Analysis of “The Falling Man”

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Reader Impact

From the beginning of the article, the reader is already gripped by the strong image of the “falling man”. It is as if it has the power to hypnotize due to its bizarre subject. Junod (2009) writes,

“In the picture, he departs from this earth like an arrow. Although he has not chosen his fate, he appears to have, in his last instants of life, embraced it.”

It makes the reader think deeply if this statement is true basing it from the way the picture is depicted. It is a dramatic, graphic, engrossing start of a long but read-worthy article.

Reader Interest

Junod makes the reader read on with the information he baits with. He intersperses the information with dramatic flair of description. On the people’s reaction to the bombing, he writes,

“They began jumping not long after the first plane hit the North Tower, not long after the fire started. They kept jumping until the tower fell. They jumped through windows already broken and then, later, through windows they broke themselves. They jumped to escape the smoke and the fire; they jumped when the ceilings fell and the floors collapsed; they jumped just to breathe once more before they died. They jumped continually, from all four sides of the building, and from all floors above and around the building’s fatal wound.”

From this, the reader can get the feeling of panic and chaos and it is as if he is brought to that exact time that the writer describes.

Emotion and Fact

The article is dripping with both emotion and fact. Junod writes objectively how people felt but his words are easily translated to emotions that the reader feels.

“Americans responding to the worst terrorist attack in the history of the world with acts of heroism, with acts of sacrifice, with acts of generosity, with acts of martyrdom, and, by terrible necessity, with one prolonged act of — if these words can be applied to mass murder — mass suicide.”

Mood and Atmosphere

The mood and atmosphere of the article was morose, very dark and hinting of helplessness. The characters in the story seemed to be numb and preferred it that way instead of wallow in the pain of the situation. Junod writes,

“In a nation of voyeurs, the desire to face the most disturbing aspects of our most disturbing day was somehow ascribed to voyeurism, as though the jumpers’ experience, instead of being central to the horror, was tangential to it, a sideshow best forgotten.”

It sums up the sentiments of the author as he struggled to defend the point of view of the photographer of the picture and the strong reactions of the people to the picture that they would rather silence.

Thematic Unity

The theme of the article was unified by the photograph of the falling man which branched out to several stories surrounding it… the story of the photographer who took the picture, the story of the family of the falling man, and the story of the search for the falling man who was for a long period of time unidentified. All the subplots of the story was unified by the theme of the falling man and what he stood for. Junod writes it as such:

“In truth, however, the Falling Man fell with neither the precision of an arrow nor the grace of an Olympic diver. He fell like everyone else, like all the other jumpers — trying to hold on to the life he was leaving, which is to say that he fell desperately, inelegantly.”

This message goes for all the subplots.

Structure

The length of the article was justified by the richness of the information and the stories that were organized in a logical manner. Everything revolved around the theme and the resolution of the story was thus:

“ the Falling Man — became the Unknown Soldier in a war whose end we have not yet seen”.

Junod was successful in opening the story to grasp the attention of his readers and sustained this throughout the body, engaging his readers to empathize and sympathize with the characters he has brought to life. His ending was as strong, as readers are constrained to accept that the main reflection for the story of the falling man is the readers themselves.

Story-telling Techniques

Although this was a journalist’s article that should be packed with information that is news-worthy, Junod was able to give life to his characters. He told the story of the falling man so well that it branched out to subplots so like a literary masterpiece. The article vacillates between reality and his own subjective interpretation based on the characters’ opinions and expressed feelings.

He is able to create anticipation for the climax and sustains the interest way up to the resolution. Along the way, he keeps on feeding more information to his readers, and they end up more knowledgeable about the falling man after they read the article.

Reader “Experiences” the Story

Filled with human drama, the article depicts every emotion possible in such a tragic situation of the 9-11 terrorist attack and the choices the dying made in their final hours. Junod appeals to the senses and emotions of his readers in choosing the appropriate words to describe their feelings. One example is this:

“The Hernandezes looked at the decision to jump as a betrayal of love — as something Norberto was being accused of. The woman in Connecticut looks at the decision to jump as a loss of hope — as an absence that we, the living, now have to live with.”

Junod voices out what the characters needed to express but may be unable to.

Outstanding Reporting

Junod’s reporting skills were impeccable. His research was detailed and thorough. He was able to name names and attributed appropriate emotions to the stories of the characters and came up with a well-woven story balancing objective facts with subjective opinions and emotions gathered from various people.

In all this, Junod has kept his stance as an objective reporter leaving the judgment to his readers of whether what he wrote was fact or fiction. However, credible as he is as a journalist, most of his readers are bound to agree with that what he wrote was all true.

Context of the Story

This is one of the multitude of stories borne out of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. One photograph painted a thousand other stories and Junod tried to capture those stories and revolved it around the photograph of the falling man.

Style and Language

Junod’s style and language was a wonderful blend of simple and complicated. He quoted the words of his characters and inserted some other words to interpret their actions to add depth to what was said. He writes:

“Jonathan Briley’s father is a preacher, a man who has devoted his whole life to serving the Lord. After September 11, he gathered his family together to ask God to tell him where his son was. No: He demanded it. He used these words: “Lord, I demand to know where my son is.” For three hours straight, he prayed in his deep voice, until he spent the grace he had accumulated over a lifetime in the insistence of his appeal.”

He could have simply written that the preacher prayed that his son be found but Junod found another way to use words effectively to depict the actual emotions felt by the characters and the emotions that must be understood and empathized with by the readers.

Tone

Junod shared the sentiments of the people affected by the bombings. As a journalist, he tried to keep his tone neutral, but it seemed more effective to take on the prevailing feelings of despair, confusion, hopelessness and regret to put his message across. In general, the article’s tone was that of a news report but somehow, Junod managed to insert his literary prowess and incorporated drama and lyrical language that soothed the readers consuming his lengthy article.

Source

Junod, T. (2009) The Falling Man. Web.

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