Firemen Michael Burke

Michael Burke in his piece, No Firemen at Ground Zero This 9/11?, redefines the the meaning of firemen. Burke’s purpose is to not view the firemen as firemen but to view them as brave, courageous, heros. He creates a hopeful tone in order to convey to his readers that these were not common firemen. Burke begins his piece by illustrating this bright light as the brave firemen. “In our darkest hour, they gave us hope--the firefighters of September 11”. The first sentence helped Burke in order to achieve his purpose. The effect it had on me was there's lots of chaos going on and these guys roll up calm cool and collective to help order the situation.
Burke moves the next two paragraphs in his piece and he shows the truth come to light which is …show more content…
“ The fireman was still there, standing his ground in case others needed help” but then “the full 110-story came down upon him”. This helped out Burke's purpose because it show the bravery of the firemen. The effect this has on the audience is bravery. Burke continues on in his piece and break it up with a quote that relates to the firemen. “Courage... is the first of human qualities...guarantees all the others”. This helps Burke's purpose because it puts the words we should be thinking into our mouths. The effect this has on the audience is relevant to the rest of the piece so it brings the piece and what the audience is thinking together. Burke goes on in the next three paragraphs of his piece to sum up the after results of of nine-eleven. “Three hundred and forty-three firefighters... died at the World Trade Center” next “visitors...attended their hundreds of memorials” and then “we’re working to...honor first responders...at different places and times”. This helped Burke out in his piece for his purpose in order to sum up nine-eleven. The effect this had on the audience is awe in a way for so many deaths and all the grateful