The Man in the Water
Daniel Beyene
English 101
Instructor: Dela-Cruz
02/27/2012
Heroism
Roger Rosenblatt in his essay “The man in the Water” describes how the heroic passenger in the air crash was determined to put his life on the line to save others. The man in the water dedicates all his strength to save the others in the water, handing over the lifeline and rope each time it was given to him. Even though there were other three acknowledged heroes at the scene, Rosenblatt focuses on the anonymous man and every detail of the essay emphasizes his heroism because he was brave enough to risk his life so others could live. In the end, he states that the man did his part of fighting the endless fight between the forces of human and nature. Then, he teaches us a powerful lesson, “…he was likewise giving a lifeline to those who observed him” (par 8) to all concerning the power of human nature and leaves us with a big question in our mind: “What have you done lately?” “As disasters go…” (Par 1) Rosenblatt compares the disasters that had happened so far with this one in particular. “It was terrible but it was not unique among the worst in the rosters of U.S air crashes.” He also mentions that accidents and death always surprise us even though we knew it could happen sometime in our life span. His comparison shows as that he is going to tell us something we have to pay attention about this particular event. He leads us to the fact that makes this event significant and worth awareness. Next he says, “And there was the aesthetic clash as well—blue-and-green. Air Florida, the name of the flying garden, sunk down among gray chunks of ice in a black river.” This part of the context denotes another aspect that makes the event very interesting. He points out that the clash between the plane and the water was also a collision between colors: the blue-green color of the plane and the gray and black color of the ice and the river. This method of painting the event using an aesthetic
English 101
Instructor: Dela-Cruz
02/27/2012
Heroism
Roger Rosenblatt in his essay “The man in the Water” describes how the heroic passenger in the air crash was determined to put his life on the line to save others. The man in the water dedicates all his strength to save the others in the water, handing over the lifeline and rope each time it was given to him. Even though there were other three acknowledged heroes at the scene, Rosenblatt focuses on the anonymous man and every detail of the essay emphasizes his heroism because he was brave enough to risk his life so others could live. In the end, he states that the man did his part of fighting the endless fight between the forces of human and nature. Then, he teaches us a powerful lesson, “…he was likewise giving a lifeline to those who observed him” (par 8) to all concerning the power of human nature and leaves us with a big question in our mind: “What have you done lately?” “As disasters go…” (Par 1) Rosenblatt compares the disasters that had happened so far with this one in particular. “It was terrible but it was not unique among the worst in the rosters of U.S air crashes.” He also mentions that accidents and death always surprise us even though we knew it could happen sometime in our life span. His comparison shows as that he is going to tell us something we have to pay attention about this particular event. He leads us to the fact that makes this event significant and worth awareness. Next he says, “And there was the aesthetic clash as well—blue-and-green. Air Florida, the name of the flying garden, sunk down among gray chunks of ice in a black river.” This part of the context denotes another aspect that makes the event very interesting. He points out that the clash between the plane and the water was also a collision between colors: the blue-green color of the plane and the gray and black color of the ice and the river. This method of painting the event using an aesthetic