...Trung Pham Professor John D. Kearney History 1302 16 July 2014 Exam One Writing Assignment While reading Hiroshima by John Hersey, Chapter Two: The Fire, stood of particular interest to me and later became what I regarded to be the most significant chapter of the entire novel. It vividly encaptures the absolute terror the people of Hiroshima faced in the wake of the explosion. From the viewpoints of six survivors, I was able to imagine just how devastating the force of the atomic bomb could be. The Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, of the Hiroshima Methodist Church, had noticed that “not just a patch of Koi, as he had expected, but as much of Hiroshima as he could see through the clouded air was giving off a thick, dreadful miasma” (Hersey 18). Fearful for his family and church, he ran into the city amidst burning houses and charred trees as thousands were fleeing, desperate to find them. At the same time, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, a tailor’s widow, having just pulled herself out of the ruins of her own house, struggled to free her youngest daughter Myeko, who was “buried breast-deep and unable to move” (Hersey 18). The third survivor, Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, S.J., a German priest, gathered whatever he could and hurried to reunite with the other members of his mission house, many of who were injured and required immediate medical attention (Hersey 21). The fourth, a physician by the name of Masakazu Fujii, was trapped between wooden beams above the...
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...Shalonda Beal Book Review “My review of Hiroshima by John Hershey is as follow.” The plot is about how six people lives are affected when Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. Their lives are being followed day by day. They try to go back to their normal lives after the bomb dropped but they can not because they will always have in their mind the day that the bomb hit and memories of what they saw and what they had to go through just to recover. They wanted to help a lot of other people who were trapped under houses but they could not because after the fire started to spread rapidly they only could look out for themselves or die trying to help them. The main characters are “Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a clerk in the personnel department of the East Asia Tin Works, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, a tailor’s widow, Dr. Masakaza Fujii, a physician at his private hospital, Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, pastor of the Hiroshima Methodist Church, Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, a young member of the surgical staff of the city’s large, modern Red Cross Hospital, and Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, a German priest of the Society of Jesus.” Thousands of people were killed by the atomic bomb, and these six were among the survivors. They wondered why they lived through their wounds when so many others died. They lived so many lives and saw more deaths and suffering than they ever thought they would see. Even though they lived they went through a great deal of suffering and sometimes...
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...Hiroshima The bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th, 1945 was completely necessary. It efficiently ended the horrible World War II. Japan also needed to learn the error of their ways which started the whole Development of atomic weapons. It ended other conflicts with Japan. Dropping the bomb helped the Japans economy. Those are just some of the many reasons why it was right to bomb Japan. On August 9, 1945, President Harry Truman decided to drop and atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. A few days later, this resulted in Japan surrendering and World War II ending. So, the United States dropping the atomic bomb resulted in ending the war quickly and saving more lives. If we didn't drop those bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki an invasion would've been necessary and in result, more lives would've been lost. It was right for us to drop the bomb. The Japanese military was very powerful. Being that they rarely ever gave up. After Pearl Harbor, they had to be shown the mistake of their actions. After 2 atomic bombings, a bunch of conventional bomb droppings, and attacked by the Soviet Union, the government refused to surrender. The Japanese cabinet meet and agreed to surrender and World War II had finally ended. That shows that even through roughest t situation Japan has a really hard time giving up. The atomic bomb ended many conflicts with Japan. It also changed the technology of war making it more deadly. After we defeated Japan a democratic government was put...
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...Kristen Chinn Physics II Dr. Turner April 27, 2015 Hiroshima The attack on Hiroshima was a brutal attack. One of the planes involved in making this bombing a success was named “Necessary Evil”. This plane was one that was used to take pictures of the bombing on the attack and the effects of the explosion. I think that this plane was named “Necessary Evil” because of its “evil” pictures that the plane had captured on the mission of bombing Hiroshima. More people than not believe that the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was the right decision to make. Japan had already killed around 2,000 Americans during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and many believe that that was enough to drop a bomb on them. A full scale invasion on Hiroshima would have killed many American lives, so dropping the atomic bomb was a way to kill tons of Japanese and keep more of our guys alive at the same time. Dropping the bomb also ended the war a lot faster than it would have if we wouldn’t have dropped the bomb. Some say that they dropping of the atomic bomb was a little too much. Many believe that we shouldn’t have dropped the bomb on Japan because the atomic bomb was intended to be used as a defense weapon, not an offense weapon. A lot think that we used the bomb just to scare Germany, or any other country for that matter, and maybe they would think twice before attacking the U.S. Some also say that the use of the atomic bomb was racially motivated. It is said that if the bomb would have...
