The sirens of ambulances and fire trucks wailed with sadness and desolation as they desperately tried to reach the possible hundreds that were injured...or worse. The scenery was just like a black and white picture due to the smoke cloud that lingered on the streets. London was burning and everyone in the cafe knew it. She and everyone else felt a tremor beneath their feet that sent shock waves all around the room. It knocked items off the surrounding shelves and they fell to the ground. A silence fell over the room as a faint eruption from the distance caught everyone's attention. Suddenly, the deafening sound of sirens silenced the streets. Dazed, It only took a moment before people within the coffee shop and on the streets realised what was happening. People scattered every which way, running frantically to find cover. Still confused, she followed the crowd outside. The air was thick, with ash and smoke that clogged her lungs making the air around her almost unbreathable.
Looking up, she saw the Luftwaffe bombers polluting London's night skies, dropping bombs and not caring wh...
... blown up on top of a sign after a tire tractor blew up, she was petrified of the same thing happening to her.
In the book Heat Wave A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, by Eric Klinenberg expose how a number of social, political, and economical factors created one of the largest and most traumatic events in recent history. The Chicago heat wave in 1995 was a disaster, which led to over 700 heat-related deaths in Chicago over a five days period creating. Most of the victims of the heat wave were poor elderly residents of the city, who didn’t have any relative or were neglected by the public officials and was unable to purchase air-conditioning units for their home. Most of the elderly isolated themselves and refused to open windows or sleep outside in fear of crime. Alot of lives were loss or in destress because of isolation, poverty and media who played a major role by portraying the countless deaths on the natural disaster and highlighting of negative activities especially in the urban area
”Battle of Britain, in World War II, a series of air battles between Great Britain and Germany, fought over Britain from Aug. to Oct., 1940. As a prelude to a planned invasion of England, the German Luftwaffe attacked British coastal defenses, radar stations, and shipping. On Aug. 24 the attack was shifted inland to Royal Air Force installations and aircraft factories in an effort to gain control of the air over S England. Failing to destroy the RAF, the Germans began (Sept. 7) The night bombing, or blitz, of London. Heavy night bombings of English cities continued into October, when the attack was shifted back to coastal installations. The Germans gradually gave up hope of invading England, and the battle tapered off by the end of October. Though heavily outnumbered, the RAF put up a gallant defense; radar, used for the first time in battle by Britain, played an important role. The Germans lost some 2,300 aircraft; the RAF 900. The Battle of Britain was the first major failure of the Germans in World War II, and it thwarted Hitler's plan to force Britain to accept peace or face invasion” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia).
Germany developed a 'night fighter' force to counteract the bomber fleet. They were equipped with an on board radar, which enabled them to locate the bombers in the darkness. The German industry was sub-divided in an attempt to minimise the effectiveness of bombing raids.
This was to prepare for a ground invasion called Operation Sea Lion. “Eagle-day” is then planned to be begun by the Germans, which is a continued destruction of the RAF and a plan to install radar. However, this is delayed with poor weather conditions. Bombing continues in Britain, but the RAF are not yet defeated. They defend themselves aggressively, destroying at least 104 German aircrafts with a continued defeat of 330 German aircrafts. The British are constantly killing thousands of German troops, and Hitler eventually postpones Operation Sea Lion, with a new interest in dominating Russia. From both sides of the battle, more than 3,000 aircraft were destroyed; 1,023 from the British side, and 1,887 from the Luftwaffe. 544 RAF command pilots died, and 2,500 Luftwaffe aircraft were killed. During the relentless bombing known as “The Blitz”, 40,000 British citizens tragically died in the process. Britain had a much higher advantage in the war, due to its high performing navy, compared to Germany’s non-existing navy due to losses in Norway. If the Germans never gave up on this battle and won, the United States would probably become involved much deeper in the war. The Battle of Britain officially ended on October 31,
In the story “The shattered Sky”, the author, Kristin Lewis, helps the reader understand what it was like to live through the 1917 Explosion in Halifax Harbor. Lewis does this by grabbing the reader's attention and telling a particular story of someone who witnessed this tragic event. The author paints a picture which gives the reader a good understanding of what’s going on.
