1UNITED UNITED

UnitedJanuary 2012

Recorvering from 9/11

$ 4.99

An exclusive interview with a survivor from the tower

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“They can destroy our buildings, but they can’t destroy our foundation.”

- George Bush

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ContentsInterview..................3-4Exclusive interview with james bennet, survivor from the tramatic events of 911. Feat. Nickleback.

Soundtrack.................5A sountrack composed from songs relating to the central theme of the book, ‘united we stand.’

Road to recovery..............6-7An analysis between the relation’s of the meaning of the song and the mean-ing of the book.

Where I’m From................8A comprehensive piece of poetry with a similiar meaning as shown in the book.

United we stand............9-11An Educated review criquting sev-eral spects of the book. Also, see-ing if this book is a good choice for grade 8’s.

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James Bennett, in his perspective, had the perfect life. He had loving parents, intimate neighborhood friends, but most of all, a singular bond with his Dad. If you walked in James’s base-ment, you would find James eagerly jamming along with his Dad. Once adversity strikes, he is never the one to shy away. ‘Never say never’, would be a quote that perfectly describes James in a time where only a miracle could save someone. Being very apoplectic toward the unforeseen situ-ation, James decides to head to ground zero with his friend Will to attempt to save the one person he could always turn to. United sit down with James and talk about the power of family, loyalty and risking everything for someone.

Q: Recently, your dad was found missing in the debris of 911 and there is a very small chance he is still alive. How are you dealing with your loss?

A: It’s very tough. Any time someone dies, it’s

sad. This time it’s different. I’ve always had this bond with my dad. He wasn’t just a dad to me; he was a brother. He was like a kid. We can’t just expect he’s dead. I can’t just sit here. You know what the worst part is though? Everyone in my house doesn’t understand the reality. They all sit there expecting he’ll walk through that door any minute. The atmosphere in my house is really get-ting to me; I need to escape.

Q: Why are you fed up with the atmosphere in your home?

A: Well, it’s hard to explain. It’s almost as if everyone’s pretending or playing a game. They

don’t know how significant this date will be known in the future. Everyone will look back on this event knowing kids will never see their mom

or dad again. My mom thinks when we wake up tomorrow, everything will be all right. The reality is I’m never going to see the one person who truly understood me.

“If there were any chance I could see my dad again, I would take it.”

Interview with James Bennett

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Q: You mentioned that it seemed like everyone was ‘playing a game’. What do you mean by that?A: They pretended as if he’ll come back, guaran-teed. I know, there could be a miracle and he could still be alive. I’m just being realistic, that’s all.

Q: Why do you want to return to ground zero? Knowing that it could be risky and it would take a miracle to find your father?

A: If there were any chance I could see my dad again, I would take it. I will never regret this deci-sion. Yes, it’s risky, but miracles can happen. Even if I don’t come back, I know that I will have at least attempted to find my dad.

Q: I’m getting the impression you’re a ‘never say never’ guy. Do you think that quote is associated with who you are as a person?

A: I think that when I truly care about someone, I will fight to the bitter end to see their face one last time. I’m not one to just give up. As I said earlier, miracles can happen. There is still a chance that my dad is alive. What kind of person would I be if I sat there knowing that my dad is trapped and I didn’t make an effort to try and save him?

Q: Why wouldn’t you tell your mom that you were going back to ground zero?

A: I really wanted to tell her but I knew if I didn’t come back soon enough she would start to get worried. It’s just…she doesn’t understand. She’s crying in our home thinking that by waiting he will come home. If I told her she would never of let me go. I’m doing what I think is right.

Thank you for your time James, and the best of luck.

“There is still a chance that my dad is alive.”

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Road to RecoveryOne more depending on a prayerAnd we all look awayPeople pretending everywhereIt’s just another day

There’s bullets flying through the airAnd they still carry onWe watch it happen over thereAnd then just turn it off

They tell us everything’s alrightAnd we just go alongHow can we fall asleep at nightWhen something’s clearly wrong

When we could feed a starving worldWith what we throw awayBut all we serve are empty wordsThat always taste the same

The right thing to guide usIs right here inside usNo one can divide usWhen the light is nearly goneBut just like a heartbeatThe drumbeat carries on

And the drumbeat carries on

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Traumatic events can reveal the pure good-ness of people. When people depend on hope and pray, the human mind is only capable of goodness. They don’t care if the person next to them is a different ethnicity or is their worst enemy, they will only treat each other like life-long friends. This is be-cause they’re so overwhelmed with the sad-ness of their situation; they can only imag-ine how grieved the person standing next to them would be to. This poetic theme of my story is conveyed through the lyrics in this song. The situation insinuated through the lyrics is almost identical to that of the book. The situation in the book was essentially based on the American public and how they would react. The story tried to portray how people depend on each other when all hope is lost. There were a lot of scenes where it showed the character emotions when they were around each other. “One more depend-ing on a prayer, And we all look away, Peo-ple pretending everywhere, It’s just another day, There’s bullets flying through the air, And they still carry on, We watch it happen over there, And then just turn it off ”. These lyrics are connected to the overall theme of ‘recovery’. These thoughts were jumbled into James head throughout the story. The theme of the song and the book is the human state during the transition from shock to recov-ery. This theme is abundantly associated in our society, as we face new problems every day.

‘When we stand Together’

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I am from the city of iridescent lights,

Gleaming from skyscraper to skyscraper,

I am from the busy streets, filled with throngs of people,

From the swamped parking lots to the brimming stores,

I am from the colossal towers, standing magisterially, symbolizing our foundation,

Where we all stand below with dignity and honor,

To where I now reminisce

m from my congenial neighborhood,

The rustle of the leaves lining the svelte street.

