"Talk of the Town"

John Updike and Susan Sontag chose to speak with very different perspectives about the same event in their “Talk of the Town” essays. Both were very honest and real, and they made me as a reader question my previous perceptions of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Updike witnessed the attacks and the aftermath firsthand, and gives a very personal and emotion-wrought account of the day. At first, he viewed the events as “more curious than horrendous,” which seems like a natural human reaction. We as a species are an inherently curious one, and we always want to know more. That being said, Updike also noted that it seemed as if the events were all playing out on television, and frequently made references to this analogy, such as “the south tower dropped from the screen of our viewing.” He also made mention of the fact that the whole thing didn’t seem real to him. This point of view was interesting to me—was it just so surreal to watch that it truly didn’t seem as if it were actually happening? Or, was it just so terrible that people wished it weren’t happening? Another thing I was curious about as I read was how Updike felt when the reality did actually sink in—when he realized that this was a real event and he had actually witnessed all these people die. It must have been a very powerful feeling, one that I can’t even begin to fathom.

Another thing that intrigued me about Updike’s essay was his view on freedom. He called it “mankind’s elixir, even if a few turn it into poison.” This, to me, is tremendously powerful. We as Americans must choose how we use our freedom, whether we cherish or abuse it. This decision can mean the difference between, as Updike points out, kamikaze pilots and upstanding citizens. He also said, at the end of the essay, that “New York looked glorious.” This poses a question: is New York so beautiful, and will it always be beautiful no matter what, because we still have freedom?

Sontag chose to focus more on the media and how we as a country handled the attacks. She was not afraid to speak her mind about the media and our government, and said some things that I think could be quite controversial. She discussed how America was “the world’s self-proclaimed superpower,” which I find to be quite true. Americans generally think themselves to live in the best, most powerful country in the world. However, did this pompous attitude instigate, in some way, these attacks? The way I see it, this attitude and boastfulness, and also our exercise of complete power over other countries (“the ongoing American bombing of Iraq”) could rightfully make them angry. Does this give them an excuse to attack us? No. But it certainly gives them a reason to want to.

Sontag’s article was very demeaning towards our leaders in government. While I think they did need to do more than tell us “America is strong,” I don’t feel they deserve quite the criticism that Sontag is throwing their way. America needs to have strong leaders who can handle situations like this in better ways than just reassuring everyone that everything will be okay.