Oppenheimer History Essay Research Coursework Paper

Oppenheimer
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Oppenheimer
The United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan introduced the world to the horrific aftermath of the arms race witnessed during the era of the Second World War following the former’s use of the atomic bomb. The bomb represented a scientific marvel for the American physicists charged with coming up with a weapon to end the war and establish the countries military superiority on a global scale. Julius Robert Oppenheimer was the lead physicist in the team enlisted by the United States military to develop the atomic bomb in what came to be known as the infamous Manhattan Project. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the death of approximately 166,000 and 80,000 people, respectively, in what came to haunt the conscience of Oppenheimer. Playwrights Carson Kreitzer and Tom Morton-Smith provide their unique versions of Oppenheimer’s experiences pre and post the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in their plays dubbed The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Oppenheimer respectively. The playwrights use different approaches and skills to develop their bibliographic accounts of Julius Robert Oppenheimer. Both plays showcase unique skills in content development or plot arrangement, characterization, and even creativity in the delivery of the same. Provided herein is a comparative analysis and evaluation of the two bibliographic plays showcasing Oppenheimer’s historical experiences during the era of the Second World War while highlighting the unique approaches taken by the two playwrights.
It is important to have a bibliographic understanding of Julius Robert Oppenheimer as a basis or background for evaluating the different perceptions of the physicist as presented in their plays. A short bibliography of J. Robert Oppenheimer published by the Royal Shakespeare Company reveals that the physicist came to the helm of American and global politics of the time at the peak of the arms race to create a weapon that would win the war. The spread of fascism across different countries around the world, including Spain and Germany, correlated to a global arms race with the Germans posing the greatest threat of unveiling a weapon of mass destruction through atomic fission. Oppenheimer sympathized with the communist ideologies and even voiced his dissent against the exploits of capitalism that earned him enemies among both the political and social elites, especially in the scientific world. However, his life takes an interesting turn as he is enlisted by the United States military to lead a covert operation dubbed the Manhattan project in a military laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico. It is his participation in the project and ensuing position on the use of the weapon they developed that sheds light on his private and public life. Oppenheimer’s interactions with his wife, colleagues, and members of the political elite come to life upon his invitation by the National Defense Research Committee in 1942 to participate in the Manhattan Project for fast neutron calculations. The project gave birth to the first nuclear bomb whose catastrophic effects, as observed during the Trinity Test of the same in July 1945, led to Oppenheimer’s echoing of Bhagavad Gita’s words, ‘Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’ The devastating impact of the bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki prompted Oppenheimer to protest against further development and use of the atomic bombs in what appears to be a reflection of the existing conflict in his conscience as he deals with the consequences of his invention.[Royal Shakespeare Company. "Oppenheimer: The critically acclaimed story of how J Robert Oppenheimer found himself thrust into a race to create the atomic bomb." Royal Shakespeare Company. 2020. /oppenheimer (accessed October 3, 2020)] [Ibid] [Ibid] [Michael, Billington. "Oppenheimer five-star review – father of atomic bomb becomes tragic hero at RSC." The Guardian. January 23, 2015. /stage/2015/jan/23/oppenheimer-review-rsc-atomic-bomb-drama-tom-morton-smith (accessed October 3, 2020).]
Tom Morton-Smith’s depiction of Julius Robert Oppenheimer in his play, Oppenheimer, relives all the outlined elements of the physicist’s life in the three-hour play, highlighting both the high and low moments of the scientist who came to be known as the atomic bomb’s father. The playwright takes the audience through a chronological account of events leading to the development of the atomic bomb through a multidimensional approach involving the development of the lead character’s personality amidst the historical context of the time. Carson Kreitzer’s version, on the other hand, takes a much-shortened approach with two acts play highlighting Oppenheimer’s in life during the development of the bomb and the aftermath of its use in Japan. Carson Kreitzer’s The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer takes a kaleidoscopic approach in portraying the life of Oppenheimer as a physicist whose landmark achievement in military science accounted for his rise and fall in the American history. Morton-Smith traces the life of Oppenheimer back to 1934 by showcasing the country’s political polarization in the advent of the Second World War, including Oppenheimer’s affiliation with communism while interchanging the same with scenes of his developments in the scientific world. Carson’s play, on the other hand, pays little attention to the details leading to Oppenheimer’s participation in the Manhattan Project with a less detailed context of the political environment leading to the nuclear arms race. In essence, Tom Morton-Smith’s version provides a more comprehensive historical account of Oppenheimer’s life and experiences before and after the development of the first atomic bomb and its devastating effects in Japan.[Ibid] [Daniel, Adams. "Queen Mary explodes from inside with Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer." Signal Tribune. September 30, 2011. https://signaltribunenewspaper.com/11809/uncategorized/queen-mary-explode...