What will the end of the world look like? Many people have wondered throughout the ages. Will Baker’s “Grace Period” depicts the protagonist going about his day, when the unexpected happens. The article, “Nuclear Weapons Effects” explains the stages and the impact of nuclear explosions. The protagonist in the story is experiencing a nuclear explosion, he and his wife are unlikely to survive because they do not know what they are soon to be expecting.
In the short story, “Grace Period” the protagonist is encountering what seems to be a nuclear explosion, but he has still further to realize this. He first feels the shock wave and describes it as something that “is not quite a trembling, but [is] like the deep throb of a very large dynamo [from] a great distance” (Baker, 1992, p. 7). Not knowing a nuclear explosion has just happened near by, the protagonist believes he is having an aneurysm and tries to call anyone for help but “all the circuits are busy” (Baker, 1992, p. 8) because of EMP. Still searching for help, he notices it begins “snowing lightly… outside” (Baker, 1992, p. 8) as a result from the fallout. Waiting for anyone to pick up at all, the man
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This causes extraordinary problems for the survival of the environment and mankind. The “snowfall” he spoke of is an outcome of “the dirt and debris… falling to earth [from the] fallout [of the mushroom cloud]” (Pike, 1998, p.3). EMP is abbreviated for electromagnetic pulse which is an “intense [significant] degrade… of… sophisticated electronic equipment” (Pike, 1998, p. 3) which the man was experiencing when he was unable to reach anyone through his telephone. A nuclear explosion is “able to start fires and do other thermal damage” (Pike, 1998, p. 4) this being the bright glow the man was
When one thinks about warfare, the average mental picture is usually a movie war scene with soldiers, and planes; very rarely do people think about about the average Joe, trimming his hedge. In the short story “Grace Period”, by Will Baker, there is a man trimming his hedge outside with an electric hedge trimmer when a nuclear bomb is dropped; his wife has gone to get the mail. In “an instant [he felt as] everything stretched just slightly, a few millimeters, then contracted again” (Baker, 1989, p. 7). Although the character does not know what is happening, the reader may realize that this description is a high altitude nuclear burst. The article “Nuclear Weapon Effects”, by John Pike, describes what a nuclear bomb’s effects are and what could happen if one was dropped. Based on clues in the story and the information from the article, the reader can determine what is happening to the man and what he can expect will happen to him.
Although Brin is reading the novel as though it truly happened and should be more about during than after his overall opinion was satisfying. He claims Frank did not show the true flooding of poverty if nuclear war were to happen, which is true but he shows this in another way throughout the novel. Brin talks about remembering atomic bomb drill warnings in school. For nuclear war was a true fear during this time period, which is clearly seen throughout this novel. “...we school kids pictured a burning flash whenever teacher sprang another surprise duck-and- cover drill, sending pupils diving under desks with the chilling command drop!” (Brin 1). Although he contradicted himself at time over the fact that Frank did not go into enough detail over what would truly happen, but more of how society would react at this point in time. As a reader overall agreement can be made through his opinions of Alas,
Many movies have been made that depict the what-ifs of a nuclear war. The two I am going to be discussing are Dr. Strangelove and Threads. Dr. Strangelove is about a paranoid Air Force base commander, orders a squadron of B-52 bombers into the Soviet Union to drop hydrogen bombs on military targets. He is the only one who knows the recall code that could be transmitted to abort the mission. At the pentagon, the U.S. President speaks with the Joint Chiefs in the war room to address the problem. General Turgidson sees this as an opportunity to completely destroy the “Commies” and prevent their inevitable retaliation. The president is a pacifist, and he invites the Russian Ambassador into the war room. Together, they call the Russian Premiere to warn of the attack and explain that it was unintentional. Over the telephone, the Premiere discloses the existence of their “doomsday device,” a large cache of atomic bombs that would automatically be detonated in the event of a nuclear strike, destroying all plant and animal life on the earth. This ultimate form of deterrence, while already on line and impossible to shut off, had not yet been announced to the world. At the Air Force Base, an Army unit infiltrates with heavy fighting to get the recall code from Ripper, but he kills himself to avoid torture. His senior officers are able to extrapolate the code “OPE” from Ripper’s scribbling on a pad of paper. The bombers respond to the code and return to base, except one whos radio receiver has been damaged. At the war room, Dr. Strangelove, a disfigured ex-Nazi scientist, suggests a plan to save a few thousand Americans by hiding them in a mine shaft for one hundred years until the radiation returns to a safe leave. Finally, the lone bomber s...
