The Great New York Blackout of 1965
On November 9, 1965, eight North American states on the East Coast experienced a major power blackout that left them paralyzed for thirteen hours. During this incident, more than 12 million people were left in darkness (Merrill et al., 2020). It was the first time in American history to experience such a massive electrical power outage that affected two Canadian states. The power failure was caused by the tripping of a protective relay on one of the transmission lines from the Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric power station in Queenston, Ontario, near Niagara Falls (Merrill et al., 2020). The safety feature had been set to trip if other protective equipment within the Ontario Hydro system fails to operate as required. The electrical failure occurred at around five in the evening due to increased power demands for cooking, lighting, and heating that pushed the electrical systems near their peak (Merrill et al., 2020). The power blackouts lasted until six in the morning, affecting the hours of the most significant movement in the city between the time people left their offices and the transportation in buses and subways.
The fault was termed a collapse in the 375,000-volt network connecting the Northwest coast of the United States with Canada, which resulted in an overload (Merrill et al., 2020). At around 5.20 p.m. Eastern Time, a slight power difference was detected originating from the Robert Moses generating plant in Lewiston, New York, and it caused the relay to trip (Merrill et al., 2020). People got trapped in elevators and trains, which stopped in areas where cut out took place. As a result, people had to be evacuated from such areas when power could not be restored. The main error occurred in the programming of the safety relay, and it just responded the way it had been instructed: disconnect power under the high load as it perceived. The tripping disabled the main power line transmission heading to Southern Ontario. Immediately, the energy flowing on the tripped line was transferred to the other lines, overloading them too. Their protective relays became overloaded, and their protective systems also tripped, isolating Beck Station from all of Southern Ontario, and causing a major blackout in the entire city. With no outlet for their power, the beck generators were automatically shut down to prevent damage causing black everywhere in New York.
Analysis of the Story “The night we became people again.”
The title of the story “The night we became people again” by José Luis González can be considered symbolic. That was the night he was reborn again, thinking about every beautiful thing in his life, such as his son, Puerto Rico, and looking at the sky full of stars (Calise, 2020). In addition, since people in the United States are not used to seeing stars like in Puerto Rico, the sky with so many stars made him feel like a “person” again (Calise, 2020). Thus, metaphorically speaking, the author was reborn by feeling things that, for certain reasons, occurred in his life but had been overlooked. The paper aims to analyze the story “The night we became people again” by José Luis González, focusing on the narrative used in writing the story, structure, theme, action, environment, and characters.
The author used a second narrative when writing his story because he places himself as the protagonist. The prose was ornate, his colloquial vocabulary, and he used a humorous tone (Calise, 2020). According to the author, the story occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The setting is in an urban space, the great industrialized metropolis of New York. The protagonists live in El Barrio de Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The author explains the main character as an unknown because his name is never mentioned in the story. The author describes him as a Puerto Rican worker who immigrated to the United States (U.S) out of need (Calise, 2020). After arriving in the U.S., he worked every day, sometimes overtime, to cater to his needs and those of his expectant wife. On his journey, the main character is accompanied by his orphaned friend, Trompoloco (Calise, 2020). They call him that because he suddenly began spinning around like crazy until he got dizzy and fell on the ground. In addition, two other Jewish foremen work with the main character. Other characters identified in the story are Mirta, who stays on the second floor with a friend, Leo, a Pentecostal missionary; Pipo, an independentist; Dona Lula, a widow; and Cheo, from Aguadilla.
The story’s central theme is the system, and the lifestyle of people immigrating to the U.S. Problems immigrants face while immigrating to the country are described (Calise, 2020). The author explains the lifestyle of people in that country as very different from that in Puerto Rico. He further says that many people immigrate to the U.S and change their lifestyle not for pleasure but because of obligation (Calise, 2020). Therefore, this could be classified as a sociological story because the author tries to make society understand the lifestyle and discrimination that still occurs today in the U.S.
The story revolves around a Puerto Rican who narrates a story to his friend as they drink beer in New York. The Puerto Rican’s wife’s delivery was approaching, and he was working. From what he tells us, his boss, a very nice Jewish person, calls to tell him that his friend Trompoloco is looking for him. Trompoloco tells him that his wife is about to deliver, and the man, with permission from the boss, goes to his house to welcome his son (Calise, 2020). To get to the house, the man must board a train; a few minutes after taking the train, there is a blackout, and both of them get stuck on the train. After some time, everyone on board is taken out, and the situation is explained to the passengers, who are requested to wait because other trains on the rail are stuck because of power blackouts (Calise, 2020). As they wait, many things go through the man’s mind, even committing suicide, and he thinks a third world war is happening. After a long wait, they manage to leave, and the man hurriedly goes to his apartment.
After arriving in his apartment, he sees four lit candles in the living room, and some neighbors sit as they converse. The man proceeds to the room where his son is born; his wife wants to name the child after his father, and he accepts (Calise, 2020). After leaving the room, he is invited by Trompoloco to the roof, where there is almost a party full of people singing and dancing. The man arrives at the top and asks the reason behind their celebration, and one of the ladies signals him to look at the sky (Calise, 2020). There he realizes they are celebrating because the sky is full of stars, a scene they have not seen for a long time.
Through this story, the author presents the Puerto Rican immigrant as a person working in the factory and living a simple life. Nonetheless, he is smart, able to communicate in English, and understands the challenges other Puerto Ricans are undergoing. José Luis González presents the Puerto Rican community as supportive before the blackouts (Calise, 2020). For instance, every person was in charge of taking care of the well-being of a mentally disabled orphan within family ties. However, after the blackout, a protagonist never arrives to witness the birth of his son as he is running late (Calise, 2020). Thus, this could indicate the emergence of a new Puerto Rican generation in New York that lack character with their destiny conditioned to servitude and resignation. According to the New York Times newspaper, there were no crimes after the blackouts (Calise, 2020). Therefore, it can be said that people portrayed good behavior for that night.
In “The night we became people again,” the themes addressed comprise racial prejudice, urban society, the immorality of class exploitation, industrialization, and Puerto Rican immigration to New York. In addition, the author plays with changes in linguistics, such as the effects of immigration to the country (Calise, 2020). The author also explains that Puerto Ricans’ emigration to the United States is to search for a better lifestyle. At the same time, the immigrants have to work hard to take care of their families, and most of the time, they tend to forget about their cultures and traditions.
Conclusively, the story can be interpreted as a source of hope for Puerto Ricans who had forgotten that they were people in the idyll of falsely romanticized paradise. Thus, due to the blackout, for one night, people returned to that way of being that no longer existed for them (Calise, 2020). Therefore, the story written by José Luis González goes beyond irony to fall into sarcasm.
References
Calise, D. (2020). “The Night We Became People Again” by Jose Luis Gonzalez audiobook part 1. [Video]. YouTube.
Merrill, H. M., Hossain, M. A., & Bodson, M. (2020). Nipping blackouts in the bud: Introducing a novel cascading failure network. IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, 18(4), 64-75.