Answer 2 of the following questions for next week's class! Hope to see you there...and check your e-mail for your Paper #1's with grades and comments.
Q1: Many people are terrified of Chernobyl, because it was the site of the largest nuclear meltdown in human history. However, according to Hewitt, what is the reality of radiation here vs. the rest of the world? Where are the "Chernobyls" in our own daily lives?
Q2: On page 102, he writes, "Gazing up at this rusting masterpiece of Cold War technology feels like touring the Colosseum: a boldly ambitious, epoch-defining achievement of engineering that now stands as an artifact of a toppled civilization." Why does he compare this to the Colosseum (in Rome) and how might this explain part of what he learns about Chernobyl? What does it teach him about history--and the future?
Q3: How did the Soviet government respond to Chernobyl initially, and what did it tell the people that lived there? Why is this significant, and how might it help us look at our own response to the COVID pandemic and other natural disasters?
Q4: At the very end of the essay, Hewitt writes, "At Chernobyl, it's humbling to see h ow human ingenuity can bring about horrifying problems. But it's also inspiring to see how it can solve them" (108). How does an essay about one of the worst man-made disasters in history teach us about how we can solve them? What could be inspiring about this essay--or what we learn about Chernobyl?
Q:1 Most dentist appointments, flights and x-rays will hit you with more radiation than a visit to Chernobyl will. In reality, radiation is not an all around "bad" but something to be watched and maintained at healthy levels. You will likely not receive any more radiation in Chernobyl than you would your own home town.
ReplyDeleteQ:2 I think he compares this to the colosseum as they both were, during their time, massive strides in human innovation and creation. They are both things that still to this day, people pay to marvel at and see, yet are now objects representative of how far we have advanced since.
If possible, can you bring these questions to class or e-mail them to me? I don't want you to post them here, since someone could easily 'borrow' them and try to plagiarize.
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