Richard Preston beings his enthralling and gory non-fiction story in western Kenya where a lonely Frenchmen by the name of Charles Monet comes down with a mysterious and lethal virus. The author immediately fills readers with a fear of the unknown. Especially the unknown pathogen that has potential to end lives. Throughout the first half of this non-fiction thriller, numerous violent accounts of those who succumbed to the infection and close calls of those who work closely with the virus are described in stomach churning detail. Professionals such as Nancy Jaax and Eugene Johnson at the USAMRIID spend their day testing and investigating viruses such as Ebola under the safety of their 'Biological Space Suits'. When perhaps the most dangerous …show more content…
He then calls civilian virologist Peter Jahrling to examine infected blood. The team at USAMRIID begins to grow the virus in test tubes filled with monkey cells to watch the effects of the virus on the cells. One morning during the incubation process intern Tom Geisbert checks on the progress when he notices the cells are puffy, dying, and full of black specks. Speculating a possible bacterial contamination,Tom and Peter Jahrling whiff the tube in order to detect a specific odor associated with the bacteria. After further inspection it is believed to be the same strain of Marburg that Peter Cardinal harbored. Currently in the novel a quiet panic has erupted between Tom Geisbert and Peter Jahrling, along colonel C.J Peters who has been alerted of the potentially potent situation lying at their fingertips. As I began to read and become interested in the Hot Zone I couldn't help but feel a familiarity with what I was reading. Aside from the devastatingly vast outbreak of Ebola in 2014, the subject was a stranger to me. It then occurred to me that I had previously viewed the movie Outbreak in a Science
This summer we had an opportunity to dive into the world of bioweapons, through Richard Preston’s novel The Demon in the Freezer. His book explored the colorful world of smallpox and its use as a biological weapon. Earlier this week we were graced with this authors present for an ACES event. He discussed some of the found topics in his book such as animal testing, what small pox is, and even its eradication. One of the great things we had the chance of vocalizing were our many opinions on the gloom associated with this intriguing disease.
The book jumps to a distressing story about Peter Los in 1970 in West Germany who became ill due to smallpox. After ten days he was hospitalized but medical staff did not realize he had smallpox, which is highly contagious. Preston gives vivid descriptions of the disease and how it ravages the body. Los survived his illness, but caused an epidemic that killed many others that had become exposed to him. “Today, the people who plan for a smallpox emergency can’t get the image of the Meschede hospital out of their minds.
The book Zoot Suit has symbolic significance for Mexican Americans and tells about the riots during World War II. The Sleepy Lagoon Murder was one step in the fight for the rights and respect of Mexican American's. This riot involved young servicemen and civilians who clashed in the streets of the city with young Mexican Americans who wore the noticeable "Zoot Suit." At their height, the riots involved several thousand men and women. In the end no one was killed and only a few were injured but even today, the Zoot Suit riots are remembered for their significance.
Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
Luis Valdez made a great contribution to Chicano theater when he created a Chicano musical a form of theater that was more common for white America. As I read Zoot Suit I could not stop wondering how the play would look once it was on stage. I could not picture a play that included singing and dancing one which does not compare to the other plays written by Luis Valdez and the Teatro Campesino. I only wish that I had been lucky enough to watch the play live. However, I do feel that if the play was to be re-enacted it would not have the same effect on it’s viewers of today as it might have then. Unfortunately I feel that might be its only downfall. I was still really amazed that this play made it to Broadway and I feel it was just as worthy of it as other plays have been. It is also very interesting to note that it was his longest running play in Los Angeles however; I am assuming that has to do with the large number of Mexican and Mexican-Americans living in LA during that time.
The medical field is a vast land of beauty but with great beauty comes immense horror. There are many deadly viruses and diseases found in the medical field. In the novel, The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, the author discusses the many deadly viruses found in the field. The viruses are widespread due to the errors that occur when the viruses are in the presence of human beings. The effects of the errors performed by the human race include a decrease in population and wildlife. The viruses are spread in many different ways in the novel, but all are due to human mistakes.
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston In October of 1989, Macaque monkeys, housed at the Reston Primate. Quarantine Unit in Reston, Virginia, began dying from a mysterious disease at an alarming rate of the. The monkeys, imported from the Philippines, were to be sold as laboratory animals. Twenty-nine of a shipment of one hundred died within a month.
