David Laskin’s The Children’s Blizzard explains the devastating force of an intense blizzard, which caught several people unprepared, and it tells the tragic stories of these people. On January 12, 1888 a massive blizzard struck the center of North America, killing between 250 to 500 people and affecting thousands. There were many factors that made this blizzard exceptionally deadly. Many farmers and children who were outside were unprepared to deal with any cold conditions, “a day when children had raced to school with no coats or gloves and farmers were far from home doing chores they had put off during the long siege of cold” (Laskin 2). The reason for this is because they had no idea the blizzard was coming. In this time the weather forecasts …show more content…
One moment the sky was growing a little grey, and the next thing you know you were surrounded by snow and stunning winds. The main reason this blizzard was unmistakingly deadly was because of its powerful winds, which would blow snow and ice into people’s faces, and the chilling temperatures of 40 below. People caught outside would have their nostrils and eyelids sealed shut by ice, their skin would tear open if they rubbed the ice off too much, and eventually their limbs would become frozen and lifeless. To sum it up, the people caught outside were at the mercy of the storm’s relentless force. David Laskin’s The Children’s Blizzard shows many acts of selflessness. Selflessness means, steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. However, selflessness has some connotative definitions as well such as: death, sacrifice, heroism, protecting, bravery, endurance, or …show more content…
Fred Weeks was an eighteen year old boy who was at school when the blizzard hit. Him, the other students, and May Hunt, the teacher, tried to stay in the school as long as possible before their fuel for a fire ran out. Once this happened May Hunt knew they would have to seek shelter in a near house owned by the Hinner’s. The class would have to cross a bridge to get over the gully, but with the poor visibility that bridge would be much harder to locate. Fred first shows selflessness with his decision to find the bridge so the younger children wouldn’t have to endure the harsh cold as long. “Fred volunteered to go scouting. If he could find the bridge, he’d clear a path and then come back for the others. Fred was gone for half an hour while the rest of them stood around the dying fire” (Laskin 161). This action shows selflessness very well because Fred could have easily stayed behind and had someone else do the job instead, but instead he immediately volunteers to go into a storm that he could get lost and die in within minutes of exposure. In fact, Fred actually withstood the storm longer than he had to. Once he found the bridge he tried to make sure he would remember the way when he would guide the rest of children to safety, “he had walked back and forth between the bridge not once but twice” (Laskin 161). He could have just gone back forth
I also learned that “He took of his mitts and felt around the shockingly cold snow, with his bare hands, looking for the Serum” ( Miller 234). I think that this shows selflessness because he risked his own self
Heroism: according to Vocabulary.com, is the act of putting others first, even at your peril. Igor Gouzenko, a Russian cypher clerk stationed in Canada, did just this when he saved Canada and the entire world from a catastrophe. Igor risked his life and put others first on September 5th, 1945, when he made the courageous decision to steal 109 classified Soviet documents proving Russian espionage in Canada. Igor brought the documents to the authorities defecting from his own country but saving another. Without Igors heroism, Canada would not be the same today.
As the “black blizzard” passes through their area. They would gasp within their breathing. Also they prayed that they would be okay after the storm, because some people aren’t so lucky when it comes to storms such as the “black
After just a few days of being in New York, the young boy was exposed to the harsh realities of his new life in America. Prior to arriving in America, Medina had never experienced snow. As he takes his first few steps into this new country he sees this clean, fresh snow. He describes
The article “Blizzard!” by Jeanie Mebane and the poem from “The Blizzard Voice” by Ted Kooser both portray the blizzards of 1888. For example, the first sentence of the article “Blizzard!” says “no one on the prairie was prepared for the violent blizzard” that shows the reader that it's not just a couple of inches of snow, it shows that the blizzard will be windy and there will be a lot of snow and damage, also the fact that no one was expecting it makes it a whole lot worse. Another example is in paragraph 5 “Hunt and her students were blinded by the force of the blizzard and almost immediate felt their eyelashes crust over with ice.” Even though it doesn't specifically say that it's windy you just know because of the details. Also in the
The hammer came back up, and down again. Eyelids just about to close the distance, a one-thousand ton weight on his shoulders, every single drag of the foot through the snow bringing him closer and closer to collapse. His eyes closed, the amount of ground he was covering shortening as the agonizing seconds went on. Panic shot through his mind as he lulled; what if there was somebody nearby? He looked from right to left, a long, wide, twitching gaze on every drift.
Someone even wrote a song titled “The Murderous Blizzard”. No typical blizzard will ever compare to it, none in history. The death tolled could have been minimal or better yet nonexistent if there had been technology in place to protect the people in those counties. As well as if there was someone in that telegraph office to receive the alert and communicated it to the resident of those counties in order to prepare for
The authors words give a feeling of looming death in this scene, and puts that in a brutally cold winter
Most children were being sent on their way home and most adults were working in their farms. The storm hit mostly rural areas in Nebraska, South Dakota, northern Kansas, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Winds were extremely high and temperatures fell to 40 below zero, the temperature dropped almost 100 degrees in 24 hours according to some accounts. The heavy snows created zero visibility. The blizzard was so severe it left trains unable to run for hours.
By performing these grueling tasks, the exhausted campers were able to safeguard themselves from the snow. Moreover, the campers used an assortment of clothing and gear in order to best keep themselves warm. The gear “...included long johns, wool sweaters, and waterproof layers.” Using this gear, the campers were able to protect
As Elie Wiesel wrote of the death march to Gleiwitz, he used narrative techniques such as descriptive language and similes to illustrate how gruesome it was to take part in. From the first sentence Wiesel wrote in chapter six, he used descriptive language to explain the appalling conditions. “An icy wind was blowing violently” (85, Wiesel). The words such as icy, blowing, and violently are used here to imprint a picture of what might have been a blizzard during the march in the minds of the reader. However, Wiesel continues to use techniques throughout the chapter to provide a more vivid picture.
They did not know how the frost killed the disease they just knew it was a sign their suffering would come to an end. “Everything is better now. I’m home, you’re home. You don’t have to worry anymore.” (pg. 238)
To be selfless is to make sure the needs of others is put before your needs. Beowulf the Angelo-Saxon hero, made sure the safety of the Danes came before his. He put his life on the line just to fight off the monsters or dragons that made the lives of others miserable. In part two, Beowulf fights off the dragon but he dies after killing the dragon, his last words were to Wiglaf, he told him to take care of his people. The soldiers leave their home and families to fight for our country and our freedom.
About eight hours ago, a heavy snow warning was issued for the entire city of McKay. Other than the heavy snow currently forecast, the stocky balding man before the camera predicted it should be like any other winter day in Ohio. Whispered rumours of an oncoming storm came from the retired cotton farmer, a migrant from rural Arkansas. However, given the town's secluding from any major cities, there were no other weather experts close enough to confirm the rumours. Besides, the people had no real reason to doubt the weatherman - after all, he was well educated and made promises to broadcast updates should there be any changes.