Evidence Of Things Unseen By Marianne Wiggins - 1267 Words

In the novel Evidence of Things Unseen, Marianne Wiggins tells the story of Fos, a World War I vet who is fascinated with radiance and all things that give off light , especially his very own X-ray machine. He falls in love with a girl named Opal and they get married. In a series of events, Fos and Opal adopt a child and name him Lightfoot. Throughout the novel, Fos expresses his love of science and his belief that it can solve any problem. Towards the end, Fos and Opal, with their son, go to work for a government facility where Fos takes pictures and Opal helps with the bookkeeping. Unknown to them, though, the facility was erected for the sole purpose of perfecting the atomic bomb. While staying at this place, Opal and Fos find out that they are both suffering from radiation sickness, Opal succumbing to the effects more rapidly than Fos. He believes that this is due to the X-ray machine, since Opal was X-rayed more often than Fos. Finally, the atomic bombs are dropped on Japan, and Fos puts two and two together: he had contributed to the making of the atomic bomb. This, coupled with Opal’s failing health, causes Fos to feel betrayed by science. An article titled â€Å"Out of the nuclear shadow: Scientists and the struggle against the Bomb† by Zia Mian, shows the perspective of some of the scientists behind the making of the atomic bomb; Mian also urges the audience to stop the building of nuclear weapons. Both these texts work to convince the audience not to take science atShow MoreRelatedAn Examination of the Modernization in the American Society in Marianne Wiggins ´ Evidence of Things Unseen1198 Words   |  5 PagesThe novel Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins identifies several ways in which the American Society modernized during the interwar period, the time period between World War 1 and World War 2. To be considered modern a country had to become industrialized. Industrialism is a way of life that encompasses profound econom ic, social, political, and cultural changes. (Modernization) America made three profound social changes which modernized the nation. The American government tried to improve