Ten million California residents who lived closely from the major fault lines could have been endangered in many extreme ways. (House, 56). A tragic thing was that after the earthquake a multitudes of fire followed right after. The situation led to the water mains being destroyed and the firefighter being left with no water to settle the growing fire which continued blazing. The bay water was planned on putting all of the dure out but it was to far in distance to be able to transport it (Earthquake of 1906, 2). The firefighters who were putting out the fire were either surrounded or being burned by the fire that was blazing in all directions (San Francisco Earthquake, 2). A resident who was present during the event mention that he/she saw men and women standing in a corner of a building praying, one person who became delirious by the horrific ways that were surrounding him while crying and screaming at the top of his lungs “the Lord sent it, the Lord”. Someone also mentioned that they experience themselves seeing Stones fall from the sky and crushing people to death. Reporters say there were 100 cannons going off (San Francisco Earthquake, 3). People who lived fifty miles away from the fire was able to “read the newspaper at
Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.
KEVIN and FATE are just two examples, the turbulence and unrest of its participants being expressed in a physical manner on London streets. The city can be regarded as both a grounding point and a reflection of the
In “Comprehending the Calamity,” she says, “ The immense fires started by the earthquake now made such a ruddy glow that it was easy to see everything, although the flames were two miles away”. This proves her point of view is that the fires made everything glow because when she sees the fire far away because of the bright color of the fire. She also says, “ No lights were allowed in the Park, and all was soon quiet except the wail of a baby, the clang of an ambulance, and the incessant roll of wheels and tramp of feet as the people constantly sought refuge”. This proves her point of view is that it was pitch black and there was no noise because everyone was so quiet and so friented. In conclusion, There was no light, the only light there was was the bright fire, The fire caused fright for people which made people go into silence, the only thing you can hear is the sound of crying babies , ring of the ambulance, and the noise of the wheels on the
The Collapse: Richard Van Camp’s “On the Wings of this Prayer” and Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The People of Sand and Slag”
On March 26, 1997, in what has become known as one of the most noteworthy mass suicides in history, thirty-nine men and women affiliated with the Heavens Gate cult took their own lives by ingesting a combination of Phenobarbitals mixed with applesauce and alcohol. Each was dressed all in black, their faces covered by a purple shroud. Those who wore glasses had them neatly folded next to their body, and all had identification papers for the authorities to find. The house was immaculate, tidier even than before the victims had moved in. It was as if, in preparing for their death, they were heeding the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” And while their abrupt end may seem rather strange, the way they lived is even more perplexing.
With concern over global warming growing, people are starting to turn a more serious eye toward cleaner sources of energy. Instead of solar power making a comeback as the ideal form, we are seeing a growth in the use of wind power. Wind farms are beginning to crop up all around the country. This new trend has gathered significant attention. Questions are being raised concerning the effects wind farms may have, from critics and supporters alike. Michelle Nijhuis, in the article “Selling the Wind” discusses the arguments on behalf of and in opposition to the increasing use of wind power, addressing what the consequences may be on the United States.
The genre of Where the Wind Leads is a memoir. A memoir is defined by The Handbook to Literature as, “[a] form of autobiographical writing dealing usually with the recollections of one who has been a part of or has witnessed significant events. Memoirs . . . are usually concerned with personalities and actions other than those of the writer” (Harmon and Holman 313).
All that could be heard was the distant wail of an ambulance siren, which rent the bitter evening air like a butcher’s knife through a carcass. It would’ve been hard to believe that only minutes ago the place had been alive with crowds and commotion and excitement; for now it stood empty. It seemed that time itself had stopped: that every clock, timepiece, wristwatch in the world had ceased to tick.