What Happened tothe World?

Clues, piecing together the events together…  Page 28, 32-33, 52-53,

Apocolypse? Apocalypse  1. the complete final destruction of the world,  esp. as described in the biblical book of  Revelation.  2. an event involving destruction or damage on an  awesome or catastrophic scale.

First Possibility: Meteor Strike  A meteor strike hits the earth with a massive  explosion which sends debris up into the  atmosphere. As the debris passes through theatmosphere, the friction causes the debris to  heat up and catch fire. The chunks of debris  produce infrared lights and firing pieces comeraining down, causing a global firestorm if themeteor is big enough. 

The Cold  Dust and soot from the fires blocks out the sun,  resulting in darkness and reduction in  temperatures. The lack of sunlight prevents plantphotosynthesis and the food chain collapses.   After this, it become uncomfortably warmbecause of the carbon dioxide in the air. The  carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere rises  because the plants are burned and most of the plankton are wiped out.

Second Possibility: Firestorms  A firestorm is an intense storm, thatsustains its own wind system.  The heat of the original fire draws in moreand more of the surrounding air.  Winds change direction erratically.  This wind shear is capable of producing small tornadoes or dust devils which can also dart around erratically, damage or destroy houses and buildings, and quickly spread the fire to areas outside the central area of the fire.

Third Possibility: Nuclear Blast   August 6, Hiroshima, Japan. Dropping of  the first atomic bomb, the equivalent of 20,000tons of TNT, flattened the city, killing tens of  thousands of civilians.  Three days later, the United States bombed Nagasaki.  People vaporized in the blast

Hints at the Disappeared Theme of loss  Everything is faded and grey  “where the country as far as they could see was burned away, the  blackened shapes of rock standing out of the shoals of ash andbillows of ash rising up and blowing downcountry through the  waste. The track of the dull sun moving unseen beyond the murk” (14).  “He thought if he lived long enough the world at last would all be  lost. Like the dying world the newly blind inhabit, all of it slowly  fading from memory” (18).

Fourth Possibility: VolcanoEruption  It was most likely the result of Supervolcano  under Yellowstone National Park erupting.  Scientists believe a volcanic eruption that bigwould cover the globe in a shroud of thick smoke  for a very long time, blocking out the sun, killing  plant life and then everything with it. It explainswhy it snows ash regularly, and also theearthquakes and the fires.  Volcanos cause earthquakes, which could lead totsunamis. 

Mount Vesuvius  In A.D. 79 Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash.  Poppea’s villa (South of Naples) was uncovered in1964 and was found 6 meters below street level. Pompeii  Everything was buried under ash. Paintings and buildings were well preserved. 

Frescoes “And the dreams so rich in color. How else would death call you? Walking in a cold dawn it all turned to ash instantly. Like certain ancient frescoes entombed for centuries exposed to the day” (McCarthy 21).

Colour Preserved “They walked through the dining room where the firebrick in the hearth was as yellow as the day it was laid because his mother could not bear to see it blackened” (26).

 The Road’s Inspiration