Irony of Security
Airports are supposed to be a closely monitored and secured location, due to the fact that numerous amounts of people are able to move from one location to another, which may include individuals moving from dangerous locations to a place where they can do harm. Despite the security measures present in airports, including ground personnel, scanners, and flight attendants, the hijackers were able to board the planes and take over. However, since 9/11, airport security have strengthened exponentially.
Irony of Weakness
The attacks depicted in Michel Vinaver's 11 September 2001 were planned out and executed to the most minute detail. The date, location, and volume of the attack were all chosen as to weaken and break the American heart. By targeting a populated part of the United States as well as an important financial system, these terrorists were planning to weaken us in numerous different ways. However, the irony is that this attack only made us as a nation stronger and more united. Before 9/11, America was divided among many domestic issues, as any nation is. But these attacks from a foreign enemy, an enemy who wished to weaken the United States, brought the people together to fight against our common threat.
Irony of Normalcy
The North and South Towers of the World Trade Center as well as the Pentagon are all places where people work. These locations are mostly normal office buildings and inside people are simply doing their jobs. They should be the most normal, regular, and ordinary places there are. However, the irony is that these terrorist attacks on the building took away the normalcy of those offices. It transformed the day from one that was ordinary, to a day that was as atypical as can be imagined.
Irony of Control
We can see the element of irony extensively in one of the dialogues that includes John Paul DeVito. In this scene, John Paul DeVito is with Dorene and Arturo and is describing the feeling when the hijacked planes crashed into his building. He was filled with terror and completely shocked by the attack. As he states, "Mr. Ramos our main trader clung to the door frame I was propelled out of my chair I'm the manager of this box a little box." The irony here is that the title and position of manager implies he is in a controlling role where he can oversee and take care of everything that is happening before him. However, he has no control over these terrorist attacks and their effect on the building and its people.
Irony of Craziness
In the media and in general, these terrorists were depicted as crazy individuals who simply lost their mind and decided to kill themselves in these catastrophic suicide attacks. While they were insane individuals to commit such a horrific act, the whole truth is much more chilling. As depicted in Michel Vinaver's play, these terrorists were cold and ruthless individuals. The irony is they weren't crazy in the typical sense; they didn't just snap. They took years and years carefully planning every fine detail of the attack, practicing their execution and how they would strike the most people possible. This irony is the most upsetting and disturbing aspect of it all. Though ideologically deranged, these attackers weren't crazy and undisciplined in how they operated. They were cunning, merciless, and cold-hearted killers.
