Nothing in life is ever certain or can be taken for granted, including a human life. Having good health, plenty of money or even the newest technology cannot secure a safe existence. The life of a human is very delicate. One small disruption can cause injury or even fatality. Robert Heinlein frequently includes, in his short stories, the theme of humankind’s fragility in life. Most people believe that they will be safer in the future because of the constant improvements in technology, but this thought is not certain. In “Expanded Universe”, a collection of short stories, Heinlein writes about the true characteristics of the future (Slusser 229). From a machine that can inform a person the day they die, to the harsh reality of working at a nuclear power plant, and even to the Moon; Heinlein, in his narratives, combines a future surrounding with a life-threatening situation to create an appealing plot. Throughout his short stories, Robert A. Heinlein introduces a futuristic society and identifies the fragility and mortality of mankind.
In "Blowups Happen", Heinlein uses a person's stressful occupation to show his theme of human mortality. The story is about the lives of employees working at, "...the most dangerous machine in the world-an atomic power plant" (Heinlein 44). Each day, the workers feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders; one small error in their work could kill thousands of people. Their occupation is simply to monitor the nuclear reactors and test new elements. The goal of this is to create energy with a bi-product utilizable for fuel. It sounds simple, and even, “sensitive people may need to work under enormous pressures, but they mostly continue to function” (Franson). Unfortunately, that ...
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...fterword. Expanded Universe. By Heinlein. Riverdale: Baen Publishing Enterprises, 2003. 109-10. Print.
- - -. “Life-Line.” Expanded Universe. Riverdale: Baen Publishing Enterprises, 2003. 7-33. Print.
- - -. “Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon.” Expanded Universe. Riverdale: Baen Publishing Enterprises, 2003. 335-72. Print.
- - -. “Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon.” Foreword. Expanded Universe. By Heinlein. Riverdale: Baen Publishing Enterprises, 2003. 333-34. Print.
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"Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy...
The television broadcast of the Apollo 11 lunar-landing on July 20, 1969 had a significant impact by creating a sense of community on a national, international, and global level. During the broadcast of the first lunar landing, Americans experienced a moment of unity and patriotism in the midst of societal issues and geopolitical conflict. The Apollo 11 broadcast also had a significant worldwide impact, surpassing international boundaries as people witnessed the first of mankind to set foot on another planet. Yet possibly the most remarkable and unforeseen effect of the moon-landing television broadcast was that it changed the public perspective of the world, showing people the relative fragility and insignificance of the Earth in the vast
The moment astronauts set foot on Earth’s Moon, in July of 1969, the legacy of the United States’ space program changed forever. Countless Americans watched the launch and landing of Apollo 13 on their televisions with pride on that day, proud of their country for achieving such an insane goal as walking on the Moon. While NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, struggled through obstacle after obstacle, invented new technologies and advanced old ones, placed the first man on the Moon, because the Soviet Union threatened to beat the U.S. to the space frontier, the nation greatly congratulated the feat that began the technological era. After forty-five years, however, the awe Americans held over NASA’s programs dwindled considerably. Although NASA no longer holds the nation in awe over their moon mission achievements, NASA programs remain vital to the United States because they advance everyday technologies, inspire creative visions, and discover greater knowledge for the entire public to benefit from.
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On September 12, 1962 John Franklin Kennedy charged the nation to achieve what no other civilization had done before; he charged the United States to place a man on the moon. Kennedy delivered his man on the moon speech in a time of great peril for the United States. It appeared that the Soviet Union was rising faster than the United States was posed to take our place as the world’s super power. His moving speech in Rice Stadium inspired the nation and other nations, to take the challenge and travel to the moon. Kennnedy use of allusions, repetition, and rhetorical questions motivate and embolden his audience, and make a difference that would last forever.
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