Terry Tempest Williams 'Essay' The Clan Of One-Breasted Women

178 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: John Williams essays

In Terry Tempest Williams’ essay, “The Clan of One-Breasted Women”, Williams recounts her experiences of the aftermath of the United States government’s above ground nuclear tests in Utah. These tests were conducted during the 1950s arms race of the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union. Despite the government’s claims that the nuclear testing would not have a negative effect on the surrounding residential areas of Utah, many women, including members of Williams’ family, developed breast cancer due to radiation. As the correlation was drawn between the increase of cancer cases and radiation was drawn, demand for the government to acknowledge this fault and provide composition rose. Although, due to sovereign immunity, which

Show More
Related

  • Full Body Burden: Kristen Iversen at Rocky Flats

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to better understand the historical context of nuclear development it seems to me as though Iversen dove into a fair amount of investigative journalism. The book focuses primarily on the events of Rocky Flats and her life through a narrative nonfiction interpretation. By providing a journalist approach, Iversen makes it easy for the reader to build a relationship with the characters presented throughout the book. At times I found myself visualizing the intensity of the fires, the whirlwind of emotions from locals, and the lasting environmental impacts that would not only plague Colorado, but taint the reputation of what it means to be human.

    Read More

  • Women and Their Role in The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Things They Carried Women and their Role in The Things They Carried Within the book The Thing’s They Carried, the stories of the male soldiers and their dealings with the Vietnam War. However, he also delves into the stories of the women and how they affected the soldiers and their experiences in Vietnam. While the men dealt with the horrors of war, the women were right at their side, just not in as much of a public view as the male soldiers. O’Brien uses women such as Martha, Linda and Kathleen in The Things They Carried to punctuate how vital remembrance and recompense was to him and other soldiers in Vietnam.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Terry Tempest Williams' Short Story, The Clan of One-Breasted Women

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    Composing a story is not just about writing down ideas and events. The true art of writing is an intricate and timely process. Convincing the reader of your beliefs and opinions goes beyond actual facts and data. In the 1600's a man named Roberto de Nobili recognized this situation and discovered the rhetorical triangle, which is still commonly used today (Faigley 5).. The rhetorical triangle consists of three key structural terms that must be evident in a story to enable the reader to comprehend and trust the writer. The three tactics of persuasions became ethos, pathos and logos. The Clan of One-Breasted Women, by Terry Tempest Williams describes the tale of a young girl's family being affected by breast cancer and how it has greatly impacted her lifestyle. When taking a closer look at the structural content of the story, one can notice that the elements of persuasion are vaguely apparent and misused.

    Read More

  • The Clan of One-Breasted Women by Terry Tempest Williams

    1886 Words  | 4 Pages

    In our current society it is established that faith is equated with a type of blind acceptance of all that the church or institution stands for. Having faith is still viewed as a wholesome characteristic, though it is more and more becoming correlated with negative connotation that is commonly attached to a thoughtless, dogmatic approach – an absolute obedience of all tenets regardless of conscious thoughts and appeals. In a similar regard, patriotism has become an exemplar of modern faith because it calls for unchallenged compliance with both the laws of the government and their unjustified actions, especially during times of war. Primarily this absolute-authority mindset was instilled within the general population because of the principle of sovereign immunity that was instituted long before the United States was even founded. While widely accepted during the beginning of this country, landmark atrocities initiated by the government, regardless of rationale, emphasized this question of immunity to the people and the court system, eventually leading to revolutionary judgments against the government. Before this, especially during the Cold War, the government fought extensively to keep a jaded population through propaganda. When we view the history of both religion and government, the ideals behind true obedience are strongest when they allow for active engagement on behalf of the citizens, permitting them to question deeply and ultimately follow their consciences. One individual, who had the tragic benefit of being involved with an example of the landmark atrocities the government inflicted, came to the realization that, no matter what obstacles one faces, obedience...

    Read More

  • Growing Up In The Nuclear Shadow Of Rocky Flats Analysis

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    The US government hid a deadly secret in Rocky Flats. The department of Energy set up a nuclear plant for manufacture of plutonium triggers for use in nuclear weapons during the Cold War in 1950s and 1960s. For years, residents believed that the plant made industrial detergent (McGrath). During her childhood, Iversen inquired of her mother of the sole business of the Rocky Flats. Her mother said, “I think [Rocky Flats] makes cleaning supplies, scrubbing bubbles or something.” (Iversen 12). This was indeed a lie propagated among the Coloradans. Full Body Burden reveals cover-up of US government mistakes in justification of its security concerns. Establishment of the plant by the government resulted into radioactive emissions into the environment. Ef...

    Read More

  • A Brief Biography of Terry Temperst Williams

    1856 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...hole life, and because of this connection, her perception of cancer changed, “It was at this moment that I realized the deceit I had been living under. Children growing up in the American Southwest drinking contaminated breasts of their mothers, my mother-members, years later, of the Clan of One-Breasted Women” (283).

    Read More

  • Negligence In Woburn

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Civil Action portrays a fictional account of the real legal case pertaining to the hazardous waste site in Woburn, Mass. The waste site affected its surroundings, and in particular, Woburn, Mass. The waste site contaminated the river in which the community of Woburn used to drink from. Due to the water contamination, the children in Woburn have been dying of Leukemia. Although we are still ignorant of the exact cause of Leukemia, the contaminated water did affect people.

