9/11 Myth

Despite the several terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, America remained strong and united. In the speech “Address to the Nation on the Terrorist Attacks”, George W. Bush, addresses the terrorist attack of September eleventh to let the citizens know they can overcome a tragic and mournful incident by remaining unified and a powerful country. The primary audience are the citizens and the family members of the ones who had died or were involved in the incident. The secondary audience are the terrorists to let them know American’s are not scared and will stand together against them. Bush uses ethos, pathos, and figurative language to encourage the citizens to be stronger, united, and feel safe.

If there is one day I dread most upon its arrival, it would be 9/11. Sure there was an immense amount of strength as a nation represented, following the terrorists attacks, but it also brought a great amount of grief and sorrow. I remember watching videos of innocent people jumping from windows in the twin towers hoping to escape the terror. These people believed there was no one to help and no one to help them. They lost hope. In “Remembering a Hero, 15 Years After 9/11” written by Peggy Noonan, published in The Wall Street Journal on September 11th 2016, Alison Crowther—Welles Crowther’s mom—recalls the courageous actions to save the lives of others, made by her son on this horrific day. Noonan utilizes pathos, ethos, asyndeton, and

September 11, 2001 is a day that shook the United States to its core. Millions of Americans felt the pain, the loss, and the anger that came with the attack on their nation. It was a day of mourning, and when it comes to days of mourning it is difficult putting one’s pain into words. However, Leonard Pitts Jr. was able to move past the emotion. He put into his words, not only his own feelings, but the feelings of an entire nation. Pitts conveys the emotion felt after the terror attacks in his essay “Sept. 12, 2001: We’ll go forward from this moment” through his mournful, angry, and righteous tone.

Tuesday morning, September 11 of 2001, referred to as a day to remember, the twin towers were attacked by terrorists in a hijacked plane. Thousands of lives were lost and it was a day that brought great sorrow to America. George W. Bush, the president at that time, addressed his speech to America as a nation, giving them hope that the events that took place earlier that day would not shake them but that they would come back stronger. In this essay I will evaluate Bush’s formal 9/11 Address to the Nation and discuss the speaker’s appeals to pathos, logos and ethos to convey his message that America can stand tall as one.

Former President George W. Bush’s speech, “Bullhorn”, was given through a megaphone on top the rumble of 220 floors of a horrific event. On the day of September 11, 2001, an Islamic group, called Al-Qaeda, hijacked four American passenger airliners to carry out suicide attacks against targets across the United States. The potential targets included: the twin towers, the Pentagon and the White House. Three of the four hijacked airliners accomplished their goal as the lives of 3,000 innocent civilians were taken. A cloud of grief and mourn covered the country as they experience the worst tragedy since 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Soon after the attack on September 14th, a ray of hope appeared as President Bush took the stage. Throughout his speech, three rhetorical devices were shown are: ethos, logos, and pathos. Bush used these three devices to connect with the audiences’ emotions, appeal to the audiences’ ethics, and appeal to the logical side of the audience additionally, all while creating a sufficient speech to the comfort the country.

One of the most catastrophic events America has faced were the September eleventh terrorist attacks. Our nation faced one of the most damaging attacks in our history and it was up to our president, George W. Bush, to address the entire nation and assure everyone that America still remains a strong and functioning country. Our President George Bush was called upon to address the nation, a nation that was currently suffering from loss, fear, and despair. His goal was to persuade Americans to take comfort in the effort being put forth in resolving the aftermath of the attacks and the fear they caused. Recognizing his audience as being innocent victims of an unknown evil, President Bush ultimately had to present a speech that mastered various techniques

The events that took place in America on September 11, 2001 will have a lasting wound on this country forever. President George W. Bush’s speech, “A Great People Has Been Moved to Defend a Great Nation”, gave America something to have hope in. Bush was a republican president and was the 43rd of the United States and was a very passionate man. Although Bush had to make some tough decisions that very day, he was a president that made a lasting impact on America. Throughout Bush’s speech, he effectively covered pathos, ethos, and logos.

