Search and Research of my own

An assigment of this class(English 305) we were asked to write a Research paper, since that has been a big part of the last couple of weeks, I want to share it here.

As a product of the 20th century and living in the 21st century, I have found literature to be easily accessible but more importantly educational and often inspirational. In elementary school, like most children, I learned to read and write which was an accomplishment. As I grew, I began to pick favorite authors, like O’Henry; I also began to like and dislike different styles and themes. I also found that I enjoyed both fiction and nonfiction and began to understand why each has a particular meaning and purpose.
Such is the case of our reading of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I found much meaning. Through the course and many weeks of discussion and thought, we have talked about the author’s message, why we should read the novel, themes that made the novel talk to us individually and what or why we thought that this novel has something important to say. We also learned about our likes and dislikes. One of the greatest things about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is that it is based on true events though the characters are fictive. Why that is so great is because the novel has raw elements of truth, which allows the reader to identify with the novel. I particularly enjoy novels like this one because I feel that the closer we get to the bare bones of fact and life, the more human the novel becomes. This raw element of truth and life is the topic for my research: the construction and destruction of the World Trade Center.
The details about architectural design, business, politics, and destruction of the Trade Center present additional meaning to Americans today. And these very elements inspired our author to write a novel that speaks volumes of life, death, tragedy and perseverance.
Throughout the centuries man has constructed and built great and glorious monuments. For example, the Ancient pyramids, built by the Egyptians created tombs to bury the ancient kings. The Pyramids are the only members of the Seven Wonders of the World still left standing. Other examples are: the great Roman Coliseum of the ancient world, the Vatican in the modern world and in Paris, the Eiffel Tower. These structures are linked to the history and tradition of the people. For example, the Eiffel Tower was so prized by the people of France that when the German army marched on Paris during WWII, the Parisians broke the elevator in the Eiffel Tower forcing Hitler to walk her 710 steps, and two levels to look over Paris.
Other examples of great buildings are the beautiful cathedrals constructed between the 14th and 15th centuries, like Notre Dame with a stained glass window the size of a modern day oil tanker. The Palace of Versailles built by Louis XIV, so extravagant and gorgeous that it has been a model for architecture since its birth. Even in America when architects began to plan and draw the White House, they wanted to construct a building that would be unprecedented and represent the virility of a nation.
At the turn of the 20th Century in New York City two great buildings were under construction. One was being designed by the architects Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, the second under the creative eye of William Van Allen. The first was the Empire State Building and the latter was the Chrysler Building, both the epitome of modern architecture. The Chrysler Building completed in 1930 under Van Allen stood 77 stories tall. In 1931 the Empire State Building was completed standing 102 stories tall, the tallest building in the world at that time. The Empire State Building is complete with an observation deck and has been a popular tourist site from its beginning. The Empire State Building has also been featured in great films such as An Affair to Remember, or the modern remake Sleepless in Seattle. Unfortunately, it is still the tallest building in New York City – only because of great tragedy.
In 1973 the Empire State Building was surpassed in height by the construction of the World Trade Center, which included two skyscrapers and five smaller buildings of commerce. Architect Minoru Yamaski began its construction in 1970 and the project was not completed until 1977. The two skyscrapers, known as the Twin Towers reached 110 stories and each World Trade Center tower contained 104 passenger elevators, 21,800 windows, and weighed about 500,000 tons. Over 50,000 people worked in the World Trade Center complex. When interviewed about his design Yamaski said,
"There are a few very influential architects who sincerely believe that all buildings must be 'strong'. The word 'strong' in this context seems to connote 'powerful'— that is, each building should be a monument to the virility of our society. These architects look with derision upon attempts to build a friendly, more gentle kind of building. The basis for their belief is that our culture is derived primarily from Europe, and that most of the important traditional examples of European architecture are monumental…This is incongruous today. Although it is inevitable for architects who admire these great monumental buildings of Europe to strive for the quality most evident in them — grandeur, the elements of mysticism and power, basic to cathedrals and palaces, are also incongruous today, because the buildings we build for our times are for a totally different purpose."
The Trade Center as described by Yamaski, was a place of international business and did have political meaning. It was the home of AT&T Corporation, Arab Chamber of Commerce, Bank of America, Bank of Taiwan, Boeing Aviation Technical Services, Cedel Bank International, Channel 4 NBC News, Channel 5 Fox Networking Company, Charles Schwab and Co., Chilean Government Trade Bureau (ProChile), CNN (Turner Broadcasting, Cable Network News), Delta Airlines and Windows on the World. These are just a few of the hundreds of business and commerce companies that made daily international transactions within the confines of the World Trade Center. In the same interview with the architect Minoru Yamaski, he was asked about what he saw the design of the World Trade Center to communicate. His answer was world peace.
