It’s been a long time since I last posted, and as always, I have a new project that I want to share with you. Before I introduce the project and start reflecting, I just want to announce that I am now in grade 11. This is the most critical year in high school, and it’s truly a new beginning for me. This year, my goal is to achieve my ideal grades and demonstrate work that exceeds the teacher’s expectations.

Introduction:

With that being said, let’s dive into the first project of the year: The Study of the Manhattan Project. For the past month, we’ve been learning about atomic bombs, more specifically, the Manhattan Project. A project that ended World War 2 and invented the first-ever nuclear weapon. We were asked to answer the driving question, “How did splitting the atom change the world?” and create a speech for our final product. Our criteria for this project were to establish the significance of the Manhattan Project and use rhetorical devices to present our speech. So basically, we need to talk about the importance of history while playing the role of a novelist.

What we learned:

Before we discuss and form our own opinions on this historical event, we first had to learn it. We need to understand what happened before judging its significance. We spent some time watching documentaries and taking notes on them. Some were more focused on the significance of its science discover, and some were more focused on the moral dispute around this topic. By the time when scientists discovered fission, the world was at war. People first thought to make a weapon with this technology, so they did; at least they tried. German scientists were in the process of developing nukes, but Germany couldn’t last long enough for the invention to happen. The Manhattan Project started as a request from Albert Einstein, a scientist who knew this technology’s potential. He worried that Germany could win the war if they obtained this great power. So he sent a letter to the president of the United States at that time, President Roosevelt, to inform him that such a technology exists. The project probably would’ve never started if it wasn’t because of the war pressure, at least not so quickly. The project cost an estimated 2 billion dollars, 2 billion dollars in the 1940s. I can’t imagine the US spending that much money at that time if it wasn’t for the war. So in a way, WW2 boosted the development of the atomic bomb, causing this technology to ripen quickly. Remember that the US was on the passive side of developing nukes; they wanted to ensure that Nazi Germany didn’t obtain this power first.

Anyhow, after learning about how the Manhattan Project started, we studied the consequences that came along with it. The atomic bomb is one of the most dangerous weapons known to humanity. The nuclear bombs were used in the Manhattan Project three times, once for testing and two dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The “little boy” and “fat man” caused over 150,000 death, but they avoided millions that would’ve died if the war continued. Until this day, it is still a moral dispute whether the usage of atomic weapons was justified. Undoubtedly, this event is significant no matter what you argue.

I created slideshows of different aspects of the Manhattan Project, including espionage, the science behind it, and even how it was named. Feel free to check it out:

Novel study:

We spent some time reading a novel called “Hiroshima”. It was about the bombing of Hiroshima, and the story was based on actual people that survived. The purpose of reading this book was to deepen our understanding of the war, and the impact of atomic bombs. It’s important to understand that the effect of atomic bombs didn’t just last a couple of seconds, it’s radiation affected all the Hibakushas (people that survived), and their future generations. People that experienced radiation had bone marrow disease, which caused their bodies to stop producing blood. Their descendants have a high rate of disability, and cancer. Causing their average lifespan to be around 60.

Observing from the different perspectives of distinct individuals that experienced the bombing gives us a point of view from the hibakusha’s side and describes how traumatizing the explosion was. Instead of just listing statistics, the author is painting this documentary with human characteristics, like how people reacted in that situation and the feelings that were inside people’s minds. Tiny details like helping the heavily wounded civilians, overworked doctors, and fleshy skin burns makes us feel more empathetic towards the innocent people that were in Hiroshima. The book does not focus on their hatred towards the Americans; instead, the author tries to make us understand what the destruction of the atomic bombs has done to people’s homes and why we should never use it again. 

After reading the book I was convinced that we need to demilitarize ourselves with nuclear weapons, because nobody wants to be the next Hibakushas. We all have families, and no one want to die from conflicts between the nations. We might be raised differently, we might live in different societies, but we all deserve peace like those 150,000 civilians that died in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I included this call to action in my final speech.

Final Product:

After several weeks of studying, it was time for me to work on the final product, the Manhattan Project speech. It was my first ever project on public speaking, and I was unsure whether I could handle the nervousness within me. Luckily, I finished my script long before it was due, so I had enough practice to sound confident.

Considering that the whole class had the same topic, I decided to do something different. Instead of just following the guidelines of identifying historical significance, I chose to raise awareness of the usage of atomic bombs by explaining its relevance to us today. Because there’s no point in convincing my classmates that it’s historically significant when the whole class already agrees. What matters to us is the present and the future, not the past, so I included a call to action in my speech.

Of course, the splitting of the atom changed the world. It’s being used to save millions of lives in the medical industry. It led to many historical events, such as the Cold War and can even be used for agricultural purposes. Nothing can change my mind that the Manhattan Project is historically significant, but can you imagine how boring it would’ve been if everyone was repeating the same story over and over again. I want to hear an exciting speech, a fascinating story! Not a lecture that the teacher has already taught us. It’s not like I skipped school or anything. No offence, I’m not judging the people that did follow the guidelines. But if you did, you are a boring person, hands down.

Conclusion and Reflection:

Every good project has to come to an end. Even though my speech was a success, there were still so many things I could’ve improved on. On a literature aspect, I could’ve sounded more formal and used more rhetoric strategies we learned. From a social perspective, I could’ve used some sort of slogan or short phrase to strengthen my delivery. Revisions after revisions, I believe that this is the best script that I am capable of making at the moment. Feel free to check it out:

 

 

After all, this was my first-ever speech, a starting line for the better, and I will continue to grow as a learner. See ya next time!