Over 84 years ago New York was the city of swing. In a realm where culture clashed with politics, race with class and gender with society most teenagers spent an ample amount of their spare time dancing to the music of Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and the likes of others. With the music, blasting in their ears and sweat dripping of their skin the youth was engulfed in a period that would come to stand as a turning point for African-Americans. Despite the rage of the music, there is no question that appearances and the right attire also played a prominent role in the culture of that time. In a society wherein which, Blacks were discriminated and stereotyped against their clothing distinguished and set them apart. The Zoot-Suit, one of the significant symbols of fashion during the era of Swing music was more than embellished get-up. It was a statement, a rebellion, a cultural identification even, but mainly it was a reminder of the social order of society that failed to express and identify certain races1. Although many have argued that racial tensions leading up to the riots emerged from the attitudes of the various races, I stand that fashion choices chosen by the youth of that period played a substantial role in the insurgence. This paper explores the history of the suit, its social and political contexts, its connection to music as well as the implications of fashion choices during the 1930’s and 1940’s.
Not only are the descriptions of cases terrifying, but McKenna’s word choice provides the fuel for the fire. The book uses phrases that sound as if they were pulled directly out of a Contagion sequel, such as a rare subcategory of MRSA that manifests as a “flesh eating disease.” “Cloud babies,” is a name given to infected newborns that are capable of spreading MRSA throughout hospital nurseries by shedding the bacteria on microscopic particles,. These erie definitions and surreal scientific evidence work in conjunction with McKenna’s knack for storytelling to paint a picture of the next big
Zoot Suit, a play written by Luis Valdez, depicts the racially charged trial of the Sleepy Lagoon Case of 1942 in which the courts charged a group of Pachucos with the murder of another Mexican-American. During the 1940s, many Mexican-Americans suffered widespread discrimination as dramatized in Zoot Suit. To combat such discrimination many Chicano youth wore stylized zoot suits, adorned with oversized jackets during fabric shortages as a form of social and political rebellion. Zoot Suiters felt disempowered by their position within society and used their fashion to send out a message and as a means to regain their masculinity. The Pachucos were accused with the murder of a fellow Mexican-American not because of clear evidence or proof, but because of their ethnic identity, renegade style of dressing, and behavior. The fundamental conflict that led to their arrest and unfair trial was a clash between Mexican-Americans and the dominant White American culture. Acting as a host, El Pachuco is the spirit of the ideal, defiant Pachuco and serves as Henry’s Reyna’s alter ego throughout the play, intermingling past Mexican culture with the current Zoot Suit culture. El Pachuco serves as a corrective to illustrate the heavy biases that the court and media displayed throughout the 1940s against Chicano people. Through his constant interjections during the courtroom scene, and his final confrontation with the reporter at the conclusion of the play he points out the injustices that Mexican-Americans had to endure.
In the book “Mountains beyond Mountains,” Tracy Kidder narrators her adventures in Haiti, following Dr. Paul Farmer. Farmer is a MD who graduated from Harvard Medical school, earned his PhD in anthropology, and is currently on his journey to “cure the world.” When Farmer learned about diseases such as HIV, AIDS, and tuberculosis (TB), that plagued Haiti, he knew he needed to help. Farmer learns Haiti’s native language, Creole, and explores the impoverished towns until he finds the most desolate: Cange. He builds a clinic in Cange, using funding from successful business owner, Tom White, and begins his process of eradicating the most vicious diseases in Cange. Farmer flies back and forth from Brigham Hospital in Boston to Port-au-Prince, Haiti
The readings done in class shared the common theme of a protagonist being resilience towards certain setbacks caused from bigotry and injustices towards the chicana/ chicano characters in the stories. Each of the protagonist in these tales shared similaires qualities that allows to resist oppression such as there own personal experiences. The protagonist in “Zoot Suit”, Henry and his companions were falsely accused of murder of another latino because of the association of their “Zoot Suit” as the impression as a violent gang but were able to resist and fought. Each of the protagonist in the stories hold the similar qualities of being strong willed, factoring from either their own personal experience or their culture “traditions” and allows them to become a force to resists these injustices.
Based on the infamous 1942 “Sleepy Lagoon” murder mystery and the resulting “Zoot Suit Riots” in Los Angeles , playwright Luis Valdez weaves fact and fiction to depict the fate of 22 young Mexican Americans brought to trial for a murder they did not commit.
Johnson’s story follows the journeys of characters we come to know well and their reactions to the cholera outbreak. Our interest is kept by the ongoing revelation of important information, and the developing conflict between a major character and his view of the epidemic versus that of majority of others, both in the scientific community and the population at large. He keeps us guessing about how and if the mystery will be solved and at the same time recreates a world that is completely unknown to us.
Helen Epstein.(2008) .The invisible cure: Why we are losing the Fight against AIDS in Africa. New York: