The Green Glass Sea

Klages creates moral ambiguity around the creation of the atomic bomb; she juxtaposes the excitement and joy around the incredible scientific discovery with the awesome, destructive power of the bomb. The immense power of the atomic bomb is symbolized in the green glass sea at the test site. The heat of the explosion melts the sand of the desert, creating 75 acres of glass: “It was glass. Translucent jade-green glass, everywhere, coloring the bare, empty desert as far ahead as she could see” (276). Dewey’s wonder characterizes the incredible and astounding nature of the phenomenon, which seems like something out of science fiction rather than a man-made creation: “Dewey stood still, then turned slowly around, trying to take it all in. This place was more wonderful than anything she could have imagined” (278). Philip points out that the glass, which the scientists call trinitite, is the first ever man-made mineral; this further characterizes this scientific breakthrough as incredible and unprecedented.

On a darker note, the bomb’s potential to incinerate and destroy is characterized by the fact that it melts the desert’s sand, a material generally regarded as imperishable. Klages invites the reader to consider the terrifying implications of the bomb’s destructive power being unleashed on a crowded city rather than on a barren stretch of desert, which happened with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.