Daiva Kuncaite
LIB 200
Prof. Tom Regan
09/21/2009
Response to the David Rimmer’s play “New York”
9/11 had left remarkable steps not only in American history, but also had a vast amount
of impact on people emotions, minds and self-esteem. Davis Rimmer’s play “New York” tries to
capture moments in the people lives and their way in finding the meaning of live through
conversation with therapist. This play is also a classical example of the Aristotle’s defined
meaning of drama. The author conveys the idea trough the characters of the play that people
from different social context still are searching for the answers, faith and try to make peace with
them self even after so many years of tragedy.
Even the play “New York” is a fiction; it is a replication of the real events that occur after
the 9/11, which makes the play a drama. Going back to the ancient times Aristotle had divided
drama in two main genres: tragedy and comedy. According to the Bloomsbury Guide to Human
Thought, Aristotle thoughts on Greeks tragedy had huge impact on Western drama. “For
Aristotle, tragedy was the imitation of reality, intended to purify its spectators by arousing ‘pity
and terror’” (web.). In the play the reality is displayed through the characters of the clients,
survivors or witnesses of the 9/11 attack, at therapist office. Watching the play you can feel the
terror that people living in and every day suffer to coup with the events of the tragedy. On the
other hand, each of the character raises the question why did the terrorist kill so many innocent
people and tries to find again the significance in the world.
After the attack American people generate high anxiety and lost the sense of trust and
security. The loss of the loved ones and the fear for the future had interfered with their every day
live. For example, Teacher, who had lost brother in the attack, could not concentrate on her job
and answer student’s questions, because she also didn’t find yet the meaning in the tragedy. The
Daiva Kuncaite
LIB 200
Prof. Tom Regan
09/21/2009
alcoholic didn’t see the purpose of making money, that later you have to be killed for it. Instead
he chooses heavy drinking as a way of escape from the reality. According to the studies conduct
by Kent State University and University of California, “the need to make sense of and
understand events in one’s life is considered a fundamental part of both everyday social
functioning as well as adjustment to traumatic events” (Updegraff, Silver, Holman 718).
Therefore, even the characters, like detective, who came to the office not knowing what to say,
had an underlying need to end that nightmare.
After the attack many people turned for help at therapist, however some of them try to
deal alone. Most of the clients in the play came to look for the help for the first time after period
of time. Their everyday life has been disturbed. For example, Mary complains that now days
everything falls down from her hands. During the open conversation with therapist she reveals
the real cause of her behavior. She never understood why her classmate with whom she even
never was close to had called her to give the last message before death. Even though the studies
shows that finding meaning in the tragic events is “related to the adjustment over time”, from the
experience of the clients we understand that it is very long and agonizing process and the events
will be never erased from the memory (718). The therapist can just guide them to find the
meaning in their loss. The hope is given on the end of the play when the teacher agrees that she
feels better.
In conclusion, Rimmer’s play “New York” reflects the reality and experiences of the
survivors of 9/11trough the characters of the play. The imitation of reality leads the play to the
classical example of what Aristotle had defined as tragedy. Characters in the play are trying to
find some kind of explanation of their behavior today, but the underlying cause of their misery is
Daiva Kuncaite
LIB 200
Prof. Tom Regan
09/21/2009
the trauma they all had experience years ago and never had a chance to make a peace with it.
They never were able to find the meaning in the tragic events and the lingering images had
followed all the way.
Daiva Kuncaite
LIB 200
Prof. Tom Regan
09/21/2009
Works Cited
Updegraff, John A., Silver, Roxane Cohen and E. Alison Holman “Searching for and Finding Meaning in
Collective Trauma: Results From a National Longitudinal Study of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ( 2008): Vol. 95, No 3, 709-722. Academic search
complete. Web. 15 Sept .2009.
“Tragedy.” Bloomsbury Guide to Human Thought.1993. Credo Reference. Web. 21 Sept. 2009