Hiroshima |
By John Hersey |
Themes
Suffering: Throughout the book you can see a very common theme of suffering. In Hiroshima the citizens loose everything, this includes their homes, family, belongings, and many loose their lives. Additionally many people suffer from burns, loss of limbs, radiation sickness, and seeing loved ones die right in front of them.
Community survival: After the bomb went off everyone lost almost everything. The community of people in Hiroshima needed to work together to survive. They were all in the same situation so they needed to rely on each other for support. An example in Hiroshima is when a lot of people are seeking refuge by a river. Many people cannot move so well because of their injuries. So the able bodied people help the people who cannot help themselves. They provide food, water, and comfort for each other as if they are family.
The extraordinary power of the bomb: The people in Hiroshima have no clue what truly happened at first. They have theories and ideas of what caused the destruction. The bomb seems to have godlike powers, turning the daytime to night, blinding people, and killing people from the outside and the inside. The Japanese people eventually learn how the bomb was created and they name the bomb genshi bakudan. The bomb is called the original child bomb, this is to emphasize the fact the bomb was godlike and of unworldly power.
Community survival: After the bomb went off everyone lost almost everything. The community of people in Hiroshima needed to work together to survive. They were all in the same situation so they needed to rely on each other for support. An example in Hiroshima is when a lot of people are seeking refuge by a river. Many people cannot move so well because of their injuries. So the able bodied people help the people who cannot help themselves. They provide food, water, and comfort for each other as if they are family.
The extraordinary power of the bomb: The people in Hiroshima have no clue what truly happened at first. They have theories and ideas of what caused the destruction. The bomb seems to have godlike powers, turning the daytime to night, blinding people, and killing people from the outside and the inside. The Japanese people eventually learn how the bomb was created and they name the bomb genshi bakudan. The bomb is called the original child bomb, this is to emphasize the fact the bomb was godlike and of unworldly power.
FICTION/Nonfiction
Hiroshima is a non-fiction book. It is the story of six survivors after the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. This book is non-fiction because he talks about the actual survivors stories. This book is not fiction because the events of the book actually took place. This book recalls the horrific and tragic events of people's lives in Hiroshima. John Hersey, the author, went back to Hiroshima to see the people he had wrote about. When you read this book you might think that it is fiction but it is not. Some of the events described in the book are horrible, and the horrible part is that they are fact.
Characters
Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura: She is a tailors widow who raised three kids by herself. She doesn't get hurt from the blast but later on she comes down with radiation sickness. Out of all six people that are in this book she is the only one who is in charge of taking care of a family. She is also the only character to struggle with poverty because of the war. She is never clearly defined as a character, however, she is mentioned throughout the book. This could be because of the fact that she is always busy taking care of her children. She begins to hate America for what they have done, but she returns to a neutral standpoint. She says It can't be helped.
Dr. Terufumi Sasaki: Dr. Sasaki is 25 years old and is a surgeon in the red cross hospital Hiroshima. He is acts with selflessness by treating people in the suburbs without a permit. He is the only physician in the hospital, he is unharmed by the blast. Sense he is the only physician he treats thousands of dying and wounded people. Dr. Sasaki contributes to the understanding of radiation sickness. He also spends a lot of time cutting off keloids, scars that people get over burns. He learns that what he was doing was hurting people rather than dong good. He leaves the city to escape from the his horrid memories. The author puts a emotional distance between Dr. Sasaki and the reader. This is to show that Dr. Sasaki doesn't want praise for what he did.
Father William Kleinsorge: Father Kleinsorge is german priest living in Japan. He selflessly comforts people after the blast. Fathre Kleinsorge is not really hurt by the blast. He does however get radiation sickness and as multiple hospital stays. Father Kleinsorge is the only non-Japanese main character. He thought many times that he was under suspicion. Once the bomb hits Father Kleinsorge demonstrates that the bomb is a equalizer for all people. He shows us that all people were united by the bomb because they were all going through the same thing. It showed us that everyone no matter who they are were effected by the bomb.
