caused by events such as fires, natural disasters, rape, murder, school shootings, terrorist attacks and bombings where numerous first responders have lost their lives. During one of the deadliest days in history, Thomas Burnett Jr. was on United Flight 93 which was hijacked after leaving Newark International Airport. Mr. Burnett placed a call to his wife and said “I know we are all going to die. There is three of us who are goin...