A Metaphor for War: Schwarzschild Radius and Black holes
Connie Willis communicates that a black hole is akin to war through the use of a number of metaphors in her story Schwarzschild Radius. Schwarzschild Radius is about a World War One veteran, Rottschieben who is recounting his time in the war to a curious college student who wished to know about his time working alongside the physicist that is attributed with the discovery of the Schwarzschild Radius. Willis uses comparisons such as temperature, what an observer would see when a black hole collapses, and the lack of information that can get in and out of the war zone and black holes as ways to connect a black hole to war.
In the story, during the recounting of Rottschieben’s experience in the war his vision is shown to be becoming redder and redder as time goes on, until everything comes to a head, and the bunker …show more content…
One instance is when Rottschieben is given, “directions to the artillery staff’s headquarters. It is not very far, but it is snowing and my hands are already cold” (100). This extreme cold is a metaphor for the temperature of the inside of a black hole, which is considered to be freezing. This comparison furthers the idea that the war itself is the black hole because of the similarities in temperature.
All of the metaphors mentioned along with a few not mentioned set up the War as a metaphor for a black hole. Using aspects such as temperature, what one observing a black hole collapsing would see, the moment of collapse, and the lack of information that is able to get to and from both Willis effectively communicates that war is akin to a black hole. Willis effectively used aspects from every part of the story to portray the war as a black hole accomplishing something most are incapable
Connie Willis communicates that a black hole is akin to war through the use of a number of metaphors in her story Schwarzschild Radius. Schwarzschild Radius is about a World War One veteran, Rottschieben who is recounting his time in the war to a curious college student who wished to know about his time working alongside the physicist that is attributed with the discovery of the Schwarzschild Radius. Willis uses comparisons such as temperature, what an observer would see when a black hole collapses, and the lack of information that can get in and out of the war zone and black holes as ways to connect a black hole to war.
In the story, during the recounting of Rottschieben’s experience in the war his vision is shown to be becoming redder and redder as time goes on, until everything comes to a head, and the bunker …show more content…
One instance is when Rottschieben is given, “directions to the artillery staff’s headquarters. It is not very far, but it is snowing and my hands are already cold” (100). This extreme cold is a metaphor for the temperature of the inside of a black hole, which is considered to be freezing. This comparison furthers the idea that the war itself is the black hole because of the similarities in temperature.
All of the metaphors mentioned along with a few not mentioned set up the War as a metaphor for a black hole. Using aspects such as temperature, what one observing a black hole collapsing would see, the moment of collapse, and the lack of information that is able to get to and from both Willis effectively communicates that war is akin to a black hole. Willis effectively used aspects from every part of the story to portray the war as a black hole accomplishing something most are incapable