But on August 25, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, everything changed. The levees failed, over 75% of the city was submerged in water and over 1,800 lives were lost. By the time the storm passed, over $81 billion in physical damages had been done. It is estimated that Katrina has resulted in the loss of over 230,000 jobs in Louisiana alone. When the storm struck New Orleans and the levees failed, the low-lying lands flooded at record levels.
The new weapon napalm was used to burn villages many lives in Vietnam were lost as they were in South Africa. Both countries were both ruins and its people were angry as is shown in the language of the two poems. Both these poems are full of bitterness. The black poet who wrote Nothing’s Changed uses a vicious irony “we know where we belong” to show that he feels blacks and whites will never truly reconcile. His pent - up rage is expressed again in the final stanza “ Hands burn for a stone, a bomb to shiver down the glass”.
In the novel, Jefferson is first thought to be an unintelligent, dirty and uncivilized animal; a hog. His attorney states in trial “Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this” (Gaines 8). This causes Jefferson to become defeated and alienated, believing himself to be the animal he was accused of being. Jefferson blocks out his family and all connection with his humanity, refusing to eat or communicate. When his nannan cooks him and brings him food he tells Grant that hogs don’t eat and declares “That’s for youmans” (Gaines 83).
A member of a rival gang, the “Guardians”, stabs Andy, a member of the “Royals.” The “Guardians” do not think of Andy as Andy, they just see him as an adversary. When the gang member stabs Andy, he says, “This is for you Royal!” In this situation, the gang member does not know Andy’s name, he just notices the purple “Royal” jacket. In modern day, people judge based on the way others look, dress, or even who they talk to. In “On the Sidewalk Bleeding,” many people, such as the intoxicated man, the old woman, and Freddie and Angela, ambled past Andy without helping him. The old woman and the intoxicated man did not help because they could not hear Andy because of the rain.
“I am trapped on a desert of raw gunshot wounds and a dead child dragging his shattered back.”(934) Lorde is figuratively saying she is trapped on a desert to imply her feelings towards her surrounding society. At the time of the poem (1978) our country was dealing with racial injustices and civil right issues. Humanity, in this time, is being dominated by powerful white men and Lorde feels as though society will never grow under these conditions. “…without loyalty or reason…”(935) expresses the lack of vigilance the cop had for the value of life, and the courage the people should have had to fight for the death of an innocent child. The thirst she describes is one for justice.
Even though New Orleans was once devastated, major developments to the failed system of levees have been made. When Hurricane Katrina dealt New Orleans a punishing blow with its ferocity, the lives of the people living there permanently changed. The inhabitants which was composed of men, women, children and elderly citizens many of which were 85 years of age or older desperately clung to life and the need to survive. ("The Case of Hurricane Katrina", n.d.). As Katrina lashed the coast of New Orleans, the gusts of wind increased and the waves began to erode the only sense of security this, below sea level, city ever had against the many miles of water systems surrounding it.
“Papa wants me to throw out those tapes of your radio show.” This quote shows the way fear in the people of Haiti at this time. Citizens were scared to listen to tapes about a revolt against the government. Tragedy can as well affect our personality. A.D., New Orleans after the Deluge, is a graphic novel about hurricane Katrina and the struggles after the catastrophe. Denise, life resident of New Orleans, is struck with Katrina she is one of the characters that didn’t evacuate.
Carlos Espinoza July 11, 2012 Politics of Katrina What Went Wrong During Katrina: Political View. On August 29th, 2005, the city of New Orleans suffered one the worst natural disaster in the history of our nation. State, local and federal authorities failed to heed the warnings of Hurricane Katrina’s intensity. The disorganized response reflected communication failures and weak leadership at all levels of government. According to a report published by Time Magazine, the authors wrote, “is a litany of mistakes, misjudgments, lapses and absurdities all cascading together.
The True Understanding of Hurricane Katrina In the essay, “Hurricane Katrina: Investigating the U.S. Government’s Failed Response” the author, Eliza Hubbard writes about the situations that accrued in Hurricane Katrina, which is one of the most destructive tropical storms ever to hit the United States. It affected many parts of the coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on August 29th, 2005, it affected New Orleans, Louisiana the most by causing the levees, which helped the flow of the river and stop flooding, to collapse. This lead to flooding in the city, where many bodies still lie beneath the dirty waters filled with debris. Hurricane Katrina attacked in two ways, one being the hurricane itself and the other being the flooding throughout New Orleans. The effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans was extremely severe, resulting from one of the most deadly natural disasters in U.S. history.
However, in 2005 poverty was brought screaming back to the fore front of our minds after the devastation wrought in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. Hours upon hours of footage were televised nationally showing just how impoverished the areas surrounding the city of New Orleans were. So often we are consumed with the welfare of others we forget there is still work to be done at home. In his essay, Reminders of Poverty, Soon Forgotten, Alexander Keyssar delves into poverty and how Americans have reacted to it. In his essay he argues, even in the face of various disasters that have befallen some of the poorest citizens, no efforts to combat poverty have been successful.