Hiroshima By John Hersey Essay

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.

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.

In John Hersey's Hiroshima, he based his book upon the one perspective that, the bombing of Hiroshima was an act of inhumanity. What Hersey failed to do was to give the perspective of the Americans. Hersey did not account for the Pearl Harbor bombing of 1941 or the death march in the Japanese Bataan Camps in 1942. Without giving both perspectives, Hersey does not give the reader a fair chance to form their own opinion; instead, the reader is swayed into Hersey's bias beliefs of the event.

In Hiroshima, John Hersey focuses on the survivors of the atomic bomb that is dropped on the city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Instead of focusing on one individual, Hersey decides to report on six that survive the blast. The survivors came from many different walks of life and were all affected by the coming of the nuclear age. Mrs. Hatsayo Nakamura was a widow raising three young children. Dr. Terufumi Sasaki was a young surgeon unhurt during the explosion, leaving him to care for thousands of Hiroshima’s wounded. Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge was a German priest that comforts many of the wounded and dying. Toshiko Sasaki was a young woman working in a factory to make ends meet for her family and her parents. Dr.

The most significant theme in John Hersey’s book “Hiroshima” are the long- term effects of war, confusion about what happened, long term mental and physical scars, short term mental and physical scars, and people being killed.

Although WW II ended over 50 years ago there is still much discussion as to the events which ended the War in the Pacific. The primary event which historians attribute to this end are the use of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the bombing of these cities did force the Japanese to surrender, many people today ask "Was the use of the atomic bomb necessary to end the war?" and more importantly "Why was the decision to use the bomb made?" Ronald Takaki examines these questions in his book Hiroshima.

While looking for a boat to carry the severely injured across the river, Mr Tanimoto “… Found a good-sized pleasure punt drawn up on the bank… five dead men, nearly naked, badly burned…” (Hersey, 37) near it, he “… lifted the men away from the boat… he experienced such horror at disturbing the dead…” (Hersey, 37). On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to end the war between them. Hiroshima, by John Hersey is a book about six survivors of the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city. The six survivors tell their stories of where they were before the bomb was dropped, what they did after the bomb was dropped, and what their life was like years after the bomb. The book also

     The book, Hiroshima, is the story of six individuals who experienced the true effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. Miss Toshinki Sasaki, a clerk in the East Asia Tin Works factory, just sat down in the plant office and was turning to converse with the girl at the next desk when the bomb exploded. Dr. Masakazu Fujii, a physician, was relaxing on his porch, which overlooked the Kyo River, where he was reading the morning periodical when the shell detonated. Before the eruption, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura was observing her neighbor destruct his house as part of a fire lane in preparation of an American attack. Previous to the attack, Father

The nuclear bombs code named “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” were detonated over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the summer of August 1945 by the United States of America in an attempt to end World War II. The immediate death toll was extremely high with an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 people killed upon impact of the bombs due to the extreme heat, flying shrapnel, and the pressure of the blast wave. The overall death toll is now estimated to be about 192,020 dead due to long term health effects such as radiation poisoning and burns. These bombs also caused a multitude of long term medical and social problems for surviving victims such as in utero mutations in future generations of children and a large percentage of homeless citizens after the war. As a result of these bombs the Japanese emperor Hirohito accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ending World War II. These bombings remain the single most horrific acts of warfare ever carried out on another country.

“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.

Toshiko Saeki who, at the time of the bombing, was with her children at her

John Hersey, the author of the book “Hiroshima”, recounts the tragic events surrounding six survivors living in Hiroshima at a time the atomic bomb was being dropped. “The characters in his account are living individuals, not composite types. The story is their own story, told as far as possible in their own words” (Hersey VI). Part of Hersey’s goal was to emphasize how catastrophic events can foster a need for survival and bring communities together as they lean on each other for support. Although cultural behaviors differ around the globe, the basic needs in which to satisfy for survival are surprisingly similar. For this analysis, we will take a brief look at what is inherent in each of us, the need for survival.

President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the direct cause for the end of World War II in the Pacific. The United States felt it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on these two cities or it would suffer more casualties. Not only could the lives of many soldiers have been taken, but possibly the lives of many innocent Americans. The United States will always try to avoid the loss of American civilians at all costs, even if that means taking lives of another countries innocent civilians.

On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb, "little boy" on Hiroshima, Japan. Hiroshima had been almost eradicated with an estimated 70-80,000 people killed. Three days later, a second, more powerful bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing over 100,000 people. Since Japan was economically and militarily devastated by the late summer of 1945, the use of the atomic bombs on an already overcome Japan was unnecessary and unwarranted in bringing about a conclusion to the war in the Pacific.

With the approval of American President Harry S. Truman, the fates of two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sealed. This decision came with heavy hearts, as the United States attempted to end their involvement in World War II by using nuclear power against the nation of Japan. Truman’s primary goal in this form of attack was to discontinue the war as quickly as possible, while also sending a message to the enemy and establish the United States as the leader in atomic energy. Beginning as a secret operation labeled the Manhattan Project, atomic bombs became the new weapons of mass destruction. The evident frontrunner in nuclear technology, the United States was the first country to release atomic bombs on another nation for war