Suddenly the entire earth is dark and desolate. Nothing resembles how it used to. Extreme paranoia is within every human, and all are fighting for their lives. In “The Portable Phonograph” written by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, is a short story that takes place where a nuclear winter has occurred. This short story gives us all the information of how one would feel and what one would experience during a nuclear winter. In “How to Survive a Nuclear Winter” by James Roberts, is an article that gives thorough instructions of how to survive during a nuclear winter. This article also gives all the needed information about nuclear winters, so that people can better understand them. A nuclear winter would be extremely difficult to live through, considering the environment would …show more content…
The effects of a nuclear winter would strongly affect the environment. The temperature would change drastically during a nuclear winter and “there would be a 22 degree C drop in mid-latitudes and a 10 degree drop in more humid areas” (Roberts, 2007, p. 1). Such a sudden drop in temperature would greatly affect the world and our environment. Since it would be extremely cold, many people would die because of this drop in temperature. With the temperature getting colder, it would be more difficult to find food. A longstanding winter would impact the ability to grow food. That being said, “food would no doubt become an issue even if the rest of our social structure remained intact” (Roberts, 2007, p. 2). After a nuclear bomb is dropped, there is always radiation that follows. UV radiation is very dangerous and
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.
Imagine working with radioactive materials in a secret camp, and the government not telling you that this material is harmful to your body. In the book Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters by Kate Brown, she takes her readers on a journey to expose what happened in the first two cities that started producing plutonium. Brown is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She has won a handful of prizes, such as the American Historical Association’s George Louis Beer Prize for the Best Book in International European History, and was also a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow. Brown wrote this book by looking through hundreds of archives and interviews with people, the evidence she found brought light to how this important history of the Cold War left a nuclear imprint on the world today.
When drastic times occur and sweep one of everything they own, do they have a plan of action? Will they be prepared for a life without power, resources, and stability? Many times when people are faced with this situation they find themselves unprepared and unable to live in such conditions. They lose the connections with the world, the water they drink is likely to get contaminated, and the scarcity of goods is a threat to themselves and anyone left alive. Everywhere around them there is death and destruction leaving them isolated in their own dystopia. Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon illustrates a nuclear bomb simulation. In such a way, he gives the readers a taste of isolation and survival needs when facing such drastic times. So the question is: how does one survive in the isolation left behind from a nuclear war?
Ever since time began, Humans have circled the Earth searching for riches, land and to unravel the mysteries of the universe. When Humans see something they desire, they do whatever it takes, by sword, persuasion, or negotiation to achieve it. Moreover every moment of mankind 's existence is spent trying to become stronger than their neighbor and even nature itself. Since its dawning, mankind has always been a war ragging race. Moreover, the smarter this race thinks they get, the more they take for granted of what the beautiful creator has given them. Along with that, every human lives a technology filled life, it is as if the entire race has been disconnected from the natural giving planet around them. Nevertheless, if one mistake stands above all, it is their lack of knowledge of their own history. No matter how many times mankind makes a fatal mistake they never learn from it and within a decade they repeat the process again. Walter Clark 's "the Portable Phonograph" perfectly shows how humans take
Use of Setting in "The Shawl" and "The Portable Phonograph" In literature, setting is often used to enhance or develop characters, provide realism, and create a mood or atmosphere for a story (Roberts 256). Two short stories, "The Shawl" by Cynthia Ozick and Walter Van Tillburg Clark’s "The Portable Phonograph" explore victims of war in the vivid settings that the authors have created. Although both works are vague as to geographic setting and place in time, the authors’ detailed descriptions of the character’s surroundings envelop the reader and lend an air of authenticity to the tales (Kauvar 180). "The Shawl" and "The Portable Phonograph" differ in their treatment of symbolism and characterization but their ingenious use of setting to create a theme unites these two stories.
Steele Dorn, Ka ren. “Time bombs keep going off for cancer-plagued families in Idaho who lived downwind of nuclear testing in the 1950s.” Downwinders (October 24, 2004). 11 April 2005
A major advantage of nuclear power is that it does not release any carbon emissions like fossil fuels (“Advantages and Disadvantages of Nuclear Energy”). The burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases, which is what causes global warming. The transition to using fewer resources like these and using more nuclear power for energy will benefit the environment greatly. Arctic environments will not suffer, and ocean levels won’t rise. Global warming can even cause an increase in tropical storms. In the city, cars already release a ton of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, so using nuclear power will show a small decrease in pollution over time. Also, the health of citizens will slightly improve, but there will still be the fumes released from cars. Even though this would only be a small decrease in pollution, every little bit helps towards the Earth.
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)
“When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted, or take them with gratitude.” This quote by G. K. Chesterson, representing people’s struggle to show future generations what life was like by preserving classics. This is shown by the phonograph in “The Portable Phonograph” by Walter Van Tilburg Clark. “The Portable Phonograph” has many examples of symbolism including the portable phonograph, the needle, the records, the lead pipe, the books, and elements of setting including the prairie, the cell and the cell block, and the black cloud strips.
“Snow” is a short story in first person narration, told by the main character. Set during a time when people lived in fear of nuclear fallout. Instructions were often reiterated in school and on the radio about how to react when seeing the flash. This nuclear fallout setting lends itself to intrigue and suspense; it is intensified by the use of the narrator. The narrator, a young girl, gives the reader a perspective of child like understanding and, a limited understanding. The main character’s mind is full of nuclear fallout lessons, one after another in class. The main character, which has never seen snow before, sees it begin to snow outside the school window. The girl cries out, “Bomb Bomb”, terrifying the teacher and other students (85). As other girls in the class begin to cry the teacher reassures and explains to the main character what snow is and, that there is no bomb. If the author of Snow had told the story from an adult’s point of view, maybe the teacher’s, the story would lack believabi...
4) "First Half of Chernobyl Cover on the Move." Chernobyl. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
In 1945, the United States released a nuclear bomb that destroyed the city of Hiroshima. Nagasaki was also bombed. Thousands of people died and a quarter of a million more perished of radiation poisoning (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”). With the development of nuclear weapons in the world the possibility of a nuclear war was a daily fear within people (“There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)”).
The idea of the phonograph came from the man who invented the light bulb. Thomas Alva Edison is one of the greatest inventors of all time decided to create this invention. In 1877, Edison was working on a machine that would decipher telegraphic messages to paper tape. He used a diaphragm with an embossing point. This would be held onto a moving paraffin paper. Thus when spoken into it, the vibrations made indentations on it.
The use of nuclear power in the mid-1980s was not a popular idea on account of all the fears that it had presented. The public seemed to have rejected it because of the fear of radiation. The Chernobyl accident in the Soviet Union in April of 1986 reinforced the fears, and gave them an international dimension (Cohen 1). Nevertheless, the public has to come to terms that one of the major requirements for sustaining human progress is an adequate source of energy. The current largest sources of energy are the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas. Fear of radiation may push nuclear power under the carpet but another fear of the unknown is how costly is this going to be? If we as the public have to overcome the fear of radiation and costly project, we first have to understand the details of nuclear energy. The known is a lot less scary then the unknown. If we could put away all the presumptions we have about this new energy source, then maybe we can understand that this would be a good decision for use in the near future.
This short story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. It is unclear to the readers how the world got to be this way. This story takes place four years after all this chaos began. The narrator does an excellent job setting the scene throughout the story using lots of details. It is revealed throughout the story that it takes place during