Boston thought it was ready for any kind of disaster following a mock disaster management operation. Barely a week later, was Boston proved wrong, when a fire outbreak at the Cocoanut Grove claimed the lives of many patrons and maimed others for life. The date was 28 November 1942. The cause was a stray match that put aflame a decorative palm tree in the club. Additionally, the situation was aggravated by the blockage of the few emergency exits in the club. John Esposito explores the events surrounding this incident as well as its aftermath in the book Fire in the Grove: The Cocoanut Grove Tragedy and its Aftermath. This paper offers a review of the book, looking critically at the unfolding of the events as well as the author’s thoughts.
Boston should have handled the Grove fire tragedy better than it did. The disaster preparedness team was ready, and so were the hospitals that were training their stuff in the treatment of burns prior to the occurrence. The author expertly incorporates the mass treatment of the burns into his narrative. Further, Esposito delves into the details of the event, exposing the corrupted political system of Boston at that time. He reveals how renowned political entities escaped justice through dubious manners as the search for
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justice ensued. As is often the case, a bale game ensued, whereby the owner of the club was accused of string flammable substances in the club, as well as blocking some of the emergency exits. Besides the political implications of the event, Esposito exposes the underlying sociological and contemporary repercussions of the tragedy.
He states, “A crowd in panic has no sense or conscience” (Esposito 71). This communicates the sheer horror and hopelessness of the trapped victims. The experiences of the witnesses compounds this image, making the book vivid and persuading the audience to consider the far-reaching nature of the tragedy. How prepared are we for disasters in the contemporary world? I could only shudder in fear as I visualized Esposito’s fear of ill-informed crowds. Esposito persuades me to embrace the concept of educating the masses to remain calm under storm to reduce the number of
casualties. Is that it? Could the effects of terrorist attacks, or natural disasters, be minimized if the victims acted logically? I believe this can be the case. On the contrary, a chaotic crowd presents the danger of inefficiency where each individual fights to save his soul at the peril of others. In the end, most people that could have been saved end up dead. This is often the case in stampedes. This was Esposito’s take away point for me. The blame game could not save the lives of the fallen souls. However, understanding the sociological implications of a disaster can help reduce its fatality. In brief, educating the mass on disaster preparedness is a highly significant consideration for the contemporary world. Esposito uses all appeals to persuade his audience to prevent the recurrence of mass destruction during emergencies in his book. I get the moral of his story, and the reason for the detailed account of the Grove Fire as he drives this point home. I would recommend this book for all individuals that desire to make a difference in case of a disaster. I believe it is a good starting point for disaster preparedness education.
Earthquake: a series of vibrations induced in the earth’s crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating; something that is severely disruptive; upheaval (Shravan). Tsunami: an unusually large sea wave produced by a seaquake or undersea volcanic eruption (Shravan). Combine these two catastrophic natural disasters, and it will be a day that will forever live in infamy through terror; a day much like that of October 28, 1746 in Lima, Peru, in which an entire city was destroyed within mere minutes. Author Charles Walker guides his audience through the devastation and wreckage of this heartbroken town and into the economic, political, religious, and social fallout that followed. Walker argues that the aftermath of this tragedy transformed into a voting of the citizens’ various ideas perceived of the future of Lima, theological consequences, and the structure of the colonial rule (p. 12).
The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the The Hamlet, N.C. Fire: A Postmortem. New Republic, 206(7), 27-27. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=12083901&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Friedman, A., & Ellis, K. (2011).
In the short story, “Ashes for the Wind,” the main characters, Juan and Carmen, are faced with having their home, along with their community destroyed. The son of Simon Arevalo is confronted with the choice to burn down his community or to do his job, commissioned by the mayor. By staying in the burning house Juan and Carmen do their duty of protecting their child by giving them a quick death. Arevalo does his duty by allowing the burning of the houses by the police. Doing their duties, however, result in many wrongs done, the destruction of a community, and the deaths of an entire family.
No two people are truly the same, therefore creating a mass difference in outlooks when experiencing things. This is seen in the writings of authors Linda Thomas and Joan Didion in their separate essays, Brush Fire and The Santa Ana. Theses essays revolve around the same experience both authors share of the Santa Ana wildfire in southern California, but in different perspective. In Brush Fire, Linda Thomas gives the reader a more beautiful insight on wildfires while Joan Didion has a more serious and disheartening perspective on them, which each author paints in their own way.