A war is happening and all people have no clue what it is.What would the end of the world looks like? The short story, “Grace Period” by Will Baker, describes a typical day for the protagonist when it all goes horribly wrong and think that he will not survive from the nuclear. The article “Nuclear Weapons effects by “John Pike”describes the impact of a nuclear explosions. The man is witnessing a nuclear explosions and he is likely to die.
The atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat man” killed 150,0000 people and furthermore left 125,000 impaired. 60,000 more people had died from sustained injuries as well as radiation illness. (Sullivan)
In 1962, at 11:00:09 pm local time on July 8th, the United States detonated a thermonuclear warhead riding atop a Thor missile at 400 km above Johnston Island at a distance of 826 miles from Honolulu, Hawaii. That night was one that many on the Hawaii Islands would never forget (Berkhouse, 1962). Operation , as the test was code named by the U.S. military, caused the first damage in the United States from an electromagnetic pulse created by a nuclear detonation. Though the damage was not intended or planned, the 1.4-megaton weapon caused “the failure of street-lighting systems, tripping of circuit breakers, triggering of burglar alarms, and damage to a telecommunications relay facility.” (EMP Commission, 2004, p. 4)
When drastic times occur and sweep one of everything they own, do they have a plan of action? Will they be prepared for a life without power, resources, and stability? Many times when people are faced with this situation they find themselves unprepared and unable to live in such conditions. They lose the connections with the world, the water they drink is likely to get contaminated, and the scarcity of goods is a threat to themselves and anyone left alive. Everywhere around them there is death and destruction leaving them isolated in their own dystopia. Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon illustrates a nuclear bomb simulation. In such a way, he gives the readers a taste of isolation and survival needs when facing such drastic times. So the question is: how does one survive in the isolation left behind from a nuclear war?
Through his uses of descriptive language Hersey exposes to the reader the physical, emotional, Psychological and structural damage caused by a nuclear attack. He shows the reader how peoples are physically changed but also how emotional psychologically scared by this act of horror. Through Hersey’s graphic detail of the horror after the bomb and the effects years after he shock the reader while also give the message that we shouldn’t let this happen again. In the book Hiroshima the author John Hersey exposes that a nuclear attack is not simply a disaster that fades away when the rubble is removed and buildings are rebuilt but an act of horror that changes the course of people’s live.
All throughout history, mankind has only seen the use of atomic weapons twice, due to the devastation it causes. The bomb that mankind had created was too powerful and destructive, that it would soon lead to its demise. Ray Bradbury, the author of “There Will Come Soft Rains” knew this, as he lived through the creation and use of atomic bombs. He wrote this short story during the 1950s when the Cold War Era was taking over. “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury reflects the fear at the time that other nations might use their harmful technology on the world and extinguish humanity.
In 1945, the United States released a nuclear bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki was also bombed. Thousands of people died and a quarter of a million more perished of radiation poisoning (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”). With the development of nuclear weapons in the world the possibility of a nuclear war was a daily fear within people (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”).
First, is a blinding, 10 million degree, heat flash from a nuclear reaction which can instantly and severely burn the retina if viewed directly. Milliseconds after detonation, an absolutely vaporizing wave of nuclear energy is released: diminishing anything that stands in the way, including humans. following the blast, is a nuclear fallout which sees a continuously rising mushroom cloud begin to spew millions of pounds of cancerous dust which, if consumed, cause tremendous hair loss, cancer consuming the body, and probable death 50-100 days after exposure. Very few are still alive to tell personal stories about witnessing the atom bomb simply because anyone within 1500 kilometers of the initial blast
In only a matter of time, the surrounding environment is destroyed, natural sources become contaminated and useless, the temperature drops, and suddenly winter is paying a lingering visit. A nuclear winter. It is a definite possibility in today’s society, a thought that casts shivers down spines. It is the topic that is being addressed by Walter Van Tilburg Clark in his short story, “The Portable Phonograph”, and it is the possible occurrence that is being assessed by James Roberts in the article “How to Survive Nuclear Winter”. In the short story, a group of four men is forced to survive during a nuclear winter, and they have been for a certain period of time. So far, the men have found sources that they can live off of, however, the primary
What would the world be like if a nuclear war erupted? John Wyndham addresses this in The Chrysalids. He makes evident the ramifications of a nuclear holocaust by showing mutation of survivors, the rise of dystopian societies and how a nuclear war would threaten love. John Wyndham is warning the world what would if a nuclear war happened
Suddenly the entire earth is dark and desolate. Nothing resembles how it used to. Extreme paranoia is within every human, and all are fighting for their lives. In “The Portable Phonograph” written by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, is a short story that takes place where a nuclear winter has occurred. This short story gives us all the information of how one would feel and what one would experience during a nuclear winter.
The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.