Question1: Aims: What is Mohsen trying to achieve? What position does he want to argue? What issues or problems does he explore? Ahmed Mohsen explores, criticizes and contrasts the present situation of the Down Town (DT) to its previous ancient situation. As per the writer, the Solidere's company rebuilds the downtown as a modern city; however, it lacks its soul and becomes an empty city. Mohsen said, "Most who visit Beirut's commercial downtown area will say that the area seems rather "dead" to be the center of Eastern Mediterranean's most vibrant and cosmopolitan port city. Hence, he showed a contrast situation of the city as how it was during the ancient era and how it becomes nowadays. In addition, …show more content…
He also contrasts and related some examples or ideas to other ideas to show how the city being viewed by different people. Among his observation, for example, is when he said, "Most who visit Beirut's Commercial downtown area will say the area seems rather "dead" to be the center of the Eastern Mediterranean's most vibrant and cosmopolitan port city." "The muffled sound of the construction can be heard behind its walls". "The yellow police tape, the concrete block embody within the city"… to show that the city is prohibited from any urban interaction. The writer also relies on the opinions of people who visit the DT. For example, Sara who previously lived in New York says, "Beirut is not a city". "She does not acknowledge the urban space called Beirut". The writer also used a sarcastic tone when he show the nonsense to compare Beirut to New York, as when Sara said, "She did not compare Beirut and New York…" "This Beirut could be loaded onto a ship and moved anywhere in the world" as Sara said. He also listened to people who lived in the city like Zeina who once was a resident of Wadi Abu Jamil. She said, "What was once known as downtown was turned into a real estate project". According to Zeina, "it cannot restore the soul of the place". "Downtown Beirut feels as if nobody really