Suzanne Berne “Ground Zero” (Reading Journal)

          In the essay, Ground Zero, written by Suzanne Berne, her intentions are to capture the reader with the notion that they are actually there on this trip to ground zero. Berne wanted us to imagine ourselves being right there but seeing nothing, only the thought of what was there before.  The author uses words that are very descriptive and paints a picture of what is actually being seen.  Suzanne Berne says, “Ground zero is a great bowl of light, and emptiness that seems weirdly spacious and grand, like a vast plaza amid the dense tangle of streets in lower Manhattan.” She also writes of the absence of the Twin Towers, she exclaims “this is the moment when absence begins to assume a material form, when what is not there becomes visible.

I noticed this piece of writing covered all of the five senses, which again helped the reader feel a connection to everything that was happening. She describes this feeling of being in ground zero by the smell of fish, the sounds of people in mourning and awe, as well the touch of people writing their names on the new foundation. In my opinion, the essay was informative because she is informing us about the tragedy and the feelings of her trip to the twin towers. Berne wanted her point to come across that where there is nothing says everything. She feels humbled and ashamed that she receives her ticket as she eats her sandwich and looks outside the glass window and the ambulance takes the remains of what was once a human’s body. I agree with the author in the sense that she felt for the people who have lost their lives in 9/11.

The descriptions and the emotions of the people along with herself just gave the essay a whole new meaning. I liked the essay because it was very well laid out.  Instead of just reading about some tourist, you were put into the shoes of actually being there and feeling the pain that people suffered through the event that took place in ground zero. The major strength was that final view that Berne was waiting for to look upon the pit of ground zero and the emotion that was felt to visit such a place that to millions should not be a tourist attraction, but a place of remembrance. I can very much relate to this authors experience. I imagine myself going to this place as a tourist not knowing what to expect. Just hearing, touching and seeing all of these senses adds to the tragedy. I can just picture myself standing in a place that brings sadness to the hearts of millions. Seeing nothing but remembering that “something” was once in its place.