"Ground Zero" Response Questions

1. I think that Berne means that once before the streets around the World Trade Center were busy with people and activities and now there is a blank area with nothing. She mentioned in the story that to the people who weren’t from town would think that the area was a construction site. It means more to those who were actually there and saw what used to be there. I think that after she took in everything that was not there, “nothing,” she got a deeper feeling of that nothingness, which was absence of what used to be there.
2. The televised images and newspaper pictures that Berne was referring to are the buildings collapsing, the people running out of the building and away from them, and the smoke and debris that filled the air. When Berne experienced ground zero she saw a different picture. She saw what looked like a construction site and the emptiness.
3. I think the scene most crucial to the story would be when she is talking about the cemetery attached to St. Paul’s Chapel. She slows down the story here by explaining the scene and what was going on. She describes the cemetery and the photos and prayers for all of the loved ones that they had lost. She went into great detail here so that we could get a better picture in our minds of what really happened.
4. I think Berne described ground zero in so many ways, because she saw it in so many ways and she wanted the reader to picture it how she did. There isn’t just one way to express how she felt when she experienced ground zero and she wanted the reader to know that also and be able to follow along.
5. When I think of this piece being called “My Ticket to the Disaster” it gives me a different feel to the story. It makes me think that people want to go and view ground zero for their pleasure and not to go to be there in reverence for the people who lost their lives in a horrible tragedy. It also loses the feel of the people who were also mentioned in this story.
6. I think Berne means that a “repopulation” is taking place, because there are many people going to ground zero to give their condolences to the families and to support them in their time of need. This support has made our nation much stronger and with strength, we can grow even more.