The subdued nights and the silent fights,

I’m from the comforting warmth released from the hugs filled with

love,

Always loved, never the slightest indication of animosity,

From the unwinding nights,

To the recently dejected days

I am from the rigid cracks of my memories,

Once remembered, now erased,

I am from the diverting thoughts in my mind,

Once gleeful, now sorrowed,

I am from the repentant actions I have taken,

Once for the better, now for the worse,

I am from September 11th, 2001

Where I’m From

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United We Stand

John Dickinson once said, “United we stand, divided we fall.” These words of sagacity are subtly emphasized in the message conveyed in the book ‘united we stand.’ Inducing the reader with its harrowing flashbacks and unforeseen twists; the captivating book ‘united we stand’ should be correlated with the curriculum of language arts in Alberta. ‘United we stand,’ enthralls the reader with its sense of realism, unceasing suspense and character emotion. Not only does this book connect to our world, the event in the book actually transpired. The fact that this is a ‘true story’ type book really helps the reader singularly connect to the situa-tion as well as the characters. ‘United we stand’ will ensure to enlighten grade 8 readers about the value of friendship and family.

‘United we stand,’ may not be the most sophis-ticated book, but it truly shows the emotion that each American family went through dur-ing 9/11. All the outpouring emotion dwindled into a 200-page masterpiece deserves many props to the writer, Eric Walters. The author developed candid responses for each character according to the situation. Emotions weren’t just thoroughly expressed on the page; all read-ers will feel as though they have a connection to how the characters feel. There were specific

circumstances in the book where you felt the character’s presence. There were several exam-ples of this factor being showcased in the novel, but a passage that epitomized the overall vibe throughout the novel was this one: “He jumped to his feet, grabbed his guitar by the neck, and smashed it against the wall.” At first glance, it doesn’t seem that emotional. And if you thought that, you would be right. The situation it’s based around is so overwhelmingly emo-tional that if you’re reading the book, you in-stantly feel as though you’re a part of the story. Although, there are some minor blemishes in the story that grade 8’s may not like. Through-out the book there are no, well, I guess you could say, ‘character’ antagonists. I guess you could say the antagonist was the situation the families are forced to cope with. Many modern educational facilities feed students with many fantasy-based novel that always develop or cre-ate an antagonist that is always plotting against the ‘good guy’ or the hero. The transition from two very different genres of novels could af-fect the enjoyment factor of grade 8 students. Even with this thought in mind, I am forced to believe that the level of character emotion in this novel will draw grade 8’s in from the very beginning.

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‘United we stand’ was a book full of on-going suspense, due in large part to the brilliance of Eric Walters. In this novel, there wasn’t a de-fined climax in the story. With the story not having an established climax, the reader expe-riences the suspense building up several times, not just one time. To further elaborate on this idea, in a standard novel template, you experi-ence stages like exposition, rising action and the climax. Although those stages are followed in the majority of novels, ‘united we stand’ is allowed to create several stages of rising action because the book does not have a determined climax. This enables the reader to experience, what they think to be, several climaxes. An example of how Eric Walters demonstrates building suspense is through this passage: “I have been told that the seven people include five members of New York’s bravest, our fire-fighters.” This pulled-out quote was from a time when this character’s dad was still missing and they were anxiously waiting for reports that missing firefighters were found alive. The immense suspense that occurred when the reporter was reading the survivor’s names out almost made me fearful to know if James’s dad

was not found. This emotional attachment to the characters assisted in exhibiting a suspense-ful novel. Not only does this book strive in the opportunity to deliver the reader with concur-rent suspense, a methodical side to the novel adds to the already seething amount of sus-pense. This book always made you think about what you would do if you were in his shoes. The analytical side to this novel added to the suspense of the principal storyline. With this amount of suspense in just one book, grade 8 readers will find it hard to turn this novel away.

“The emotional attachment to the characters assist-ed in exhibiting a suspenseful nov-el.”

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Not only was the plot in ‘united we stand’ realistic, the dialogue and setting were as well. Many of the conversations seemed ‘unplanned’ or ‘forced.’ The characters all seemed to have customary or ‘natural’ responses, which con-tribute to the reader sensing realism in mul-tiple aspects in the book. The realistic features help the reader relate to the story and apply some of these teaching’s in real life. This book also teaches grade 8’s many moral lessons that other fantasy books would not provide. Be-cause this book is based upon the struggle and recovery of families, grade 8’s will be able to see that the power of family and friends can overcome anything. There are various phrases in ‘united we stand’ where the author spec-tacled an example of how the character’s voice was practical and the conversations made could be heard in conventional society. A phrase that associated with this idea of real-ism is: “I had to hand it to James. He sounded not just confident but a little bit cocky-like, the nerve of them to interfere with us!” The character voice in this expression added not only personality to the character, but created a link between the reader and the character that allowed the reader to feel as though they knew this person in real life. Thus finalizing my point in how ‘united we stand’ enchanted the reader with a sensation of realism in several facets of the story.

A true masterpiece is what ‘united we stand’ will be praised as if grade 8’s are lucky enough to read this book. No novel has ever possessed the ‘perfect formula’ until now. The compelling emotions of each character will make sure to please all readers. Not only that, the incessant suspense will keep grade 8’s reading until the end. And to top it all of, readers will walk away with a better understanding of the true mean-ing and value of friendship and family. Now, if this novel isn’t included in the curriculum of language arts, then no books should be in-cluded.

Luke Evans

Eric Walters (Below)

“Readers will walk away with a better understanding of the true meaning of friendship and fam-ily.”

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