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...Hiroshima and Nagasaki Takesha McCaleb Mr. Spitler Was the Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary to end the war? As I did my research on this topic I found out that some found it necessary while others didn’t. During the course of this research paper I will be discussing why the atomic bomb was dropped. The effects right after the bomb was dropped for the Japanese and Americans also the after effects such as genetic effects. I will also touch on how Americans feel about the bomb more than fifty years later and what lessons were learned throughout all of this. Hiroshima was founded in 1589, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, and became a major urban centre during the Meiji period. The city is located on the broad, flat delta of the Ota River, which has 7 channel outlets dividing the city into six islands which project into Hiroshima Bay. The city is almost entirely flat and only slightly above sea level; to the northwest and northeast of the city, some hills rise to 700 feet. Hiroshima was founded by Mori Motonari as his capital. About a half century later, after the Battle of Sekigahara, his grandson and the leader of the West Army Mori Terumoto lost the battle. Finally Asano was appointed the daimyo of this area and Hiroshima served as the capital of Hiroshima Han during the Edo period. After the Han was abolished the city became the capital of Hiroshima prefecture. During the First Sino-Japanese War, Hiroshima emerged as a major supply and...
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...The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in 1945. These two events represent the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. Following a firebombing campaign that destroyed many Japanese cities, the Allies prepared for a costly invasion of Japan. The war in Europe ended when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on 8 May, but the Pacific War continued. Together with the United Kingdom and the Republic of China, the United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945, threatening Japan with "prompt and utter destruction". The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum, and the United States deployed two nuclear weapons developed by the Manhattan Project. American airmen dropped Little Boy on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, followed by Fat Man over Nagasaki on 9 August. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. The Hiroshima prefecture health department estimated that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness. In a US estimate...
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...Hiroshima" is written in response to a collection of artwork entitledUnforgettable Fire. The book consists of drawings, sketches, and memories that document the bombing of Hiroshima by its survivors. While the collection claims that the drawings are being left "for posterity," Berger finds something more important at work here (qtd in Berger 576). Instead he argues that it is through personal narrative (and art) that latter generations can truly comprehend the horror of this action (and others like it). He likens the images to "hell" and labels the action as one of terrorism--one that can never be justified no matter what political side one supports or what aims one hopes to accomplish. Response: Based on the types of readings I have assigned for this class, I don't think it should be any surprise that I believe in the power of the personal narrative. So, on this point, I completely agree with Berger. Reading the number of those who died in the Holocaust, or lost their loved ones in Pearl Harbor, or fell with the Towers on 9/11 has a power on its own. But it is too easy to become immune to numbers. A personal narrative prevents an audience from de-humanizing an issue, and hopefully focus on what is truly important. Rhetorical Analysis: Berger makes two rhetorical choices that are especially effective. The first is that he interweaves excerpts of personal narratives into his own essay. While these narratives support his point, he does not refer to them orexplicate them in any...
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...Hiroshima On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by an American B-52 bomber. The dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan brought an end to World War II and was somewhat of a form of revenge towards the Japanese from the Americans. The United States had been working on the development of the atomic bomb since the mid to late 1930’s with the Manhattan Project. The United States began developing the atomic bomb after Albert Einstein had informed President Franklin D. Roosevelt that Nazi Germany was also looking at how to create nuclear weapons by purifying uranium-235. Robert Oppenheimer oversaw the Manhattan Project, in which they “perfected” the formula for refining uranium and making it into an atomic bomb. By the time that the United States had “perfected” nuclear weaponry Germany had already been defeated, but the war with Japan continued on. The United States chose to drop the bomb on Hiroshima because it was a city of industrial and military significance, there were many military units located near the city and it was the site of Field Marshal Shunroku Hata’s Second General Army. The city of Hiroshima was a key shipping port for the Japanese military and it was also a meeting place for the military. At the time of the bombing the population of Hiroshima was approximately 345,000 compared to what it was at the beginning of the war, which was approximately 381,000 residents. There was a significantly smaller number at the time...
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...just because one side wins or one side loses doesn’t mean one is right or wrong. The fact of the matter is that when it comes to war, both sides see themselves as the right or virtuous side fighting for the cause that is just, but sometimes in war it doesn’t matter if you are the one that is right or wrong but rather the one with the bigger gun. War is a messy and by all means painful situation to be apart of, which ever if it is you fighting on the front lines or observing it through another means maybe such modes like media. Imagery of war can have an enormous effect on the people involved but also just the same lasting effect of the people that witness these images. In Susan Sontag’s, “Regarding the Pain of Others” and John Berger’s, “Hiroshima” they both depict their ideas toward the imagery of war and what the effects are and how these effects can have certain lasting results on our humanity. Both authors, Sontag and Berger have their own views on imagery of war, and how and if it should be used. Placing their opinions side-by-side allows us to compare their ideas on bringing to light the horrors of war, protection of our innocence, and what is morally right. War is no picnic in the park, it is an ongoing sequence of horrifying events that each side tries and to one up the other. Sontag and Berger both agree that war if filled with horrors but they seem to have a different idea on the effects these horrors can have on our humanity. Berger starts off by stating, “The whole...
