Most everyone alive at the time remembers the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City. This was a time of great panic and sadness all throughout America. Thomas Beller wrote a narrative about his experience with the attack in New York City to tell what he saw on that horrid day. In the narrative, “The Ashen Guy : Lower Broadway, September 11, 2001” Thomas Beller uses syntax, diction, and imagery to portray a chaotic tone with this account of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. In the narrative “Ashen Guy” Thomas uses different sentence types and lengths to convey his chaotic tone. To start with, Beller uses lengthy, flowing sentences showing everything is normal. Towards the end of the narrative he changes to short, choppy sentences to show the panic and chaotic nature of the scene. For example his sentence, “Their clothes were crisp and unrumpled their hair freshly combed,” describes the way the people are supposed to be with a calm, flowing sentence(60). Next, “ I was almost out… And then there was an explosion,” describes the chaotic, panicked tone with short, choppy sentences(61). The difference in sentence lengths shows the transition from peace to panic as the attack takes place.…show more content… Using words such as “urgency”(60) and “explosion”(61), Thomas describes the moment when the second plane hit. Also in the beginning of the narrative, Thomas uses hearty, academic language to describe his surroundings; compared to the weak, simple words in the latter part of the narrative. An example of this is words like “smokey horizon”(60) to describe, in contrast to “to get away” (61) after the plane hit to show panic and convey his chaotic tone. The shift from calm and peaceful language to short and startled diction getting the readers into the mindset of the whole terror attack and how everything went wrong in a matter of seconds leading to chaos in the streets