62 pages • 2 hours read
Jim DeFedeThe Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
How does the way DeFede tells the story of Gander reflect his journalism training? Draw on at least three different passengers’ stories, and discuss the effect of his journalism background in telling them.
School officials at Lakewood Academy put up a map of the world, inviting passengers to pin the places they were from. Ultimately, 40 countries had pins. In what other ways does the book reinforce the idea in the title that “the world came to town”?
On the fourth day, Beatles tribute band members Paul Moroney and Peter Ferris sang four songs at the Trailways Pub. What was the significance of each song, and how did the performance capture the experiences of passengers stranded throughout Newfoundland in the aftermath of 9/11? Use specific examples of passenger experiences.
Rabbi Sudak called the message of Gander “sacred.” What did he mean? Connect Rabbi Sudak’s experiences to those of at least two other passengers.
Werner Baldessarini refused an offer of a private jet to take him home early, and at the end of the book, DeFede notes other famous passengers who were in Gander. Why did Baldessarini insist on remaining in Gander, and what does this suggest about the spirit of community and the way it impacted both passengers and volunteers?
Throughout the book, DeFede alternates between heartbreaking stories like that of the O’Rourkes and lighthearted anecdotes. Discuss the effect of his including both types of accounts on the portrait of Gander during those five days.
Explain the Screeching-In process, and explore how it more broadly reflects what happened in Gander on 9/11 and the days following it. Use textual evidence.
Describing the Moldovan emigres and local volunteers singing together, DeFede writes, “Olesya and the others listened, not really understanding the words, but recognizing the joy in the voices” (159). Discuss the ways that, given their disconnect via language, passengers found other ways to express their appreciation for the hospitality they received, drawing on at least three specific examples.
Discuss the symbolic value of Corporal Grant Smith seeing passengers off in his Red Serge uniform, taking photos with passengers in this ceremonial dress as mementos.
In the Afterword, George Vitale wonders whether “unity without the pain that caused the unity” (208) is possible. To what extent does the book resolve the relationship between hardship and unity? Include textual evidence.