Toshiko Sasaki: Miss Sasaki works hard in a factor to support her siblings and family. She was working in that factory when the bomb hit. The factory collapses and a bookcase crushes her leg. She doesn't get proper care so her leg is fractured and infected. Because of this she becomes a cripple for the rest of her life. She is then emotionally and physically scared because she is a cripple and her husband leaves her. Father Kleinsorge convinced her to convert to Christianity and become a nun. Because of her injures she is immobilized and does not help out the community like the other characters.
Dr. Masakazu Fujii: Dr. Fujii owns a small private medical clinic. His whole clinic falls into a body of water. Dr. Fujii is not really effected by the bomb physically and he does not loose family because his wife lives in Osaka. He then later rebuilds his clinic and fully recovers. His life ends when he is in a coma. There is friction within his family, causing his wife and son to fight over his inheritance.
Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto: Mr. Tanimoto works as hard as he can to save others and bring the dying to safety. Mr. Tanimoto feels bad that he is untouched by the bomb and feels that he need to help those who are in need. He spends the most time and energy over all the characters helping others. Later on he comes down with radiation sickness and looses most of his desired energy. He traveled to America to give speeches to raise money for a piece center in Japan. Because of him spending so much time in America he misses out on the development of the grassroots piece movement. After the bombing Mr. Tanimoto dedicates his life to working hard for others.
Dr. Terufumi Sasaki: Dr. Sasaki is 25 years old and is a surgeon in the red cross hospital Hiroshima. He is acts with selflessness by treating people in the suburbs without a permit. He is the only physician in the hospital, he is unharmed by the blast. Sense he is the only physician he treats thousands of dying and wounded people. Dr. Sasaki contributes to the understanding of radiation sickness. He also spends a lot of time cutting off keloids, scars that people get over burns. He learns that what he was doing was hurting people rather than dong good. He leaves the city to escape from the his horrid memories. The author puts a emotional distance between Dr. Sasaki and the reader. This is to show that Dr. Sasaki doesn't want praise for what he did.
Father William Kleinsorge: Father Kleinsorge is german priest living in Japan. He selflessly comforts people after the blast. Fathre Kleinsorge is not really hurt by the blast. He does however get radiation sickness and as multiple hospital stays. Father Kleinsorge is the only non-Japanese main character. He thought many times that he was under suspicion. Once the bomb hits Father Kleinsorge demonstrates that the bomb is a equalizer for all people. He shows us that all people were united by the bomb because they were all going through the same thing. It showed us that everyone no matter who they are were effected by the bomb.
Toshiko Sasaki: Miss Sasaki works hard in a factor to support her siblings and family. She was working in that factory when the bomb hit. The factory collapses and a bookcase crushes her leg. She doesn't get proper care so her leg is fractured and infected. Because of this she becomes a cripple for the rest of her life. She is then emotionally and physically scared because she is a cripple and her husband leaves her. Father Kleinsorge convinced her to convert to Christianity and become a nun. Because of her injures she is immobilized and does not help out the community like the other characters.
Dr. Masakazu Fujii: Dr. Fujii owns a small private medical clinic. His whole clinic falls into a body of water. Dr. Fujii is not really effected by the bomb physically and he does not loose family because his wife lives in Osaka. He then later rebuilds his clinic and fully recovers. His life ends when he is in a coma. There is friction within his family, causing his wife and son to fight over his inheritance.
Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto: Mr. Tanimoto works as hard as he can to save others and bring the dying to safety. Mr. Tanimoto feels bad that he is untouched by the bomb and feels that he need to help those who are in need. He spends the most time and energy over all the characters helping others. Later on he comes down with radiation sickness and looses most of his desired energy. He traveled to America to give speeches to raise money for a piece center in Japan. Because of him spending so much time in America he misses out on the development of the grassroots piece movement. After the bombing Mr. Tanimoto dedicates his life to working hard for others.