PROTAGONIST “Kathy had been right. He should not have stayed in the city, and he certainly should not have stayed when she asked him, every day after the storm, to get out...
Oh Kathy, he thought, I am so sorry. Zachary, Nademah, Aisha, Safiya, I am so very sorry tonight that I was not and am not with you…” (235-236).
When he decides to stay in New Orleans while others are evacuating, Zeitoun is confident with his choice. As he saves multiple people from their homes, he feels as though he belongs in his city and it seems as though everything will turn out fine. Slowly, as things begin to go wrong, Zeitoun begins to doubt himself, and this moment stood out the most. As he takes in his circumstances and realizes the pain and worry he must …show more content…
The only other object in the cage was a steel bar in the shape of an upside-down U, cemented into the pavement like a bike rack. It normally served as a guide for the buses parking in the lot and for passengers forming lines. It was about thirty inches high, forty inches long. Across from Zeitoun’s cage was a two-story building, some kind of Amtrak office structure. It was now occupied by soldiers. Two soldiers stood on the roof, holding M-16s and staring down at Zeitoun and Todd. Todd raged, wild-eyed and protesting. But the guards could hear little of what he said. Even Zeitoun, standing near him, could hear only muffled fragments. It was then that Zeitoun realized that there was a sound, a heavy mechanical drone, cloaking the air around them. It was so steady and unchanging that he had failed to notice it” …show more content…
As I read this book, I continually noticed the intricate detail Eggers places on different objects and important scenery, and how clearly he was able to depict certain settings. First, this scene focuses on a small object, the steel bar in Zeitoun’s cage. Rarely as I am reading do I vividly picture the object being described. Usually, I am able to get a general idea of the object, person, or place, but this time I could see it clearly in my mind. I can imagine a huge lot full of cages with artificial light shining on desperate people, and in the middle of each cage there is this “upside-down U”, and I specifically like how Eggers describes it as “cemented into the pavement like a bike rack”. I can see Zeitoun uncomfortably draping himself over this bar and the awkward position he must have experienced. Second, the little detail about the men “holding the M-16s and staring down at Zeitoun and Todd” gave me a chill. The intimidation of those men and their guns added extra tension and seriousness to Zeitoun’s situation. Finally, Eggers adds sound effects to this scene, and the adjectives “heavy”, “steady” and “mechanical” as well as the phrase “cloaking the air” made me hear the sound in my mind. Also, although there is none of Todd’s dialogue in this section of the book, it is easy to picture his desperate shouts being drowned out by the sound of the drone. This passage was such a
Oh Kathy, he thought, I am so sorry. Zachary, Nademah, Aisha, Safiya, I am so very sorry tonight that I was not and am not with you…” (235-236).
When he decides to stay in New Orleans while others are evacuating, Zeitoun is confident with his choice. As he saves multiple people from their homes, he feels as though he belongs in his city and it seems as though everything will turn out fine. Slowly, as things begin to go wrong, Zeitoun begins to doubt himself, and this moment stood out the most. As he takes in his circumstances and realizes the pain and worry he must …show more content…
The only other object in the cage was a steel bar in the shape of an upside-down U, cemented into the pavement like a bike rack. It normally served as a guide for the buses parking in the lot and for passengers forming lines. It was about thirty inches high, forty inches long. Across from Zeitoun’s cage was a two-story building, some kind of Amtrak office structure. It was now occupied by soldiers. Two soldiers stood on the roof, holding M-16s and staring down at Zeitoun and Todd. Todd raged, wild-eyed and protesting. But the guards could hear little of what he said. Even Zeitoun, standing near him, could hear only muffled fragments. It was then that Zeitoun realized that there was a sound, a heavy mechanical drone, cloaking the air around them. It was so steady and unchanging that he had failed to notice it” …show more content…
As I read this book, I continually noticed the intricate detail Eggers places on different objects and important scenery, and how clearly he was able to depict certain settings. First, this scene focuses on a small object, the steel bar in Zeitoun’s cage. Rarely as I am reading do I vividly picture the object being described. Usually, I am able to get a general idea of the object, person, or place, but this time I could see it clearly in my mind. I can imagine a huge lot full of cages with artificial light shining on desperate people, and in the middle of each cage there is this “upside-down U”, and I specifically like how Eggers describes it as “cemented into the pavement like a bike rack”. I can see Zeitoun uncomfortably draping himself over this bar and the awkward position he must have experienced. Second, the little detail about the men “holding the M-16s and staring down at Zeitoun and Todd” gave me a chill. The intimidation of those men and their guns added extra tension and seriousness to Zeitoun’s situation. Finally, Eggers adds sound effects to this scene, and the adjectives “heavy”, “steady” and “mechanical” as well as the phrase “cloaking the air” made me hear the sound in my mind. Also, although there is none of Todd’s dialogue in this section of the book, it is easy to picture his desperate shouts being drowned out by the sound of the drone. This passage was such a