“I feel this way about it. World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center buildings in New York ... had a bigger purpose than just to provide room for tenants. The World Trade Center is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace ... beyond the compelling need to make this a monument to world peace, the World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness.”
The morning of September 11, 2001, was like any other fall day. Two days earlier my family and I had just celebrated by sister’s birthday and her recovery from open heart surgery earlier that year in January. The air was starting to get crisp and everyone was preparing for fall to come, when everything came to a panicky halt. My mom came rushing into our rooms to wake us up for school and told my sister and me that the World Trade Towers had just been attacked. We had watched some of the news, but it was still very early Pacific Standard Time. When I had made it to school and started classes the news was complete and everywhere. Terrorists had hijacked two planes and flown them into the Trade Towers, trapping many inside. Thousands died that morning. Some jumped to their deaths below rather than burn or be crushed. It was as if the entire world had stopped; there was no local news on that day only the events of the morning. After the Towers collapsed, the NYC fire department began to search through the rubble looking for missing persons. Thousands made a Mecca to New York City to pay homage to those who lost their lives and loved ones. Shirts that said “I love (heart) NYC” were printed and sold by the millions.
Our nation had seen this kind of brutish warfare before on December 7, 1941, or as then President Roosevelt said, “A date that will live in infamy…” Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese fighter planes bringing the United States into World War II. Each attack has been the act of brutal maliciousness, but unfortunately each has also been the calm before the storm.
In the next months to come and over the course of the next couple years research began to find out the who’s, what’s and why’s of the attacks. War was declared on terrorism and the hunt for Al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden was on the move. There was some speculation that members of Al-Qaida were on a jihad to purge out the infidels or that the terrorists on the planes were insane engineers who studied in America to be able to make the attacks. But what got the most attention were the tributes made to those who lost their lives. Their memorials can be seen on marble statues, encrypted on their headstones, and heard in songs like “Have You Forgotten” or “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”. In 2005, construction of the National September 11th Memorial began. It was designed to honor those who survived the attacks. A non-profit organization, “The Memorial Mission”, was dedicated to:
“Remember and honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children murdered by terrorists in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001.
Respect this place made sacred through tragic loss.
Recognize the endurance of those who survived the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the compassion of all who supported us in our darkest hours.
May the lives remembered, the deeds recognized, and the spirit reawakened be eternal beacons, which reaffirm respect for life, strengthen our resolve to preserve freedom, and inspire an end to hatred, ignorance and intolerance.”
Unfortunately like most things, construction came to a halt, when the money ran out. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the costs of building the September 11 Memorial are skyrocketing and must be capped at $500 million. “There’s just not an unlimited amount of money that we can spend on a memorial,” In March 2006, Bloomberg said. “Any figure higher than $500 million to build the memorial to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks would be ‘inappropriate’, even if the design has to be changed,” In March 2009, construction proceeded with the expectation of finishing within the next year. While all of these different tributes made their way to the press, so did Foer’s novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Known for his writing of Everything is Illuminated, a novel depicting the holocaust, Foer’s new novel gave new insight into 9/11 which is captured in the plot.
Oskar Schell, an extremely clever nine year old has lost his father in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Oskar a tambourine playing, inventor, and pacifist now turned detective, begins on an adventure to try to find a way to reconnect with the father that he lost. Heavy laden with the secret that he keeps, Oskar also faces a challenge with his mom and her new friend Ron. With humanist truths and humor interspersed, Foer is able to create an interesting novel that is perhaps not too far from the truth of that terrible day.
After reading several reviews of Foer, some praising his abilities and others who appeared to have personal problems and were so disastrous in their appraisal of Foer totally discredit their own critique; I have made my own conclusions. While the novel’s topic was not the attacks of 9/11, Foer was able to use them in a way that his audience could understand. Foer is able to use Oskar and his secret phone messages left by his father, Thomas, before his death, to help his audience connect with the novel. Whether or not the book is critically acclaimed or thrown in the garbage, it is easy to appreciate the non-fictive aspects of Foer’s novel and the truth that there have been many Oskar Schells as a result of 9/11. I believe this reality makes the book worth the read.
It has been over eight years since November 11. A new Trade Tower has been erected, not quite the grandeur of the previous but perhaps that is safer. When we think about 9/11, most of us have a kind of passion and pride. We have learned that we are able to move forward through whatever personal turmoil to face a new beginning. I like that the best. In an interview of Foer by Robert Birnbaum, Birnbaum said “If books could talk”… Foer responded, “Thank God they can’t ....” I disagree, I think that books do all the talking, the audience merely listens. Books like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close give 9/11 a more intense and new meaning to Americans today.