Cam Marino
Bolf
Writers’ Workshop

A day never to be forgotten, almost as if the world came crashing down, tumbling in pieces of misery, fear and despondency. The day that 2,753 families were forced to bury their loved ones and ultimately experienced what sadness truly entailed. September 11th, 2001 was an Osama Bin Laden-led act against all Americans and was candidly based on political differences. The book, “Alone and All Together” provided a first person account to the emotional stress of anybody who was involved in September 11th, or somebody they knew. Here, the author, Joseph Geha apprised the reader by depicting several themes and conflicts along the way. The story was fantastic because of its tremendous characterization, its continuously …show more content…
Not only that, but at times, whether it’s direct or indirect, we can successfully learn about a character. Progressively, we learn that the divorce between the mother and the father caused tensions amongst the whole family. On page 55, there is a depiction of the mother beginning to lose her composure and directly states, “Mom looked like she was about to begin throwing things again...finally, she began seeing a therapist.” Geha emphasizes the behind the scenes struggle of the family. Most importantly, however, the protagonist, Libby in this case, is characterized as a generous, benevolent human being. Her main concern throughout the story was being labeled as the “scapegoat” of the terrorist act simply because she maintains a Middle Eastern appearance. Yet, near the end of the story, she sticks up for Ahmed and shuts his bully down. During the altercation, Libby orders the bully to stop and says, “You let him go!.. People begin stopping now.” Not only this, but instances like this determines and exhibits character. To add, when her mom was struggling from a post-divorce depression, Libby was at her bedside providing aid. On page 52, Geha shows us how Libby is helping her mother by saying, “Mom asks me to put on the tea kettle… I set her up on the sofa with pillows and a blanket.” This demonstrates Libby’s helpful