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...Hiroshima: The Bombing that Blasted Away the Truth For the United States, World War II was a very costly war that seemed as if it would not end. For the United States to end their assault on Japan during World War II, a nuclear bomb was dropped in Japan to force them to surrender. On August 6th, 1945, the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima killing over 150,000 people and (along with the later bombing of Nagasaki) effectively caused the Japanese to surrender. This tactic is highly polarized in the international community; on one side, it is considered to be justified and the only action for the United States to take, and on the other side, it is considered to be a barbaric act of terrorism perpetrated by the U.S. military. In the essay, Hiroshima by John Berger, the author correctly argues that the bombings were terroristic acts that are fundamentally evil; however, he is incorrect that they are unjustifiable. To diagnose whether the bombings were acts of terrorism, one must be able to understand the definition and criteria of one such act. A commonly accepted definition of terrorism is an act that includes the premeditated use of violence by an organized group against non-combatants to achieve political ends. Berger’s argument includes all the criteria in that definition so the bombing must be terrorist acts. Berger begins his argument by describing all the violence caused by the bombs. Throughout the essay, he quotes passages from Unforgettable...
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...The book’s title is Hiroshima, it was written by a man named John Hersey about a year after the bomb. At first the novel was published in four parts in the New Yorker and then was put all together into one and sold in bookstores everywhere where it got popular among everyone. John Hersey wrote about six survivors who lived through the atom bomb that the United States dropped on Hiroshima. The book starts out by telling the reader about the atom bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Hersey tells the number of casualties and the survival rate along with all the pain and suffering the survivors had to go through the days after the drop. After stating the horrific facts of the effects of the atom bomb Hersey goes on to...
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...The article Understanding the Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Nathan Donohue concerns the intent to emphasize the complexity of the issue with regards to the decision made by American president Truman to throw an atomic bomb on the Japanese cities in order to end the World War II. Generally speaking, the paper discusses alternatives that existed at that time and makes an attempt to identify which outcomes this could have had. The atomic bomb is a weapon of destructive action, and the American government knew that. However, there still were reasons for the US to use this means. The bomb was thrown due the fact that “the top priority for President Truman was to end the war as quickly as possible with the fewest U.S. casualties”...
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...Before the Hiroshima bombings, Japan was very ruthless and it’s military was strong. Japan was a very strong and offensive country, which fought long and hard. They even refused surrender when America warned them about the bombing. After the bombing, Japan was severely weakened, both physically and psychologically. Hiroshima was a military base, full of citizens, and after the bombing, there was barely anything left. It had been obliterated by the bomb. The people who survived died soon after because of radiation poisoning or were severely injured. This event had knocked Japan down from its high pedestal. Since this happened at the end of world war two, Japan was suddenly forced into a state of weakness. This shift caused a victimized mentality...
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...And yes, the U.S. did have the right to fight back, but not like it did. The U.S. might have wanted to give Japan a taste of its own medicine, but it shouldn’t have overdosed the Japanese. The U.S. is a Christian nation, and Japan practices Buddhism. In the Christian Bible, it says “An eye for an eye; and a tooth for a tooth”, but Buddha disagrees with that and stated “An eye for an eye just makes the whole world blind” I might be Roman Catholic, but I strongly agree with the words of Buddha. Pearl Harbor was a military based ship harbor, so no innocent civilians were killed during that bombing. The United States, instead of bombing a Japanese military base, bombed two Japanese cities that were not controlled by the Japanese military. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities that the U.S. dropped the Atomic Bombs on, were completely ruined. Elderly, women, and children were murdered by the bombs. The U.S. also destroyed and burned down Shinto and Buddhist temples, schools, hospitals, living quarters, etc. One day before the bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese Emperor let Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo know about his desire to “insure a prompt ending of hostilities.” In my opinion, if the U.S. didn’t spend so much time on building those two bombs and tried to civilly end the war with Japan, the war could have ended much sooner. The U.S. put all its attention on the bombs that it didn’t realize that Japan was already trying to surrender. Dropping the Atomic Bombs was a completely...
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...“Hiroshima” is a New Yorker article that was published in 1946. John Hersey is the author of this article, and he talks about the six Hiroshima residents who survive the atomic bomb. The six survivors tell the interviewer what they were doing before the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima. Each survivor talks about the effect that the atomic bomb had in their town. The survivors were expecting an attack from the Americans, but they never thought there would be many deaths from this attack. As soon as the atomic bomb hit, the air became dust. One of the survivors was Dr. Fujii, he and his friend question why the victims had terrible burns on their face and arms. There were only two fires according to Dr. Fujii, so the victims couldn’t get burn from...
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