Towers Falling

In history class, Mr. Schmidt lists attacks on American soil, beginning with April 18, 1775, the Revolutionary War. They discuss the War of 1812 and Pearl Harbor before arriving at February 26, 1993, which Dèja learns was the first World Trade Center bombing. Mr. Schmidt explains that the attack failed. Then, he turns to 9/11.

He explains that Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, saying, “We call them terrorists because they are not representative of a single nation. Instead, they’re ideologues” (160). He defines “ideologues” as people who cannot think independently or critically before adding that since 2001, the US has been waging a war on terror.

Another student asks why terrorists hate Americans. Dèja, Ben, and Sabeen are all tense. Mr. Schmidt doesn’t answer and is overwhelmed with emotion, which angers Dèja since she thinks he should be tough enough to “[t]ell us the whole story” (161). She remembers the video and the images of smoke and thinks that she’s tired of this approach to learning about 9/11. It makes history feel dead since it doesn’t cover the whole story.

Dèja imagines the cutout dolls Ray made and feels angry because “September 11 broke something in Pop” (162).