‘When the wind blows’ by Raymond Briggs is a bleak and depressing story about an old retired couple, Jim and Hilda bloggs who survive a nuclear attack. This graphic novel is set during the Cold War and gives a fictional approach to nuclear warfare. One of the strongest aspects of the story is the relationship between the main characters Jim and Hilda. When introduced to this adorable couple you instantly feel at home. It is like you are watching your grandparents. They quarrel over little things like what to have for dinner, they occupy themselves with each other and they are deeply in love. You would never wish any harm on them let alone a nuclear bomb. This makes it so incredibly heartbreaking to continue as these beloved characters lose their will and health from the radiation that is weakening their frail bodies. Very few people during the time of the Cold War were educated about the effects of nuclear weapons. When Jim and Hilda hear about the plans of an attack on their hometown, they reminisce and share stories from their childhood growing up during World War II stating, “Yes, it was nice in the War, really … those were the days.”. This shows us that they …show more content…
I don’t want finger marks getting all over them”. This quote shows how naive and how uneducated they are about nuclear bombs. Hilda is worried about her cushions even though they’ll be damaged from the nuclear attack regardless of plastic coverings. Not only are they constantly exposed to the radiation but when they run out of water they decide to drink the radioactive rainwater. This again shows how little they know about radiation. Although they are naive and ignorant to the harmful effects of nuclear radiation Jim and Hilda are so sweet and charming and I could not help but sympathise with them. I felt connected to them and wanted to put myself in their place so I didn't have to watch them
Steve Sheinkin, award-winning author, in his novel Bomb: The Race to Build- and Steal- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (2012) addresses the topic of nuclear war and proves that no matter what actions are taken (during war) there will be negative outcomes by depicting the characters with anxiety, describing horror-filled battle scenes and revealing the thirst for power during these times. Sheinkin supports his claim by using memorable moments in the novel such as when the bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and the entire city is close to being wiped out; also when Stalin is upset that the Americans completed the atomic bomb which leads to another race of building upwards
The engineers in Visit Sunny Chernobyl created a new frontier past the safety zone because they want to test the limits of the reactor. What the scientists didn’t account for is that fact that the reactors already had the potential of a dangerous chain reaction. (Blackwell 6) Consequently, their boundary destroying led to catastrophic consequences and the total annihilation of a land area because of massive radiation. Blackwell thought Chernobyl was so horrific he expressed that no one should visit without a “working understanding of radiation and how it’s measured” (Blackwell 7). These are some horrific consequences that followed from surpassing the
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,
Brown took her time to interview people and look through archives to get the raw scenery of what happened behind closed doors. The third part was “The Plutonium Disasters.” She brought light to how dangerous it was to work and live there, and most of the people in the camp did not know how it can affect their body. Dr. Herbert Parker, the head of the Health Physics Division, “estimated there were eight hundred million flakes of [plutonium], which, if sucked into workers’ lungs or [ingested], could lodge in soft organs and remain in the body of years, a tiny time bomb that Parker feared would produce cancer” (Brown 166). This radioactive element that workers are producing is not just affecting the environment, but is also affecting the workers and their families. Brown has given an immense amount of evidence to explain to the readers how it affected so many of the workers’ health; she gives a vivid picture of how the radioactivity and particles of plutonium lingers in the air. The affects to the workers and their family ranges from cancerous cells to organ deterioration, when a pregnant woman is exposed to it, the health of her baby is also at risk. The fourth and last part of the book is “Dismantling the Plutonium Curtain,” this curtain is the curtain of secrecy. Brown interviewed people who lived in the camps as children and also people who worked there. Many of the people she
Hurricane Season, directed by Tim Story, follows a high school basketball coach named Al Collins, played by Forest Whitaker, who builds a team of players around the Louisiana area that were affected by the devastating Hurricane Katrina, and leads them to a state championship. On the way, Coach Collins encounters many obstacles, such as where to play, trying to recruit players and keeping them from joining other teams, and also negative influences in the locker room. All of these issues they faced kept them motivated and helped the team become more of a cohesive unit and winners.
