Firemen At Ground Zero

In the commentary piece “No Firemen at Ground Zero This 9/11” written by Michael Burke, son and brother of firemen, is about how the first responders during 9/11 are now being forgotten. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is denying to honor the first responders on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 because there is not enough room to accommodate them. Burke is standing up for those heroes’ honor and memory. Burke utilizes many rhetorical techniques to convey his message including: narration, description, anaphora, and logos.
Initially Burke illustrates his message by using a brief narration to remind the audience of the events on september 11th. From paragraph 1 to paragraph 10 he takes the reader through the attack and those who helped combat it. He begins the narration by saying, in paragraph 1, “In our darkest hour, they gave us hope- the firefighters of September 11. In the chaos at the World Trade Center, the rigs pulled up, the men climbed out, retrieved their roll-up hoses and marched stalwart to the towers.” This is where Burke begins recalling the event of 9/11. He is telling a story that is designed to pull the reader in and showcase the heroics of the firefighters during the attack . This tactic works as an influencer and bridge to Burke’s point: that the firefighters and first responders during 9/11 should be
He first states “And still they (firemen) went in” in paragraph 3, and then he states “And still they (firemen) went up”. in paragraph 5. He repeats the statement “And still they went” to emphasize that even through all the destruction and danger, the first responders still kept trying to save others. This effect is both dramatic and effective. The concise and divided way this anaphora is written gives it a memorable flare. The context it is delivered in gives it the effect that the firemen were honorable and heroic for continuing their