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Compare And Contrast Burke And San Francisco Earthquake

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Earthquakes. They shake buildings, they wobble structures, they dismantle even the most stable construction. They leave people without homes, destroy possessions. The San Francisco earthquake in 1906 left at least half of the population homeless. But people have similar and different views and opinions on this earthquake, and that is seen “Comprehending the Calamity” by Emma Burke and in Fred Hewitt’s “Horrific Wreck of the City”. In 1906, the San Francisco earthquake struck a little after five in the morning. The earthquake, at a magnitude of 7.8, shook and destroyed buildings. At least 250,000 people were homeless, and many camped out in a park. But that wasn't all. Water and gas mains broke, and from the gas mains started a whole new devastation. These gas mains started a fire that rampaged the city for four days. Water was …show more content…

For example, on page one of “Comprehending the Calamity”, Emma writes, “The chimney came tearing through; a great marine picture weighing one hundred and twenty-five pounds crashed down, not eight feet away from us; we were frequently shaken loose from our hold on the door, and only kept our feet by mutual help.” Similarly, on page one of "Horrific Wreck of the City", Fred records the following: “Then came the crash. Tons upon tons of that mighty pile slid away from the steel framework and destructiveness of that effort was enormous.” The destructiveness of the earthquake is clearly shown in both texts: Emma describes a chimney falling through her roof, while Fred writes about a building collapsing. These two texts give descriptions of terrifying destruction. The similarly describe the crash the sounded when the object hit, the damage it caused, and the fear they felt. Fred and Emma similarly give detailed descriptions of the horror they faced. Both texts are undeniably similar when using descriptive

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