President George W. Bush uses pathos in his speech to help unify the people. His wording has people feeling shocked, surprised, and angry. He reasons the cause for the attack was because “we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world” (Bush 7). Bush successfully vilifies the enemy, as it is still strong today, to unify the citizens under a common enemy. He continues pathos with a justice-seeking tone on how he will bring justice to those responsible. With compassion and hope, Bush asks people to pray on behalf of those affected by the

In the argumentative essay “A Quilt of a Country” by Anna Quindlen, Quindlen argues that tragedy and a common enemy connect the people of the United States as seen by her reference to past events. Quindlen discusses the effects of the World Trade Center attacks by stating, “Today the citizens of the United States have come together once more because of armed conflict and enemy attack. Terrorism has led to devastation‒ and unity.” During the World Trade Center attacks, citizens united and helped each other; grieved with one another. The attack made the nation silent as we all offered a shoulder to grieve on and a hand to help. Quindlen depicts the effects of the World Trade Center attacks by stating, “When photographs of the faces of all those

One of the most detrimental and traumatic events of United States history involves the terrorist attacks on the day of September 11th, in 2001. September 11th is a day countless Americans will never forget. Because our nation encountered such a horrific attack, it was up to our president during the time, President George W. Bush, to address the country. Many Americans suffered loss and fear; therefore, former President George Bush’s goal was to heal and comfort the nation by persuading them to see the light within the darkness. Bush’s speech was a success because he showed America’s togetherness and solidarity by creating an emotional connection to the audience; moreover, by responding appropriately to the attacks, he presented himself with a leadership and role no one else could take.

Right from the beginning of the chapter, Welch comments, “to say that America changed on September 11 is more than a cliché; the nation’s identity as a target – and victim – resonates both symbolically and substantively” (4). When you turn on the news, it is common to hear about so many countries that experience widespread violence and attacks on a near daily basis, but Americans felt removed from that since they did not have to endure

On September 11th, 2001, tragedy struck America with the attacks on the Twin Towers and on the Pentagon. Not only did tens of thousands of New Yorkers see these atrocities firsthand but, millions of viewers watched in horror on the news; witnessing their nation under attack. Hundreds of terrified civilians ran from the carnage, however there were some who ran toward the collapsing buildings to save innocent lives. President George W. Bush stood with the fire fighters, the police and other first responders holding the flag of his nation and gave his address to the mourning citizens of the United States. He mainly used the strategies of ethos and pathos to try to comfort the American people and also have them rise and fight against the terror.

Innumerable articles were published in newspapers, magazines and on the Internet regarding the spike in psychological problems in U.S. society since 9/11 (i.e., incidents of depression, panic attacks, suicides, insomnia, and the use of medications and illicit substances) (Meladze, 2011, p. 234). Here, it is evident that lack of closure takes a big toll on Americans. Without initially declaring the enemy, the crowd needs to find other ways to express anger instead of violently attacking others. Instead of taking it out on others, they were inadvertently damaging themselves. Some may say that this piece is about how people choose to cope with problems, but I would argue it is really about how poorly Americans can act when they are under attack.

    Before the 9/11 attack, Gopnik describes parts of New York as “gleaming and luxuriant [with] the leaves just beginning to fall… making them at once golden and bright green” (Gopnik 1). This visual imagery creates a pleasant atmosphere that will help emphasize the drastic change of events and scenery of New York after the attack. The sudden change of events following the serene visual imagery will also help stress the amount of shock that New Yorkers were in and justify their needs and ways to cope. Gopnik later describes New York after the fall of the Twin Towers as a place where “the stanchions and walls are plastered with homemade...posters, smiling snapshots above, a text below, searching for the missing:‘Roger Mark Rasweiler. Missing’... ‘We’re Looking for Kevin M.Williams’... Every lost face [on the posters are] smiling” (Gopnik 2). Describing the surroundings of New York City following 9/11 shows that many people searched for their loved ones in hopes that they’ll still be alive in order to cope with the tragedy. By including this, Gopnik is also able to connect with his readers that were not directly affected by 9/11, showing that real people are either dead or missing with their family and friends out searching for them. Which will consequently evoke sympathy from this audience.

Longitudes and Attitudes is made up of Friedman’s New York Times columns as well as a diary of his private experiences and reflections as he travels to Europe, the Mideast, and the Far East. He talks with the major players in the story and to men and women in the streets as he develops and refines his unique perspective on the new kind of war America finds itself fighting. And he help us to understand who ‘they’ are, and reassures us about who ‘we’ are. In the author’s words, the result is ‘a ‘word album’ that captures and preserves the raw, unpolished emotional and analytical responses that illustrate how I, and others, felt as we tried to grapple with September 11 and its