Theme Of Destruction In Thomas Lamarre's 'Akira'

Have you ever questioned why and how the US government decided to drop those two nuclear bombs in Japan in the World War II? It is still a universal concern while many disapproval have made toward its humanity. In a book that I’ve read recently, from the point of view of an eyewitness, Yamaoka Michiko, the author of story “Eight hundred meters from the Hypocenter”, shows how humanity was exchanged with the ambition of a nation by reviving a heartbroken experience when she witnessed her hometown was destroyed by such a terrific violence in the war.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were calamitous airstrikes that left thousands of people perished and with brutal trauma. In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, the government produced mini air strikes to induce terror into the citizen’s mind allowing the government to feed off that terror. Furthermore, the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and 1984 have segments of divergence and parallel structures.

In “A Perspective on the War Crimes,” Shigetoshi Iwamatsu argues that the tragedies at Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unparalleled war crimes and unnecessary acts of cruelty. He advocates the elimination of nuclear arms and opposes nuclear energy sources. The argument for defining the use of the atomic bombs as “without parallel in world history” is largely Iwamatsu’s belief that they were an unneeded extreme, likely motivated by racism.

The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945 had caused substantial damage and countless of lives lost. People had continued to suffer, whether if it was from radiation injuries or rebuilding their lives, even years after the tragic events. In Kenzaburo Oe’s anthology The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath, is comprised of short stories written by people who experienced and witnessed the events. They retell of their actual experience or re-create the emotions and events of the unforgettable day. In the story “Fireflies” written by Yoko Ota, she illuminates the lives of the people in Hiroshima seven years after the exploding of the atomic bombs. She tells of the struggles her family is facing, as well as many others, and looks how the horrific injuries caused by the radiation affected the lives of A-bomb survivors. Through the use of imagery, simile, and personification, Ota depicts people trying to rebuild their lives, the lasting memory of the event, and long lasting effects of the bomb.

As the monster Gojira came lumbering over the buildings of Tokyo on the big screen in 1954, director Ishiro Honda saw his dream of seeing a film focused on the devastation of nuclear weapons play out. Although, his film could not clearly be about the devastation, his symbolism of the monster as the atomic bomb was clear to all Japanese, even if it was not clear to foreigners viewing the film. The film, Gojira, and its many reiterations over the years, is a result of the atomic attacks that took place almost a decade previous, the following occupation and continued use of nuclear weapons by the United States, the lingering anxieties had towards these nuclear weapons and the censorship that encased Japan after the United States occupation. As

The filmmakers’ main ideas are that the government misled and lied to the people of the U.S. so that they would believe that the atomic bomb would have no effect on their health and security, that we should question if the government should have lied to the American people, and to make us question whether or not the citizens of the U.S. would continue to be as naive as the people of the 1950’s.

Before John Hersey’s novel, Hiroshima, Americans viewed Japanese as cruel and heartless people. This warped perspective caused the majority of American citizens to feel complacent about the use of the atomic bomb against civilians. Americans, in many ways, were blinded by their own ignorance to notice the severity of the destruction suffered by not only the city of Hiroshima but, more importantly, the people who lived there. The six testimonies in Hiroshima illustrate the strength and optimistic attitude of the Japanese people. In this essay, I will discuss the feelings towards the ethics surrounding the use of the atomic bomb, next I will look at two testimonies and how their lives

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.

The research question of this essay is “To what extent was the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of the Second World War Justified? In 1945, the United States authorized the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first bomb, dropped on August 6th 1945, had a total casualty rate of 135,000, including non-combatant civilians, and as this, the atomic bombing of Japan at the end of the Second World War has indeed been a hugely discussed topic within academic and social circles until today. There have been historians, academics, and other influential individuals throughout the world who have argued on both sides of the spectrum regarding the effects of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and whether they were necessary and justified towards the ending of the conflict. According to the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), by 1944, it had become clear to both the United States and the Empire of Japan that Japan was indeed losing the war, and as this, there are many arguments and counterarguments regarding the effectiveness of the atomic bombing of Japan, as well as suggestions regarding alternatives due to the enormous human toll the bomb caused.

America’s use of the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities also opened the door to other countries challenging them through their own use of nuclear bombs. Many have criticized that the atomic bomb was an act of “muscle flexing” due to the sheer power and destruction caused by the decision to drop the two bombs. (Nicholls, 67). Not only were these bombs a demonstration of the power that these nuclear weapons had, but they were a testament of power that the United States now held. Never before had a country surrendered in war without first being invaded, so the decision to drop the bomb and Japan's subsequent surrender were extremely significant (Baldwin, 39). These bombings didn’t just impact the Japanese, but the whole world and gave way to

On August the sixth 1945 a single nuclear bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” was dropped on the City of Hiroshima in Japan. Then on August the ninth 1945 another bomb, this time nicknamed “Fat Man” was dropped on the City of Nagasaki Japan. While it is well known that nuclear weapons were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan to bring World War Two to a decisive end, this piece of art these horrible days inspired is less known. The sculpture “Peace Statue” by Seibou Kitamura is deeply rooted in the aftermath of World War Two.

This year, 2010, marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan by the United States, the Allied exit strategy and victory plan to end World War II. In the decades that have followed, public opinion has ridden a volatile rollercoaster of emotion—never stalling on one particular sentiment, but rather moving in a constant sweep of almost cyclical proportions. In the aftermath of the bombings, the public at large expressed almost indiscriminate adulation of the decision to use the bombs, however American enthusiasm regarding their utilization has subsequently waned, with piques of interest coming in tandem with high profile anniversaries that

In addition, two atomic bombs had been dropped on Japan during World War 2, which killed a combined total of about 262,000 people and devastated a country. Many of these significant incidents likely influenced Bradbury’s writing, leading him to assert that fear causes people to become defensive when something of value is in danger. However, they may become so protective that they end up causing damage. In today’s society, Bradbury’s prediction has been proven to be completely true.

Although atomic bombs may be seen as a “ruthless annihilation of cities” (Leo Szilard, p. 5), they are also an effective means of war. The use of atomic bombs in war have both position and negative consequences however; Leo Szilard’s “A Petition to the President of the United States” is a successfully articulated article on why he felt atomic bombs should not be used against Japan. Leo Szilard effectively uses pathos and logos to support his position on atomic bombs to the President. He also successfully offers countermeasures that reinforce the negativity surrounding the use of these bombs. While people may disagree with Leo Szilard’s position, his use of pathos and logos makes it a successful article.

Telling the true devastation of Hiroshima through the eyes of these six survivors allows Americans to really understand what happened as a result from the atomic bomb. Even though Americans knew of the bomb being dropped, they did not know the degree of devastation that this city and its people faced. Through Mr. Tanimoto, the Americans learned of the obliteration, therefore giving money for Mr. Tanimoto’s, “This Is Your Life tour” because of guilt (Hershey 148). Hersey also shows the great strength that these people had after the bomb, including Mr. Tanimoto, that had “an energy that was remarkable for a hibakusha” (Hersey 148). Informing the readers of the long lasting effects, he tells that Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge falls to “A-bomb sickness,” where he is “constantly hospitalized” (Hersey