This chapter provided information from the trial of Captain Thomas Preston. The chapter asked the question, “What really happened in the Boston Massacre”. Chapter four focused on the overall event of the Massacre and trying to determine if Captain Preston had given the order to fire at Boston citizens. The chapter provides background information and evidence from Preston’s trial to leave the reader answering the question the chapter presents. Although, after looking through all the witnesses’ testimonies some might sway in Captain Preston’s favor, just the way the grand jury did.
The setting is eighteenth century Boston, Massachusetts. The population in Boston between 1760’s and 1790’s ranged from sixteen thousand to eighteen thousand . Some of the major building that are well known for the time period are Old State House; originally called Town House, this building is very historic the Boston Massacre of 1770 took place in front of this building, also the Declaration of Independence was first read off the balcony. Also Boston has the Old South Meeting House; which in that time was the largest meeting space, this was where the “convocation met before the Boston Tea Party, and this is community commemorated the Boston Massacre” . Another building is the Old North Church, the first stone was laid in April of 1723 taking twenty-two years to complete, this is the oldest church is Boston today. This church’s steeple was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem “The midnight ride of Paul Revere” . The geography in Boston is that it was a coastal region with poor soil, this was not a farming community, and most people that lived in Boston were people that practice a trade or a craft. The climate in Boston ca...
“On one side we see men of some years disheartened and retired from productive exertion. On the other hand, we see places open for younger men” (“Political Economy of the Fire”). After the devastating fire, one hundred thousand people were left without a home.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history. Practically overnight the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the O’Leary’s barn and spread throughout the city. Many attempts were made to put out the fire but there were too many errors and problems in the beginning. After the fire many people were left homeless and had to help build their city again (Murphy, 39)
McCullough presents a meticulously researched, detailed account of the Johnstown Flood of May 31st 1889, which provides arguments for why the disaster was both “the work of man” and “a visitation of providence”. However, it is apparent that McCullough believes that man was more responsible than nature/god for the extent of the catastrophe. In McCullough’s opinion, the storm that caused the flood was no more than the inevitable stimulus of the disaster, whereas the deferred maintenance and poor repairs on the dam were the primary reason that Johnstown was devastated in 1889. McCullough exposes the failed duties of Benjamin Ruff and other members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, whilst simultaneously questioning the responsibility of the Johnstown folk who were concerned about the safety of the dam but complacently trusted the wealthy, powerful club members to fulfil their responsibilities. McCullough clearly explains the debate that took place immediately after the flood, on what or whom was to blame for the disaster, by explaining the views of the press, the townspeople and the lawsuits that were filed.
After an event of large magnitude, it still began to take its toll on the protagonist as they often “carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die” during the war (O’Brien 1187). The travesties that occurred with the brutality of war did not subside and began to affect those involved in a deeply emotional way. The multitude of disastrous happenings influenced the narrator to develop a psychological handicap to death by being “afraid of dying” although being “even more afraid to show it” (O’Brien 1187). The burden caused by the war creates fear inside the protagonist’s mind, yet if he were to display his sense of distress it would cause a deeper fear for those around him, thus making the thought of exposing the fear even more frightening. The emotional battle taking place in the psyche of the narrator is directly repressed by the war.
Breaking news! Recently there has been a fire in the small town of Windrixville, nearly killing four young children and two teenage boys. In this tragic incident, three young men rescued some young children from a burning church. Apparently, the children were playing in the church when it was set on fire. Our three heroes, Johnny Cade, Dallas Winston, and Ponyboy Curtis heard the voices of the kids from inside the church and they knew something had to be done. They were willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of these children’s lives.
Mrs. Rayfield wrote a great article about the devastation left over after this massive fire. I found that her accounts were very detailed and had good pictures to go along with them. I decided to use this source in my essay because she also showed the good effect that the fire had on the city not only the bad. She had a complete different point of view.
Slavicek, Louise Chipley. The San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Of 1906. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2009. Print.
Throughout recorded history, fires have been known to cause great loss of life, property, and knowledge. The Great Fire of London was easily one of the worst fires mankind has ever seen causing large scale destruction and terror. Samuel Pepys described the fire as “A most malicious bloody flame, as one entire arch of fire of above a mile long… the churches, houses and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made.” (Britain Express 1).