Many Died in Their Attics Chris Rose was a reporter for the Times-Picayune, and 1 Dead in Attic is a compilation of his articles published between August 29, 2005, and New Years Day, 2006 (1). The back panel of 1 Dead in Attic: Post-Katrina Stories does not summarize his self-publication. Rather, it dedicates the book to a man named Thomas Coleman who met his demise in his attic with a can of juice and the comforts of a bedspread at his side. This dedication closes with “There were more than a thousand like him.” That is the life force of Rose’s book. It is not a narrative, it does not feature a clear conclusion, and there is not a distinct beginning, middle, or end. Rather, it exists as a chronology of Rose’s struggle to reestablish normalcy following a time of turmoil. Rose himself states in his introduction “After the storm, I just started writing, not attempting to carve out any niche but just to tell the story, however, it revealed itself to me” (1). Writing became his therapy, …show more content…
He does not provide statistics or matter-of-fact statements to present the outcomes of Katrina. Instead, Rose writes about what he himself experiences as a result of the storm. This author is not weaving together a tale of imaginary faces in an attempt to gain sympathy. He writes as himself experiencing instances of tragedy, camaraderie, and despondency. There is no logical format for what subject matter he may explore. In this anthology of articles he utilizes dark humor, such as when he writes of the stench and subsequent war of refrigerators; optimism, such as when he describes the characters that remain and the absoluteness of Mardi Gras; nostalgia, such as when he reflects upon memories with his children and his first visit to New Orleans; and dejection, such as instances when he himself begins to lose hope and realize the poor outlook for his
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Show MoreNiman, Michael I. "KATRINA's AMERICA: Failure, Racism, And Profiteering." Humanist 65.6 (2005): 11. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
If I were to summarize my experiences reading Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz, I’d say that they challenged by basic understanding of history. The author and narrator, Tony Horwitz, recounts his time researching the American Civil War through a his witty experiences. The book follows Horwitz’s journey across much of the South and traditionally Confederate areas. Horwitz’s initial goal was to explore the resounding Southern interest in a war from the 19th Century. As he ventures on his quest for answers, Horwitz meets Robert Lee Hodge, a Confederate “hardcore” reenactor, whom Horwitz befriends and joins on a journey visiting historical monuments and battlefields across eastern America. The book’s fifteen chapters are divided by Horwitz’s
The back panel of 1 Dead in Attic: Post-Katrina Stories by columnist Chris Rose does not summarize his self-publication. Rather, it dedicates the book to a man named Thomas Coleman who met his demise in his attic with a can of juice and the comforts of a bedspread at his side. This dedication closes with “There were more than a thousand like him.” That is the life force of Rose’s book. It is not a narrative, it does not feature a clear conclusion, and there is not a distinct beginning, middle, or end. Rather, it exists as a chronology of Rose’s struggle to reestablish normalcy following a time of turmoil. Rose himself states in his introduction “After the storm, I just started writing, not attempting to carve out any niche but just to tell
Almost immediately in the story we see Trethewey recounting the events that happened both before and after Katrina. Yet, these memories are not just that of her own. They are the memories of everyone she interviewed, Joes, her Grandmothers, and her own. Each one is used to retell a story. To recollect what once was and use that as not only a stepping stone of learning but also a pause in time. A pause that do not go forward or backwards, it remains constant. At least, as constant as the mind allows. It is when the mind begins to breakdown that there become alterations in these memories. For Trethewey Beyond Katrina and the poem within it called Theories of Time and Space are a collection of memories. In a section of her book called Liturgy, she says “such is the power of monumental objects to hold within them the weight of remembrance” (64), which is her way of saying that the book itself is a way to remember the Gulf Coast and its people. A bit further down she even states “I am not a religious woman. This is my liturgy to the Mississippi Gulf Coast” (64) meaning that perhaps in writing this particular book, Beyond Katrina, was meant to be a piece of literature that would reach a mass of people and through that- the stories of those whose lives were effected by Hurricane Katrina would be known and never
