Michael Burke No Firemen At Ground Zero Summary

The first responders of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers are undoubtedly some of the bravest people of our time; sacrificing their own lives in the attempt to save others. Michael Burke, son to a fireman and brother of a firemen who perished on September 11th, has recognized this, but questions whether the mayor of New York City understands this. In Burke’s commentary, “No Firemen at Ground Zero this 9/11?” he discusses how atrocious the act of not allowing first responders from those attacks to visit ground zero on the 10th anniversary of their sacrifice. Burke starts by building up the reputation of the firefighters to appeal to pathos, continues to build on pathos by being candid about dangers and deaths, utilizing facts and statistics, uses an allusion of the president, and finishes the article by establishing credibility being immediate family with a firefighter who lost his life on that terrible day; however the end of the article is less powerful than the beginning, which ultimately weakens his argument. …show more content…
He uses a quote from an EMT describing what happened to two firemen who were struck by jumpers, “There is no other way to put it, they exploded.” At this point Burke’s is attempting to use the straightforwardness of this terrible incident to emphasize pathos. The EMT says this so plainly that it creates a bigger impact on the reader. After describing this gruesome scenario Burke writes “And still they went in” to further emphasize the heroism of the responders going into the buildings. After describing yet another dreadful scene, once again Burke uses the phrase, “And still they went up”. This anaphora reiterates the bravery of these