Essay About the Survivor of 9/11

A supposedly normal day turns into a life-threatening escape. The book “We all fall down” by Eric Walters captures the emotions, feelings and struggles faced by victims on 9/11. The attack that frightened the entire world was a reality for an employee John Fuller. 9/11 is one of the deadliest coordinated terrorist attacks that had a tremendous effect on the world. This attack targets the legendary twin towers which had thousands of visitors daily. John is inside the South tower attempting to flee. This attack has him in apprehension of his future but his logic, decisiveness and toughness increases his chances of survival.

In times of distress an essential quality is logic but being logical is a difficult quality to have in that state.  Although John is confused and shocked he must still make a logical critical decision that impacted the person he cared for the most: his son. He had to inform his son the safest way to evacuate this tower without knowing the status of the routes. John is considering the speed of the fire travelling, the architecture of the building and its resistibility. Telling his son “we have to take the time to make the right decision”. John is not allowing himself to panic and follow the actions of the majority of the crowd. He is trying to take all the information he knows into consideration before making a decision that reveals their future. When they are still unsure of the route they want to use, John considers a health issue hence going through the smoky building with no protection. He quickly transforms a tie into a mask for Will’s protection. “he took the tie and ripped the back, opening it up”, John logically uses his resources to make his son a mask for protection. His actions at all times through rescue show that John can be logical in catastrophe.

When every moment must be used to the fullest, John Fuller had to face the difficulty of which route to use to escape. When making this decision he must be confident with it to avoid any other concerns regarding escaping. Due to the fact that dozens of people depend on John’s instructions being accurate and being assertive are crucial to ensure people follow his commands. He has to  John had to decide and stay true to the decision regardless of other influences. John is convinced that when the North Tower is hit it also threatens the South Tower. After notifying all his staff to leave and hearing an announcement contradicting him. “Building two is secure. There is no need, I repeat, no need to evacuate building two”. He still leaves the building apathetic to the announcement to do otherwise.

Toughness is an extraordinary quality that few individuals have, John Fuller was one of those few people with that great quality. Escaping from a dangerous building and struggling to beat the time before the tower topples, shows the strength and toughness John has. John cannot let his emotions muddle his decisions to make critical decisions for himself and others to survive. The intensity of the attack has everyone including John in shock. He blocks out any feelings, thoughts or questions about the attack and thinks about his and his sons best chances of escape and survival. Every move John is taking is a risk, and there is no certainty that any action will get them out alive. With that being said, not being confident and having the pressure of “if this decision was wrong then his son will be in danger.” He has to settle his anxiety and go down the stairs to ground zero even though he is nervous about what the downstairs behold and his son’s future. He toughens up and preservers through any pain and any anxiety he has about the stairs, for at least a slim chance of survival.   

With his future being threatened so highly, John works to escape the danger and seek safety for himself and others. John used his skills to the fullest and was logical, decisive and tough. As a result, he sees the light at the end of the tunnel and is one of the heroic survivors.