In the article, “Katrina Documentary Gives Voice to Survivors,” Dennis O’Neil explains how Spike Lee documents the damage of hurricane Katrina to New Orleans not only structurally, but the emotional hurt as well. The film, ¨When the Levees Broke: A Requiem,¨ is broken into four acts which graphically depict the trauma of hurricane Katrina. O’Neil gives a brief background on Spike Lee and how he made this magnificent production. He talks about the trips to Louisiana, the hundreds of interviews and footage captured of the natural disaster. After the summary of Lee, he goes into detail of the movie which he divides into sections. He speaks of how acts one and two are set up to cover the time period of the first threats of the hurricane to five days after Katrina hit and the damage done during this time. O’Neil mentions how the city 's levee system was not built strong enough to take on a very powerful storm. Proceeding to tell how evacuees move
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the most expensive hurricane in American history, made landfall in Louisiana with winds of one hundred and twenty-seven miles per hour (“Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts”). The sheer magnitude of the amount of lives and property lost was enormous, and it was triggered simply by warm ocean waters near the Bahamas ("How Hurricane Katrina Formed"). Nature was indifferent to whether the raging winds and rain would die off in the ocean or wipe out cities; it only follows the rules of physics. A multitude of American authors has attempted to give accounts and interpretations of their encounters with the disinterested machine that is nature. Two authors, Stephen Crane and Henry David Thoreau, had rather contrasting and conflicting interpretations of their own interactions with nature. Crane’s work, “The Open Boat,” is story based on his experience as a survivor
Hurricane Katrina is approaching New Orleans, Louisiana, including the Ninth Ward, where Lanesha and her guardian, Mama Ya-Ya live. The chapter, titled “Sunday”, starts off with the newspapers and the televisions emphasizing the word “evacuate”. Mama Ya-Ya, who is normally up and about, ready to greet the day, is curled up on the couch asleep. Something has been bothering Mama Ya-Ya; Lanesha even sees it when she wakes up.
In Drea Knufken’s essay entitled “Help, We’re Drowning!: Please Pay Attention to Our Disaster,” the horrific Colorado flood is experienced and the reactions of worldly citizens are examined (510-512). The author’s tone for this formal essay seems to be quite reflective, shifting to a tone of frustration and even disappointment. Knufken has a reflective tone especially during the first few paragraphs of the essay. According to Drea Knufken, a freelance writer, ghostwriter and editor, “when many of my out-of-town friends, family and colleagues reacted to the flood with a torrent of indifference, I realized something. As a society, we’ve acquired an immunity to crisis. We scan through headlines without understanding how stories impact people,
The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely
A hero is defined as someone who completes brave acts and or possesses admirable qualities. During the storms of Hurricane Katrina, many heroic figures emerged, ranging from individuals concerned with the medical aspect of the survivors’ health to individuals focused on feeding the general public displaced from their homes. All of these figures worked towards the same outcome: assisting the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The main difference is how the general public perceived these heroic individuals. Welcome to New Orleans, a documentary following the story of Malik Rahim and the Common Ground Organization’s efforts to feed and provide health care for the survivors, and Five Days at Memorial, a book focused on the events taking place in Memorial
News of the devastating hurricane Katrina and its economic, political, social, and humanitarian consequences dominated global headlines in an unprecedented manner when this natural catastrophe struck the region of New Orleans in mid August 2005 (Katrinacoverage.com). As a tradition, large-scale disasters like Katrina, inevitably, bring out a combination of the best and the worst news media instincts. As such, during the height of Hurricane Katrina’s rage, many journalists for once located their gag reflex and refused to swallow shallow and misleading excuses and explanations from public officials. Nevertheless, the media’s eagerness to report thinly substantiated rumors may have played a key role in bringing about cultural wreckage that may take the American society years to clean up.
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone
to Paycheck is the documentation of a slice of Katrina’s life, raising awareness of the struggles
Shah, Anup (2005, November 13). Hurricane Katrina. Global Issues. Retrieved from mhtml:file://F:Hurricane Katrina—Global Issues. mht
Fink, Sheri. "Hurricane Katrina: after the flood." The Gaurdian. N.p., 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.