Hiroshima Book Review

Introduction

It is always said that history usually repeats itself. However, some of such experiences are not worth to be witnessed in the world or to a group of people. The Hiroshima displays one of such events, where the readers of the experience hope that they would not be repeated. Hiroshima was written by John Hersey in 1946 as non-fictional journalistic writing. He was a journalist from the New York Times and focused on narrating the aftermath of the atomic bombs which were used on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima during the second world war. The US army released the bomb in their quest to revenge on their attack on the Pearl Harbor (Kathy and Mathew 41). The central theme of the book was to indicate the dangers and consequences are accruing the action taken by the US army to detonate the city using an atomic bomb and also exhibit to the audience the adverse effects of destructive power. Moreover, it indicates a form of historical event that cannot be repeated in any place across the globe. Therefore, the paper aims at summarizing, analyzing, and highlighting the significant lessons learned from the publication and their application in the world today.

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Overview

John Hersey begins his novel on 6th August 1945, which was during the world war two. This marks the year which the American troops bombarded Hiroshima city in Japan. The Americans did not use the regular bombs used during the war, but rather utilized atomic bombs, which were discovered by the victims of the attack and the Japanese doctors after the culprits were left with strange symptoms and injuries. According to Hersey 62, About a week after the bomb dropped, a vague, incomprehensible rumor reached Hiroshima- that the city had been destroyed by the energy released when atoms were somehow split in two." The city hosted more than 250,000 residents, and more than 100,000 were killed instantly from the explosion, while more than 100,000 others were severely injured and others affected by the radiation poison. The author utilizes six victims who survived the effects of the bombing, where Mr. Tanimoto who escaped uninjured helped their friends, neighbors, families, friends, and strangers such as Mrs. Nakamura together with her children. He was aided by Father Kleinsorge, who used to comfort the injured regardless of his suffering and illness at that time. They also provided water for the culprits who could not move.

Miss Sasaki was a clerk and had just settled at her desk when the bomb blew up and was buried beneath the books and rubble. In the process, she broke her leg and remained there helpless for some time. Her wound worsens due to inadequate medical attention. Dr. Sasaki was lucky to escape injuries during the explosion and joins hand with the Red Cross health facility to assist the hospital in handling patients. He stayed there for months and did not move away as he tried to reduce the death rate which was overwhelming in the region. The scenario went on for several weeks until Japan capitulated and the city of Hiroshima began the rebuilding process.

However, as the residents embarked on reconstruction process, a new plague emerged. The effects of radiations started to be revealed. The victims exhibited symptoms such as feverish, nausea, and anemic attacks. Individuals such as Mrs. Nakamura began to experience weird effects such as falling-out hairs. On the other hand, Father Kleinsorge never achieves full recovery. Hersey tries to trace the six characters who survived the atomic bomb attack, where characters such as Dr. Fujii and Father Kleinsorge died of sudden illnesses few years after the attack. Miss Sasaki and Mrs. Nakamura were able to scrape the effects and survive, where Mrs. Nakamura receives a government allowance and pension, while Miss Sasaki becomes a nun. Mr. Tanimoto and Dr. Sasaki dedicated their lives to serving the victims of the attack. However, Hersey discovered that the aftermath of the attack was still affecting the population, and the nuclear posed long-term effects to the residents.

Book Review

Hiroshima is a fascinating read, which is coupled with a great sense of affectionate and empathy. The book being a non-fiction narrative, Hersey combines the best writing techniques to bring out a picture of a city that was once great, but after an instance of destructive and uncontrolled power, it went into ruins through an atomic bomb (Stein). Additionally, Hersey personalizes the story by narrating the series of events undergone by the six individuals. This creates interest for one to read and know more information on their day to day lives. Hersey also jumps from one story to the other and explain events that took place by jumping from one set of information to the other. This presents an efficient approach to express how various individuals were affected by the onset of the city bombing. He can give a clear comparison of the effects of the event on multiple sets of individuals by factoring such characters. Hence, I would refer anyone to read this book, and eliminate the idea of boredom as one reads through the narration.

The Book enlightens an individual by showing that, hard and stressful situations brings separation and creation of new bonds and interaction lines. For example, Hersey majorly focuses on a family in his narration, where he features the Nakamura family to show that such set of individuals experience the effects of the bombing on their own. Hence, since the event separated most of the citizens from their real families, we witness them coming together and assisting each other as a new form of family engagement. For instance, Father Kleinsorge who is a German citizen forms a new family bond with the locals such as the Nakamuras, and Miss Sasaki as they strive to offer assistance to the affected people in the society. Hence, the primary cluster of individuals who were affected by the bomb attack were the residents who in turn emerged united to fight the effects as evidence in chapter four where it states: "One feeling they did seem to share, however, was a curious kind of elated community spirit . . . pride in the way they and their fellow-survivors had stood up to a dreadful ordeal."

Additionally, the narration highlights the effects of uncontrolled power, where those in power abuse it and cause severe harm to their subjects. The World War (ii) engaged mighty nations, who possessed unchecked power. In the modern society, the nuclear weapons are regulated, and their use in wars is limited (Santoro 29). However, during the Hiroshima's bombing, nations such as the US had ultimate power, and this enabled them to detonate Hiroshima. The bomb was so powerful such that the book expresses that it conjured up the rain and turned the day into darkness. This shows how unfit the bomb was for it to be used against a city like Hiroshima.

Reading through the book triggered me to question on the legibility and the validity of the US' intentions to bomb the city. Regardless of Japan's attack on the Pearl Harbor, the American soldiers ought to have used another form of revenge rather than the atomic bomb which poses long-term harm to the citizens through radiation attacks. The effects of the bomb were described in chapter two, where Hersey highlights that: "the silence in the grove by the river, where hundreds of gruesomely wounded suffered together, was one of the most dreadful and awesome phenomena of his whole existence." The book also assists in recording the happenings and the effects of the Hiroshima bomb, which will be used as a reference point by future generations as they make vital decisions in war or any other conflicting situations.

Conclusion

The paper has summarized, analyzed, and highlighted the significant lessons learned from the publication and their application in the world today. For instance, Hiroshima displays one of the events, where the readers of the experience hope that they would not be repeated. The reading also narrates the life experiences of six characters, showing how each was affected by the bombing. Such figures include Dr. Sasaki, Miss Sasaki, Nakamura, Father Kleinsorge Mr. Tanimoto, and Dr. Fujii. Hersey creates an exciting book through the use of literacy techniques such as personalizing the stories, creation of empathy, and comparison. The narration also shows how hard and stressful situations brings separation and nature of new bonds and interaction lines and highlights the effects of uncontrolled power, where those in power abuse it and cause severe harm to their subjects. The story has triggered my conscious to question of the legibility of the approach used by the US to revenge on Japan.

Works Cited

Hersey, John. Hiroshima. Vintage, 1985.

Kathy R. Forde, Matthew W.Ross. "Radio and Civic Courage in the Communications Circuit of John Hersey's 'Hiroshima.'" Literary Journalism Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, 2011, pp. 31-53.

Santoro, David. "The Nuclear Weapon States: A Turning Point for Nuclear Disarmament?" Nonproliferation Review, vol. 17, no. 1, 2010, pp. 23-47, doi:10.1080/10736700903484652.

Stein, R.Conrad. "Hiroshima." World at War, 1982.