Composition

The headline of Ian McEwan’s article, “Only Love and Then Oblivion”, draws the readers’ attention from the start. The phrase is a reference to the victims of the 9/11 attacks, who managed to call their relatives and transmit messages of love before they died. The words are repeated in the article, showing that love was the only defense the victims could use against the attackers:

And this is what they were all saying down their phones, from the hijacked planes and the burning towers. There is only love, and then oblivion. Love was all they had to set against the hatred of their murderers (p. 128, ll. 31-34). 

In this way, McEwan presents one of his topics, which is the importance of love and empathy.

The beginning of the article presents the initial emotional reaction after the 9/11 ...