My Trip to NYC Memorials and 9/11 Museum By:Chayne Bruneau

After I was told we would be going on this trip to NYC to see the 9/11 museum I was so siked on how what we would be doing.  Looking into this trip I thought about how would the museum depict the loss and courage that took place during this event?  Another question that came to mind was how would the museum portray Al Qaeda to the general public and what values would they show?

In the two memorials and the museum each depicted the heroism, loss, and the patriotism of the U.S. during Vietnam and 9/11.  The museum perfectly balanced the side of the courage from the FDNY and NYPD in the buildings while also exemplifying the fact each person in their had a life and that day changed the lives of thousands across the nation.  The exhibits mostly showed the unity the US has when events take place.

The Historical Exhibition located inside the museum really emphasized the value of heroism and Unity the USA had on 9/11.  One video I watched was the real voices and orders giving by FDNY to firemen inside the North tower and some interviews by people being carried or running out of the building.  Each person who came out described the firemen and NYPD to be the bravest and most helpful people they’ve ever met.  One described to us that she had been carried down from the 71st floor and then as soon as she was put down the man went running right back into the blaze of the south tower.  Also, the collection of helmets and the use of real interviews and broadcasts really enlightened the people on the effort and unity the police and firemen had while saving the people in danger.  The whole world knew about the events while they were taking place through news broadcasts and people on site.

The 9/11 memorial and the Vietnam memorial both showed us the lives lost and their heroism made the USA a better place.  Both provided the use of water representing the flowing and change of the USA and the moving through the tragedies of the nation to become better.  Both showed the best sides of the event.  At the Vietnam memorial, the quotes on the sides showed the heroism and patriotism of the soldiers.  The 9/11 memorial did the by putting each individual name who died that day and how their lives matter to the whole nation.

The answers to my questions before the trip were definitely answered.  The museum used real voice messages and t=individul stories to describe the individualism of each person who passed making you feel more connected to that person.  Thus showing the sadness and loss the family and people of the time felt.  Also, they did the same thing for the firefighters and NYPD.  The museum set up a video describing Al Qaeda and how it came to be which helped really show the values of Osama Bin Laden, the values they showed of Al Qaeda were Islamic power, anti-American and control over large areas.  which is actually very true.  This visit truly satisfied my curiosity for such event,  I had never understood what had happened on 9/11 until now.

Wadsworth Museum

Last Friday, my classmates and I visited the Wadsworth Museum.  As we arrived outside the museum I had not realized the size and elegance of the building located in the middle  of the city.  entering the building I noticed the four stories of art in a much bigger building than I first suspected.  Each room was filled with different kinds of art from portraits to landscapes to statues.  When we arrived at the Frederick Douglass exhibit I had no idea what I was going to be learning about, but one picture really caught my eye. The picture ” Gone With The Wind”  from the show Gone With the Wind depicted a privilege white american women being helped getting dressed by an african american women who seemed to be her maid.  This picture really emphasized the distance African Americans have come from being the maids to now being equal.  The civil rights movement really pointed out the way whites treated African Americans even out of slavery as helpers. This movie really depicted slavery in the wrong way getting almost all the details wrong which also shows the desire by whites to cover up the real history and story of the African Americans. This picture also showed how African Americans can be famous and become publicly known.  The women in this picture, Scarlet O’hara, was the first black actor to win an academy award.  A few questions that really stuck in my mind were,  Why don’t other bigger museums use this kind of exhibit to portray the history of African Americans and further the cause of the African American movements and what were some images that the civil-rights movement used to further their cause or was it just write down or protests?

-chayne bruneau

Glastonbury-Rocky Hill Ferry

Chayne Bruneau

The site I visited over the summer was the Glastonbury to Rockyhill Ferry while has been running since 1655 and has been consistantly running from that point until today.  It is the longest running ferry in the USA and still carries 500 cars across the river every single day.  
This ferry represents the desire to travel and expand.  It shows Americans going to live a new life  Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness drove these people to change their lives and go across the river to either get new jobs or settle down.  All of these people are free to do whatever they want because of the American ideals of liberty.  The ferry named the Hollister gave these people easier travel to and pursue the dreams that the US had given them.  Another American ideal that the monument and ferry represent is innovation.  Through the years the Ferry has changed from just being a horse powered treadmill that carried people and horses to a motorboat that carries cars. Each time new things were made the people running had to incorporate and invent a new way to carry the vehicles, like carriages and cars.  They workers of the boat had to figure out how to carry these things over without sinking the boat.  This site was used by anyone of the time period.  It was an easy and safe passage of the river and its business relied on the ability to cross the river safely. Also in the monument of this ferry it also says the ferry was used to go on fishing trips also which shows innovation in the workers of the ferry. This brings up the question of what time period did the ferry really take off and why?  Also there was a plaque there that was commemorating the founder of the ferry service there?  This inspired me to ask why did he found it and how did the idea come up to do so?   The plaques at this site show the story of hardworking innovative people which is exactly what these people would want to be remembered as.