On Wednesday, January 13, 1982, a disaster hit the area of Washington DC killing seventy-eight people. An Air Florida flight crashed into the Potomac River, after it had just hit the Fourteenth Street Bridge during rush hour. The Man in the Water is about a passenger and his struggle to help other passengers to safety, while he risked his own life. Eventually he lost his own life after rescuing the other four passengers he was holding on to. But, the nation didn’t see this as a mechanical failure, but something to look upon. They instead saw something about them that showed them that they could rise over the elements, using only human nature. The mystery man never could’ve known what would happen to him as he was sitting on the plane. Yet, once he realized that if he couldn’t save his own life, he realized that he could save others. Also, the fight between nature and man was happening in the water. The man cared, nature didn’t. But, the man showed us that against harsh odds, we could win even though it may seem that we will lose. This is because we have the human nature to do the right thing and to beat nature at the odds. That is all we human can do against the throes of nature.