"The Man in the Water" by Roger Rosenblatt

Disasters can make heroes out of ordinary men. Read this list to find out what happened in Washington D.C. on January 13, 1982.

Here is a link to the essay by Roger Rosenblatt: The Man in the Water
Here is a link to a related list: Plane Crashes Into Potomac River
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. chaotic
    completely unordered and unpredictable and confusing
    Washington, the city of form and regulations, turned chaotic, deregulated, by a blast of real winter and a single slap of metal on metal.
  2. collision
    an accident resulting from violent impact of a moving object
    Here, after all, were two forms of nature in collision: the elements and human character.
    The example sentence's use of "collision" refers to the literal crash of the plane into the bridge over the river. It also figuratively refers to "a conflict of opposed ideas or attitudes or goals," which in this case, was between man and nature, and led to the crash.
  3. occasion
    an event that occurs at a critical time
    And on that same afternoon, human nature—groping and flailing in mysteries of its own—rose to the occasion.
    Here, the occasion was a tragedy ("an event resulting in great loss and misfortune"), but it also became an occasion ("an opportunity to do something") for humans, who normally grope ("feel about uncertainly or blindly") and flail ("move about wildly or violently"), to become heroes.
  4. acknowledge
    express recognition of the presence or existence of
    Of the four acknowledged heroes of the event, three are able to account for their behavior.
  5. admirable
    inspiring approval
    Skutnik added that “somebody had to go in the water,” delivering every hero’s line that is no less admirable for its repetitions.
  6. impact
    a forceful consequence; a strong effect
    But the person most responsible for the emotional impact of the disaster is the one known at first simply as “the man in the water.”
    Similar to the earlier use of "collision," the example sentence uses "impact" figuratively but it also reminds the readers of its literal meaning: "the striking of one body against another."
  7. lifeline
    line thrown from a vessel that people can cling to in order to save themselves from drowning
    Every time they lowered a lifeline and flotation ring to him, he passed it on to another of the passengers.
    Both lifelines and flotation devices help keep people from drowning, but a lifeline is attached to a vessel, while a flotation device floats on its own.
  8. casualty
    an accident that causes someone to die
    “In a mass casualty, you’ll find people like him,” said Windsor.
  9. anonymity
    the state of being unknown
    His selflessness was one reason the story held national attention; his anonymity another.
  10. ordinary
    not exceptional in any way
    For a while he was Everyman, and thus proof (as if one needed it) that no man is ordinary.
  11. capacity
    capability to perform or produce
    Still, he could never have imagined such a capacity in himself.
  12. stunning
    commanding attention
    Like every other person on that flight, he was desperate to live, which makes his final act so stunning.
    The adjective can also mean "causing bewilderment or shock or insensibility." This can describe how people might be confused or shocked as to why a man who wants to live could so willingly give up many chances in order to save others. But the essay's focus is on how an unknown man's final act captured the nation's attention.
  13. gradual
    proceeding in small stages
    He had to know it, no matter how gradual the effect of the cold.
  14. deliberately
    with intention; in an intentional manner
    When the helicopter took off with what was to be the last survivor, he watched everything in the world move away from him, and he deliberately let it happen.
  15. circumstance
    the set of facts that surround a situation or event
    He was there, in the essential, classic circumstance. Man in nature.
  16. distinction
    a discrimination between things as different
    For as long as that man could last, they went at each other, nature and man; the one making no distinctions of good and evil, acting on no principles, offering no lifelines; the other acting wholly on distinctions, principles, and, one supposes, on faith.
  17. peculiar
    unique or specific to a person or thing or category
    Yet whatever moved these men to challenge death on behalf of their fellows is not peculiar to them.
  18. abiding
    unceasing
    That is the abiding wonder of the story.
    "Abide" comes from the Old English "bidan" which means "to stay, continue, live." Something that is abiding continues forever or indefinitely. The irony here is that the abiding wonder of the story is partly because the anonymous man in the water did not continue to live; the other reason it's abiding is that anybody, as long as we have life, can challenge death to save others.
  19. survival
    the state of remaining alive
    If the man in the water gave a lifeline to the people gasping for survival, he was likewise giving a lifeline to those who observed him.

    .
  20. implacable
    incapable of being appeased or pacified
    The man in the water pitted himself against an implacable, impersonal enemy; he fought it with charity; and he held it to a standoff.
    To placate someone is to "cause to be more favorably inclined." Because nature is an enemy that is not personified here, it cannot be calmed or pleased with words, actions or gifts.
Created on Thu May 21 12:22:13 EDT 2015 (updated Tue Apr 09 15:45:42 EDT 2019)

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