Rhetorical Analysis Of Thomas Beller's The Ashen Guy

858 Words4 Pages

On September 11, 2001 tragedy struck in the United States. Terrorists attacked the twin towers in New York City as well as the pentagon located in Washington D.C. With a total of four aircraft hijacked, terrorists managed to fly two of these planes into the World Trade Center. Working in a normal atmosphere, New York became a city of chaos and fear after the first building was hit by the plane.Throughout the short story, “The Ashen Guy: Lower Broadway, September 11, 2001” Thomas Beller writes through the use of first person to create a chaotic tone for his audience about this important day in american history. The author allows readers to connect with the story through the normal everyday activities of the city. Beller speaks through pathos experiencing the same activities of the people saying:.......”Everyone was moving in the same …show more content…

Walking through the city, Beller can effectively use images to capture the audience’s attention. The author uses a variety of diction to allow the audience to picture what has happened:......” At Thomas Street, about six blocks north of the World Trade Center, the nature of the crowd on the street changed. There was more urgency and less mirth. Cop cars parked at odd angles, their red sirens spinning. The policemen were waving their arms, shouting, and amidst the crowd was a guy who had been on the eighty-first floor of Two World Trade Center when the plane hit. It was just after 10 A.M Two World Trade had just collapsed, and One World Trade stood smoldering behind him” ( Beller 60). After the collapse of the tower, many people popped to conclusions and panicked about any things. Police screamed in the streets yelling, “ There’s a package! There’s a package! Keep moving!” Throughout this paragraph Beller uses a different diction and language to transform the reader's attention to the importance of this chaotic change in the