Tangible Memories Essay

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Tangible Memories “There is a common human urge to hold onto objects to preserve the past.” This quote was taken from the documentary about the terrorism attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. In the documentary, personal belongings of the victims that were uncovered in the rubble of the twin towers were returned to the families. The documentary showed how the seemingly worthless objects immersed in the rubble that were owned by the victims were more valuable to the families than even the most expensive articles. The items left behind by their loved ones are precious, powerful, and priceless. Objects possess windows to the past that, in the September 11 case, are very difficult to relive. To the families of the victims, these personal items hold memories of a tragedy that they would like to forget but, at the same time, they are reminded of the loved ones who were lost. These objects carry the immediate memory of the grieving for the victims but they also occupy the remembrance of the victim themselves. To lose the personal item would be like losing the memory of the lost life. It would be like losing the person all over again. The objects become sacred. The small personal items of the victims that were found in the rubble have little materialistic value. Filthy, broken, and disassembled was not an uncommon theme of the condition of the objects being returned. To the average person, these seemingly worthless objects were just trash, but to the families of the victims, these were sacred artifacts. In one woman’s case, September 11 is her birthday and at the time of the buildings collapsing, her husband was trapped inside. Months later, her husband’s Jaguar was found amongst the rubble. When the woman opened the trunk to inspect the vehicle and see if anything inside remained intact, she discovered a birthday

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