E.K. Hornbeck through his language in “Inherit the Wind” (1955) tries to show the town of Hillsboro the way that their thoughts are harmful and wrong. Hornbeck backs that up by using a sarcastic tone to show them how ridiculous they are being, by using metaphors and similies to give the citizens context from the outside world that they might not always consider due to their closed mindedness, and by using syntax to prove that he is better than them and making himself and his views credible. His purpose is to get the town to change their viewpoint so they can see that they need to move forward with the time. He establishes a superior relationship with his audience of small town people with narrow viewpoints who need to learn to be more accepting.
Does a father love his son? Josh wondered if his father loved him many days during his younger years, and love takes on a whole new meaning in Irene Hunt’s book No Promises in the Wind. The book starts out in Chicago in 1932 during the Great Depression period, times are tough as Josh’s father is without work and putting a simple meal on the table is a blessing. Josh also finds himself resenting his brother Joey because when he was born was when all happiness in the family ended, due to Joey’s many medical problems. This is one of the reasons that prompts Josh and his friend Howie to run away and find a better life, while Joey
In 1917 a young female right out of high school started working at a radium factory in Orange, New Jersey. The job was mixing water, glue and radium powder for the task of painting watch dials, aircraft switches, and instrument dials. The paint is newly inventive and cool so without hesitation she paints her nails and lips with her friends all the while not knowing that this paint that is making them radiant, is slowly killing them. This was the life of Grace Fryer. Today there are trepidations on the topic of radiation from fears of nuclear fallout, meltdowns, or acts of terrorism. This uneasiness is a result of events over the past one hundred years showing the dangers of radiation. Although most accidents today leading to death from radiation poisoning occur from human error or faults in equipment, the incident involving the now named "radium girls" transpired from lack of public awareness and safety laws. (introduce topics of the paper)
In 1945, America terrified the world by using the Atom Bomb in Hiroshima and later in Nagasaki. This fear of the most powerful weapon ever created started a cold war between America and Russia. These two great nations had started the race for the super bomb, which would have each country trying to out do the other for decades to come.
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.
The reader does not know of the nuclear war right away. Ray Bradbury reveals it through the description of the outside of the house and its surroundings. “Ten o 'clock. The sun came out from behind the rain. The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes. This was the one house left standing. At night the ruined city gave of a radioactive glow which could be seen for miles” (Bradbury, par.1).The story is about a smart house that has continued on after all humans have passed away. The house is the only house left standing in the ruined city.
The atomic bomb is the subject of much controversy. Since its first detonation in 1945, the entire world has heard the aftershocks of that blast. Issues concerning Nuclear Weapons sparked the Cold War. We also have the atomic bomb to thank for our relative peace in this time due to the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The effects of the atomic bomb might not have been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated with the intention of bringing an end to the war with Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The fact of Japan's imminent defeat, the undeniable truth that relations with Russia were deteriorating, and competition for the division of Europe prove this without question.
Their family may struggle to get through some problems and some of their gender roles do not meet the traditional way, but they always make it work the best they can (p.115). They are not judgmental, have values, and everyone love each other (p.34). I love that the characters do not always get along and everything is not perfect. When I am a little older, I want to adopt a few children and this show expresses to me a different perspective and objection of life growing up in the foster system with parents that are different (p.35). I have not seen anything on this show that is not relatable to a common family or someone I do not
A High Wind in Jamaica is set in The Caribbean during the mid-1800’s. The book is about a group of children living on a pirate ship, and gives insight into the world that children live in. Over the course of the book, the children do many bad things, without feeling any guilt: Emily murders a man; Rachael drops a marlin spike from the mast almost killing Emily, and Emily condemns the captain and crew that she had come to love to death or deportation without seeming to care at all.
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.