    Read More

  • Mary Wollstonecraft Feminism Analysis

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Wollstonecraft was the spear head of feminism in early England. She brought thoughts and arguments against societal norms into the minds of many that her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, became household knowledge throughout the United States. Her writings and radical ideas gave her the nickname of the Mother of Feminism of the early feminist movement. Likewise, Karl Marx published his Communist Manifesto in England. His writing aroused many thoughts focused on the class norms that existed throughout the world. Both, the Communist Manifesto and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, fight the exploitation of their respective classes and cause.

    Read More

  • Rachel Carson And The Cold War Essay

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Americans had knowledge of the events taking place during the war, but Carson shed a light on the ripple effects that the environment was experiencing. Silent Spring brings the focus to different threats that had arisen because of the war. In a way, Carson places the blame for the deterioration of the environment on mankind as a whole. In the past, wars had been fought without any use of nuclear weaponry. Carson’s writing really emphasizes the fault of mankind’s decision to hurt the environment. “Along with the possibility of extinction of mankind by nuclear war, the central problem of our age has therefore become the contamination of man’s total environment with such substances of incredible potential for harm – substances that accumulate in the tissues of plants and animals and even penetrate the germ cells to shatter or alter the very material of heredity upon which the shape of the future depends.” (Carson, 181). The writing technique Carson uses in Silent Spring has a way of making the reader feel guilty, especially considering that at the time of publication there was so much environmental destruction occurring. Carson’s writing helped to educate the American population of the harm to the environment caused by the Cold War. Because the war’s dangerous strategies provided such a strong backbone for Carson’s argument, the American public was very receptive of the content and themes presented in Silent

    Read More

  • The Clan Of One-Breasted Women Epilogue: Terry Tempest Williams

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    How do I like the story of “The Clan of One-Breasted Women Epilogue By : Terry Tempest Williams? . Its informational because it talks about how breast cancer is deadly and what the damage/trouble it can cause. The text was emotional because human beings were losing there own lives. Terry lost most of her family due to this disease and suffered a lot growing up, which must have been really tough for her and her family. Cancer was caused by a horrific radioactive fallout, that gave this problem to women/girls of all ages. This caused a lot of stress in everyone who was infected with this Cancer.

    Read More

  • Remembering the Radium Girls

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • The Clan Of The One Breasted Woman Analysis

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although, there is no evidence that the radiation caused the cancer, that is the most likely cause. I was also surprised by how having a mother exposed to the radiation and is breastfeeding, it can affect the health of the child. It is heartbreaking to think that they were trying to do the best thing for their child, and while doing so, exposed them to deadly chemicals. Then she begins to discuss how her mother told her to “Just let it go” The author felt as if she could not let it go, as she saw this as terribly unjust. She describes how she would see these beautiful woman, become bald and sick. I felt like I could see this woman she was describing, and it was painful to think about. This story was difficult to read, as there was so solution to the problem. I was expecting for the end to include what was going to be done about this problem, but there was not. There was no way to prove that the nuclear bomb is what caused her family to die. This story, makes me want the United States to take responsibility for the pain that have

    Read More

  • Breast Argumentation Research Paper

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    A multitude of people would like to change something about their physical appearance and some actually do through cosmetic surgery whether it’s a rhytidectomy, abdominoplasty, or breast argumentation. However, these surgical procedures are not necessary to the patient health but instead, they are performed purely for the patients need to change how they are viewed. One of the most common procedures here in the US is breast argumentation for example, “between 2000 and 2006, a record number of women flocked to get implants; procedures rose by 55 percent” ("Why Thousands of Women Are Having Their Breast Implants Removed"). Many women have gone through the breast argumentation procedure to enlarge their breast size in which they choose between

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Kyle Whyte 'The Continuing Struggle Against Genocide'

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    She claims these violations occurred due to the “sexist and racist views of federal agencies, remnants of eugenics, population-control measures, and family-planning programs that drew large subsidies from the federal government.” (p. 72) The indigenous women victimized by these policies are oppressed by a specific ultimatum which states they must refrain from reproducing or else they will lose their health care benefits and financial support from the federal government. In addition, the federal government began to prey on those who were mentally ill, poor, criminal, retarded, or simply unsuccessful, deeming them socially, as well as biologically inferior. The concept of eugenics followed up on this governmental belief, assuming that by controlling minorities and “their breeding practices” (p.74) they could improve society. Due to this unethical American mentality, Native Americans lost their independence, experienced dramatic population losses, and were forced to depend on government subsidies and health care to survive. (p. 77) Because the government maintains the responsibility of providing services and allocations for the Indian women, they would prefer to limit that number rather than increase it. Ralston-Lewis offers solutions pertinent to the consent of the indigenous women, specifically Indian women who are considered to have high fertility rates, such as restating the rules and guidelines of medical contracts, simplifying the medical jargon for those whose first language is not English, enforcing their sobriety during the signing of these contracts, and eschewing coercion, fraud, and threats by the medical

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks

    330 Words  | 1 Pages

    Analysis of The Mother by Gwendolyn Brooks. For this assignment, I chose the poem "The Mother" by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem is generally about abortion and the feelings a mother has. It's about the remembrance of the children aborted and the little things children do that the mother will miss.

    Read More

More about Terry Tempest Williams 'Essay' The Clan Of One-Breasted Women

Open Document