Surely, the eleventh day of September in the year of two thousand and one will go down as one of the most perilous days in the history of mankind.  It was one of those days where everyone remembers where they were, and what they were doing when they heard the awful news.  Any time you have 2,996 people killed, it will cause chaotic horror. But the attacks of 9/11 were different, as there were 2,996 innocent people killed.  They were killed while at work, trying to make enough money to support their families.  Furthermore, some of them weren’t even inside the buildings when the attacks were carried out, but they entered after the attacks.  First responders on 9/11 have been accredited with saving hundreds of lives through courageous acts of selflessness.  In this picture captured by Ricky Flores, you can see what that day was like for these first responders. From his picture you can see how the freedom and unity we enjoy every day is upheld and protected by those who lived through the horror on 9/11, to show our country that when we are united, we are still strong.  

With so many literary elements present in this picture, it is difficult to say one or the other is most important to the argument it is trying to make.  Certainly juxtaposition is very noticeable.  In the foreground of the picture is the American flag.  It is clearly the focus of the picture.  It is worth noting that it is tethered, and beaten, and discolored.  It isn’t standing straight up, and it is very shadowy.  The American flag has always been a wonderful symbol for our country, but in this picture, it perfectly represents the state of our nation after the events of 9/11.  Juxtaposing the flag is the background.  There is absolute devastation in the background of this picture.  The lone wall that stands from the fallen tower is leaning and portraying weakness, it is shrunken down to less than one story from the hundreds of floors that once stood above it.  Under the lone standing piece of the building is the rubble of the hundreds of floors that had once stood above it.  Steel is crushed and shattered like old chips at the bottom of a bag and lying in chaotic piles all around the picture. The one sign of hope remaining in the picture is the three brave firefighters who are supporting the flag.  They stand covered head to toe in ashes from the rubble, and the picture gives a sense that all they can think about is trying to provide a glimmer of hope for the people of America.  When you examine the picture closely, you wonder what exactly is going to hold that flag up once the firefighters get it upright and flying high.  Perhaps in the fashion of the rest of the picture, it would simply be held in the sky by unity.  “United we stand. divided we fall” is a quote that resonates when you think about the terrorist attacks of 9/11.  Terrorism is meant to disrupt the everyday lives of Americans, and in this case, it did.  However, it didn’t last long.  The flag was downed, but as depicted by Flores, not for long.  

As an American, there are certain things that you take great pride in.  As cliché as it is, freedom is obviously on that list.  When terrorists strike, it is usually out of envy over the freedoms that Americans share.  The main goal of terrorism is to disrupt the everyday lives of Americans.  It is also meant to strike fear into the mind.  In this picture, you can see that they have succeeded at that.  They have destroyed the lives of not only the people that were in the building and didn’t make it out, but also the families whose moms, dads, spouses, friends, neighbors, and so many more, never made it home.  The lives of so many people after 9/11 looked and felt just like the debris from the buildings in this picture.  They didn’t just fall apart, they were crashed into, and ripped to shreds through hatred.  Also worth noting, are the dull colors that make up the majority of the picture.  The dull colors seem to represent the dark time our nation saw on this day, but once again, there was a glimmer of hope.  That hope is represented by the colors of the American flag in this picture.  And who was there to raise that glimmer of hope out of the ashes for everyone to see?  The first responders who risked their own lives to save that of other people.  

First responders make up a significant percentage of the death toll amassed on September 11th.  In fact, they makeup between 15 % and 20% of the total death toll. That is an astounding number considering that the percentage of World Trade Center visitors on that day who were first responders was probably somewhere below 1%.  These facts just go to show that the picture perfectly illustrates what so many people fail to realize and appreciate.  Our first responders are just that.  The first ones to get to any chaotic and dangerous scene, and they are the ones who you often see running towards said chaotic scene.  The main goal they share is to save lives, but in this picture they showed the world that America’s spirit cannot be broken.  

Conclusively, Flores’ picture depicts the sense of unity that makes America strong, and that triumphed over terrorism on 9/11.  We see firefighters risking their lives every day to try to save one more person.  The American flag is just a symbol, but it has so much power in this picture that goes to show how Americans respond to acts of terrorism.  The literary devices are littered throughout this simple picture.  They all account for a special part of what happened in September of 2001.  But the picture provides us with evidence that the flag, just like our nation will stand tall again, no matter what.  
