Analysis of The Johnstown Flood - Essay Example

Analysis of “The Johnstown Flood” Many people hope for the best, though they often fear the worst. Many people have the mass of prophesying doom or omens, that things might be going wrong soon or later. On the other hand, many people pray that things go well and that the God Almighty may protect them from any dangers. Some channel their trust in experts, professionals, or any other prominent personalities. “The Johnstown Flood” became a terrible manifestation of the nightmares people had before the disaster took place. Focusing on the McCullough’s narration of the whole happenings, the historian vividly highlights the whole drama of the Johnstown flood that took place on 31 May of 1889. McCullough focuses on various characters including the white-collar populace, the wealthy Pittsburgh steel barons, reporters, railway operators and rescuers, who jammed the scene after the disaster. The whole narration of the disaster resulted in the development of the story of post-flood mania, which was spectacular as the flood itself. Therefore, analyzing the book of McCullough, “The Johnstown Flood”, brings the novice reader to an overwhelming position, though the disaster story needs matching to the history of America. In about 60 pages, McCullough exposes the pre-flood, which leads to massive disaster. That was just before the narration reaches the night before the flood. A critical analysis of the book brings the idea that McCullough incorporates different characters and scenes from the Johnstown people to those of the railway and the building of the dam. Consequently, it led to the founding of hunting club and the south fork fishing. There is mingling of many themes of the late 19th century into the whole story with the full blare of them leading to disaster. The abandoning of the canal project and selling of the dam by Pennsylvania State resulted in the fact that professionals did not inspect them. That was due to the changing from the canals to the railroads. McCullough noted that some signs of trouble began when there was a division between the manufacturing employees and the Gilded Age millionaires. In fact, many in Johnstown feared the annual spring flood. However, the reader will be astonished to find that the dam broke in 1862 due to the fact there was mismanagement and neglect. The concrete narrative of the flood and the immediate consequences covers the majority of McCullough’s book. He epitomizes the event-based point of view. Chronologically, events are perfectly flowing, though the examination of several accounts happens at once, probably due to the amount of information. This also involves the commentaries and the post-storm interviews. Furthermore, McCullough employs revisiting the most significant and detailed stories. Therefore, “The Johnstown Flood” book has a wealth of context and analysis, which indeed makes it an outstanding disaster book. McCullough's book highlights numerous events of the floods. A critical analysis of the book shows that McCullough places the whole event in a detailing and perspective situation; he describes how the water took its journey to Johnstown. He even tells of the speed and the height at varying times, even describing the Black Death Mist before it1. McCullough describes another highlight involving the swift organization of the people of Johnstown immediately after the disaster. In the book, the people immediately organized for meetings, recovery, cleanups, and the election of leaders. This was after their realization that the arriving of help would not be that easy because of the washing of the railroads. The leadership skills were quite visible in the people due to their lack of lawlessness, looting, and epidemics. Afterwards, help was in, including several reporters. This led to the cleanup becoming the issue at hand, especially with the Clara Barton’s Red Cross, which later gained legitimacy. McCullough’s comprehensive detail of the media circus following the flood is, in fact, as terrifically compelling and quite fascinating as the flood itself. He brings the fact of media exaggerating death toll statistics, faking photos, and bringing the issue of stereotype of Hungarians as rapists and thieves2. Several stories were in place, ranging from stories on facts and fictions, Victorians sappiness towards the dead, and the sarcastic damnation of the hunting club and fork fishing. It is in these stories where the themes of the late 19th century societies and cultures revolve. There were already roots of progressive movements at the times of the flood. Then there is the ability of McCullough to immerse the reader in the tragedy, which contrasts with that of the media, with its accounts pulling away from the tragedy and into the perspective of the outside. Readers may even think McCullough goes out of the Johnstown when narrating the aftermath. Therefore, the book unequivocally narrates what happened and why without including the academic prose. The way McCullough brings about the themes in the book is exemplary. He does not speculate on the meteorological causes of the flood, though the indication was that the rainfall was above the normal rates throughout the spring, poring heavily during the night hours. It suffices to adduce from the book that the heavy rains experienced that night were due to MCC, in which the front focused additional precipitation in the region. McCullough even notes the continued cloudy conditions that had to linger for some time after the disaster. The most significant in enhancing the theme of McCullough in “The Johnstown Flood” is the fact that the meteorological conditions were quite unusual, with the neglect of the anomalous. There is the noting of the rivers topping in their banks mostly every year, resulting in the pouring of excesses into Johnstown streets. The only contrast in 1889 was the civilization, which had brought about a destructive alteration of the natural ecology of the Valley of Conemaugh. The severity of any heavy rainfall was due to the narrowing of the river channels, including the careless deforestations of the valley hills. In this way, we can normatively say that McCullough brought up some themes early in the book and then revisited them later at the end, with a lot of unsympathetic criticism of Johnstown leaders. It is a fact that the people had the experience of spring floods for quite some time, yet they were not able to devise strategies of mitigating the vice. They thought the wealthy leadership had a helping hand in the issue. They were panicky about the dam. Had they laid down strategies to stop the worsening situation, there would have been no floods. Nevertheless, there were rainfalls, and the man has no power to control nature. However, we can reiterate this as a failure of all parties to advance technologically to prevent the negative effects of the dangers of nature. In conclusion, McCullough’s book, “The Johnstown Flood”, marked the beginning of a wonderful career. The style he had to employ in writing the book is strikingly recognizable in his later works. His thoughts perfectly and flawlessly flow, which makes the reader long for more as he or she advances towards the end. Even though the book discusses issues concerning disasters, the center of attention is purely on the positive side of humanity. This is because it vividly discusses the Johnstown’s fast post-disaster organization, daring acts, survival tales of various people, and the positive expression of charity that came from across the whole world. McCullough could have included some legal matters after the disaster. He does include cultural frameworks; however, he pointlessly shows off some of his research including lists of obscure names appearing only once or twice. Nevertheless, the comprehensive detailing does pay off. This indeed makes the book complete for whoever becomes interested in matters relating to natural disasters. Bibliography McCullough, David. The Johnstown Flood: The Incredible Story behind One of the Devastating Disasters America has ever Known. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1968. Read More