John Updike and Susan Sontag both share their personal experiences and opinions on the effects and causes of 9/11 in an essay from The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town." Each writer has their own indivudal style and belifes. These things are heavily portrayed in each article, making myself become engaged and quite interested.
If I had to choose one out of the two articles that I liked better, I would have to go with John Updike's. I love the way the article was written as a whole. Updike witnessed 9/11 through an apartment building in Brooklyn Heighs; he explained everything he saw and experienced with such detail that I thought as if I were there as well. Updike painted clear images in my head throughout the whole article, "The bodies are beneath the rubble, the last-minute cell-phone calles--remarkably calm and loving, many of them--are still being reported..." Updike's article went out with a bang, setting the scene very well; however, although the ending was happy and peaceful, I was not a huge fan of the way the article was finished. In my opinion, the ending was weak, and I was hoping for something more.
Apart from John Updike's article, Susan Sontag writes in a completely different manner. Sontag is a very opionated woman, who evidently is not a fan of our goverment. The beginning of this article was a bit fuzzy to me, but as I continued to proceed, it imporved and became more powerful. She emphasizes that everything is not O.K and the public figures in our office need to stop avoiding the truth. Reality needs to be met, and we as a country, desearve to know what is going on. Unlike Updike's article, Sontag's ended with that bang. She says it how it is.."Let's by all means grieve together. but let's not be stupid together." I really liked this quote, because it made a lot of sense to me. It stated what needed to be said in a short and simple way.
9/11 was a terribly horrific event that really tested how our country could come together. John Updike shared his experiences through his very own eys, portraying that image that was easily detected. On the other hand, Susan Sontag criticizes the government and may just be a little too opionated for some. I, myself being one of them.
I like your perspective on the article. I too found John Updike's part much easier to read and understand because of the quality of his thoughts and writing. Sontag's righting was almost too strong and opinionated on a subject as sensitive as this.
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