A Response to “My Ticket to Disaster” by Suzanne Berne
When I was finished reading the essay “My Ticket to Disaster” by Suzanne Berne, I was overcome with silence. Most of the time when I’m finished reading, the television volume goes back up or my i pod gets turned back on. But this time I sat still in the quite for a while, and absorbed what I just read.
I thought about September 11, 2001, sitting in my 6th grade study hall, confused and scared about what I was watching on TV. I thought about my trip to NYC September 24, 2001, and the strange mass of gray and gloom that hung over the city on a day with no overcast. People were trying to be optimistic and patriotic, but I could tell that every one was just as scared as I was, and that scared me even more.
The essay evoked and array of emotions and thoughts out of me that I was not expecting to feel at 10am on a Tuesday morning. The works use of description painted a vivid picture of the events that took place for her that day in March. She writes “…raw winds and spits of rain” and I can feel it, I can see people pulling their jackets tighter and shoving their bare hands in their pockets.
When I’m done reading somthing, I want to be moved to silence. I want whatever I read to make me think of the story long after i’m finished reading it. That shows me the author did their job. Suzanne Burne diffinetly did her job.
Wow. This response is well done. It communicates clearly the effect the essay had on you. You make personal connections to the text and you explain how the author’s writing created its impact on you. I especially like your statement, “When I’m done reading somthing, I want to be moved to silence.” It is a beautifully-stated wish for powerful literature.
By: Daniel on October 26, 2009
at 1:09 am