Grace Period

On August 6th, 1945, the United States changed the image of war forever from what they had done to Japan. The day that Japanese troops attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was the day that the United States had entered the war. Also, it was the beginning of a new war that had been named World War II, the war that had devastating effects on countries around the world. Along with many deaths, the author explains that there is four people who lived to tell the story and had lived throughout the drop of the bomb. The author says that the people that survived were extremely lucky to be able to live throughout such an event “A hundred thousand people were killed by the atomic bomb, and these [four] were among the survivors. They still wonder why they lived when so many others died.”

The author of the book, John Hersey, had a good purpose in telling so many individual anecdotes about the life before the bomb. He focused on expressing the stories of these survivors in a way in which the reader could see it from their point of view. His aim was to demonstrate that each individual was a real human being with real feelings just like us. The author seeks to make sure that readers understand that the bombings happened to people who had a daily life and were astonished by what had happened. Hersey demonstrates that the bombing impacted people who had previously been undergoing a lot in life.

Even after days, months, and years our six survivors struggle to get back to the life they once had before the terrible disaster. Through all the forty years after the explosion, they had to deal and cope with the terrible flashbacks of the bloodied bodies and corpses. They will had to deal with the empty space that was left in their hearts made by deaths and of many close family members; and although many family members didn't die immediately, many died in the months and years following. Also, the bombs did not spare much or any money, shelter, and provisions; meaning our survivors had to endure poverty and homelessness. The novel comes to a

The non-fiction book Hiroshima by John Hersey is an engaging text with a powerful message in it. The book is a biographical text about lives of six people Miss Sasaki, Dr. Fujii, Mrs. Nakamura, Father Kleinsorge, Dr. Sasaki and Rev. Tanimoto in Hiroshima, Japan and how their lives completely changed at 8:15 on the 6th of August 1945 by the dropping of the first atomic bomb. The author, John Hersey, through his use of descriptive language the in book Hiroshima exposes the many horrors of a nuclear attack.

“We have to protect our Earth, so our children and grandchildren will never suffer like that,’ she said. And she looked ahead. ‘Maybe nuclear weapons won’t be abolished while I’m alive,’ she said. ‘But I will never give up.” (Hanley, NBC News). August 6, 1945 at 8:16 in the morning, the United States dropped the world's first atomic bomb on thousands of unsuspecting people in Hiroshima, Japan. Not only did this catastrophic event kill thousands of civilians, but it also resulted in other nations obtaining and learning how to create these deadly weapons, weapons that we still have today. In the book Hiroshima by John Hersey he gives readers a new look at that day, through the eyes of six victims who survived the horrific attack on Hiroshima, he shows how the entire city of Hiroshima suffered, and were left alone to fend for themselves.The book Hiroshima by John Hersey, sheds light on the immense dangers of nuclear warfare, and the government's responsibility for its people, affected by a war they aren’t fighting in.

Mr. Tanimoto consciously repeated to himself “‘These are human beings’”(Hersey 1946), as he attempted to save paralyzed, dying men and women, in the book “Hiroshima” by John Hersey. This nonfiction book was published on August 31 1946, a year after the atomic bombing fell on Hiroshima, Japan. This publication was raw, uncensored, and truthful. John Hersey unapologetically revealed the gruesome damages done by the bombing, while also silencing those who believed that the atomic bomb was a justified attack. Hersey’s brilliant journalism and ability to write this story without bias, is why this book was selected. The author did not want those who died to be remembered as casualties, but as mothers, fathers and children. Hersey wrote this book about the the physical, and psychological impact this bomb had on both survivors and victims of the atomic bomb. There were many historical events that contributed to the cause and effect of the atomic attack; historical events such as industrialization, the trench wars, and militarism. This was not just a simple bomb, but a complex attack on humanity.

The blast effect is the outward rush of gases from the bomb’s site of origin.

It’s been 15 years since that day, but the moment still haunts me today. When we found out that a nuclear bomb was going to drop, my family and the rest of the street had no idea what to do. Everything was all over the place, seconds after the explosion happened. Houses were destroyed, cars were flipped and ravaged, and thousands of dead bodies were lying on the streets. Some of them were even our dearest friends.

When the Atomic Bomb exploded over the city of Hiroshima, the people who experienced it were not expecting it to occur the way it did. We were given an insight of the lives of several characters on that fateful morning in August in 1945. Neighboring towns had all been bombarded by American B-29 raids, but so far Hiroshima had been spared and rumors spread that “something special” was in store for them. Every plane that flew overhead was a considered a threat and would set off the air raid warning, consequently that morning people even though the siren sounded earlier people were either going about their everyday routines or preparing for the worst. The people of Hiroshima were completely confused when the atomic bomb was dropped over their city because they were all expecting a warning of some kind, either from the U.S or the air-raid sirens but there was nothing heard before the bomb was dropped. Hersey describes it as a “noiseless flash,” which conjures the image of silence and a startlingly bright light as total buildings were decimated. With the dropping of the Atomic Bomb over Hiroshima, we ushered in a new age of

of Hiroshima. Residents saw “a strong flash of light” and then a large mass of destruction. The

The light of the explosion then turned orange as the atomic fireball began shooting upwards at 360 feet per second, reddening and pulsing as it cooled. The characteristic mushroom cloud of radioactive vapor materialized at 30,000 feet. Beneath the cloud, all that remained of the soil at the blast site were fragments of jade green radioactive glass created by the heat of the

However, the discussion of whether the bomb should have been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki still continues. What would happen if the bombs were never dropped? Was it right to incinerate not only soldier, but also innocent civilians? These rhetorical questions may never be answered, but analyzing the effects and possible theories could lead to a conclusion. Furthermore, Hiroshima illustrates the personal incidents to help the audience understand and feel the individual’s physiological and emotional trauma: to cause the reader to feel like they are personally at Hiroshima or

However, notwithstanding the horrifying and destructive nature of these results, there is yet another extremely disastrous result of the atomic bomb: the firestorm. The thermal radiation from the explosion ignites countless fires on all flammable surfaces within a wide radius. Furiously overturning fire hazards such as stoves, heaters, and furnaces as well as rupturing gas lines and causing short circuits, the blast wave intensifies the already precarious situation. Indeed, the blast wave also breaks windows and blows in fire shutters, which causes better ventilation for the fires. The debris from all the fallen buildings creates much more vulnerable fuel for the fire as well. When all of these individual fires started by the combined efforts

“Hiroshima”, written by author John Hersey is based on the real life events that occurred on August 6, 1945, in Hiroshima, Japan. During these final stages of World War II, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bombs on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Hersey captures the experience of six survivors, and the events of that day. Nearly four decades later he travels back to the city in search of the survivors and tells of their present lives, post-war. The purpose of the novel was to connect others with their humanity and to recognize the devastation faced by ordinary people.

Early in the morning of April 27, 1986, the world experienced its largest nuclear disaster ever (Gould 40). While violating safety protocol during a test, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl power plant was placed in a severely unstable state, and in a matter of seconds the reactor output shot up to 120 times the rated output (Flavin 8). The resulting steam explosion tossed aside the reactor’s 1,000 ton concrete covering and released radioactive particles up to one and a half miles into the sky (Gould 38). The explosion and resulting fires caused 31 immediate deaths and over a thousand injuries, including radiation poisoning (Flavin 5). After the