Krakatoa: The Day The World Exploded, by Simon Winchester, gives a thrilling account of the cataclysmic disaster of the same name. Krakatoa, the volcanic island in Java whose whose disastrous eruption caused earthquakes and tsunamis felt around the world, is remembered as one of the biggest catastrophes in human history. The book’s exhilarating narrative of the legendary event gives readers a brand new perspective on the catastrophe. It’s diverse topics such as detailed accounts of the event to science factoids keeps the reader interested and engaged. Although its narration may be hard to understand for readers who are new to the nonfiction genre, Winchester does his best to portray the captivating true story and place the reader in the survivors’ shoes. …show more content…
Winchester takes the time to write multiple accounts of the eruption and writes a variety of perspectives on the event. For example, while sailor’s accounts of the situation started with “white smoke coming from the volcano,” other people such as families on the island felt “the earth shake” first, and then saw “enormous chunks of pumice fall from the sky, “ (213-218). Similar to a puzzle, these detailed accounts of the disaster chosen by Winchester creates a vivid picture of the event when put together. In addition to these accounts, Winchester’s attention to detail adds more depth to the book. Although some may consider the details excessive and overloaded, in my opinion it only adds clarity and is a necessary aspect in the nonfiction genre. Winchester’s attention to detail, such as the background history of the island to the Dutch early occupation of the island, only makes the book a richer reading experience and teaches the reader facts beyond the catastrophe
He begins Chapter One with the explanation of the main points that will be discussed within the book. Chapter Two discusses the people of Lima’s reasons as to why they believed and feared this tragedy was caused by God’s fury.... ... middle of paper ... ... His articulation of the disastrous and catastrophic event was detailed, strong, and emotionally invoking.
In the great wave it also looks as if the white tips of the crest of the wave could be the beaks of white birds ready to snatch the boats or the fishermen out of the boats. In the Inlet of Nobuto the larger of the torii frames the mountains. It’s been said that tori have a connection between white birds and the souls of the dead or even just death in Japan and birds in general.
...815 eruption of Mount Tambora. With over 70,000 deaths and a rating of 7 on the volcanic exclusivity index, this eruption is one of the largest in recorded history. Not only did this volcano cause destruction in Indonesia but the consequences were further felt around the world, as volcanic ash and sulphuric gases were dumped into the stratosphere causing a global climate shift. Dark clouds covered the sun, and dramatic weather changes ensued. Flash floods frequently occurred wiping out a great deal of crop eventually causing prices to skyrocket. Disease began to spread due to malnourishment and unsanitary living conditions. Eventually these consequences subsided and citizens began to migrate towards Mount Tambora once again. Today the government has placed seismic sensors are set up in the most volatile areas to ensure preparedness in the event of another volcano.
Then, in 1953 a new horror hits the island – the earthquake. The events ...
The Great Wave off Kanagawa was created by Katsushika Hokusai; it is a polychrome woodblock print using ink and colours on paper. It is part of a series titled ‘Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji’ which were made between 1829-1832. Hokusai was born in 1760 in Edo, Japan and died on the 10th May, 1849 in Edo, Japan. He lived during the ukiyo-e period. The Great Wave off Kanagawa is 25.4x35.5 centimetres (10x14 inches). Hokusai has exaggerated the size of the wave to make it look intimidating, raging and menacing to those in the boats below. Although there is so much anger and tension in the front of the print, Mount Fuji is in the background to bring contrast to the print. Mount Fuji is very serene and brings peace
In the story of The Island of “Kora”, the island had been devastated by a violent earthquake that had been triggered by a volcano eruption four years earlier. The island which had prior to the disaster been about twenty square miles in size and been reduced to less than a fourth that size to about four square miles. The island prior to the earthquakes had previously been able to support comfortably 850 to 900 people. It was a peaceful island where the inhabitants got along well. Because of the disasters the lives of the inhabitants had been changed forever.
The eruption on Mount Saint Helens has a specific cause and comes with many effects. A multifold of people would say that the “mountain looked like the site of an atomic blast” (Bredeson 30). That is a very accurate depiction as it took great power to inflict as much damage as it did. The reason for this impressive amount of force is that when magma is built up with pressure and an earthquake hits, the pressure gets magnified and the volcano explodes (Lewis). This is exactly what happened inside Mount Saint Helens. Furthermore, it has been revealed that “The earthquake that triggered the explosion was a 5.2 on the Richter scale” (Gunn 559). The earthquake to the magma can be compared as a match to gasoline. Even though the earthquake was not huge, the scale of the eruption was much greater than that of the earthquake (Gunn 560). The earthquake was only the trigger that allowed for more devastating things to occur. Thirteen hundred feet of the volcano were lost in the explosion followed by landslides, mudslides, and lava flows...
"The Most Terrible Was Yet To Come": San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906." Map of Time A Trip Into the Past. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
These differences are in the makeup of the volcano, the impact on society, and the eruption itself. Mount Saint Helens, used to be a wonder of the world, but now a damage site of what happened on May 18, 1980. Mauna Loa is a tourist destination and one of the most active dispensers of lava and magma in the world. As shown, these volcanoes can’t be more different. Yet, each volcano has been a culprit to destruction, and have similarities within themselves. This report has expressed many similarities and differences and brought facts and knowledge to the historical eruptions by these impressive and ancient structures of
Stories about volcanoes are captivating. Myths come in different versions, but all of them are capable of capturing yours, and everybody’s imagination.
Super Volcanoes There is no exact definition for a super volcano, but the expression is often used to refer to volcanoes that have produced extraordinarily large eruptions in the past. When one of these large eruptions occurs, a huge amount of material is blasted out of the super volcano, leaving a massive crater or caldera. A caldera can be as much as forty or fifty miles wide. At Yellowstone, the caldera is so big that it includes a fair amount of the entire park. In effect, it is so big that at first scientists didn't see the state a caldera had until it was photographed from space.
The conditions of the earthquake depicts an image of hell. The images of collapsing buildings and the chaos of destruction associates with the fires and chaos of hell. Jeronomo’s experience of the earthquake represents the earthquake as creating hell on earth by the amount of casualties. For example, “there the flame, flashing in clouds of smoke curled out, of every gable and drove him, terrified, into another street” (Kleist, 124). The image of flames and clouds of smoke in this piece relates to the image of the fires of hell in apocalyptic literature. The flames from the earthquake presents this sense of the end of the world. Jeronimo's experience of the obstacles of smoke and fire illustrates a common perception of fires association wi...
An earthquake occurs abruptly and causes severs damage to people, property, landscape and more. A great mega-thrust earthquake, known as the Great Tohoku Earthquake has shaken Japan at 5:46:24 UTC on March 11, 2011. It caused a severe disaster, including tsunami and nuclear radiation exposure.. This mega-quake located at the latitude 38.297 degree North and longitude of 142.372 degree East, near the east coast of Honshu, Japan (USGS, 2013). An earthquake and tsunami waves caused widespread damage to many areas of Japan. People in Japan are still recovering from the damages.
The three volcanoes represent our problems. The active volcano is our current problems; the extinct, our past trials, and the dormant, the problems that we don't know if they are through or there are still to come. But as the rain stops pouring down, rainbow starts to form. Joy and pleasure must be earned-- not given or received -- like the joy the water from well gives to the little prince and the pilot. Its sweetness comes from the journey under the stars and the work of the pilot's arms making the pulley sing.
"Earth Island Journal." A Rising Ride Sinks All Islands Vol. 11. Fall 1999. 15 Jan 2005 .