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Hiroshima by John Hersey

Kacia Harris University of Oklahoma July 10th, 2019

Hiroshima by John Hersey is a compelling novel about the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The bombing of Hiroshima was the first use of an atomic bomb, and it ruined many lives. With a population of around 250,000, 100,000 were killed and about 100,000 were injured. When this novel was originally written, Hersey told the stories of six survivors of the bombing from moments after the bomb until several months later. Forty years after the bombing, Hersey added a fifth chapter to his novel that gives an update on the lives of these 6 survivors. This essay speaks about the experiences of three survivors, proportionality in the war in the eyes of Hersey, and a personal initial response to Hersey’s novel. Hiroshima, by John Hersey provides an in depth view of the lives of six survivors right after the bombing of Hiroshima. One survivor was Dr. Terufumi Sasaki. Dr. Sasaki was a twentyfive year old surgeon who worked at the Red Cross Hospital in Hiroshima before, and after the bombing. Throughout this novel, Dr. Sasaki is shown as a hardworking and selfless man. Hersey shows this very early on in the novel. Although Dr. Sasaki would have gotten in trouble if he was caught, he began to treat sick patients in different areas around Hiroshima without having a permit. Dr. Sasaki was the only doctor who was unharmed at the hospital. For months after the explosion he did not leave the hospital while he tried to stop as much death as he could. Throughout this novel, Dr. Sasaki shows his selflessness by not wanting to be praised for his help in the wake of the bombing. Although he does not show much emotion, Hersey shows that Dr. Sasaki was deeply traumatized by the bombing and the effect it had on the people around him. He eventually leaves the hospital and starts his own practice in another city. Dr. Sasaki tried to start fresh with his life, but still struggled with the gruesome memories of Hiroshima. Another survivor spoken about in this novel is Toshiko Sasaki. Sasaki is a twenty year old woman who works hard to support her parents and siblings, when the bomb dropped on

Hiroshima. The bombing caused the factory where Sasaki works to collapse, and a bookcase fell on top of her and smashed her leg. For a long time after the bombing, she did not receive any medical help for her leg that had became fractured and infected. Because she did not get professional help, she remained crippled for the rest of her life. Throughout the novel, Sasaki’s sufferings was one of the worst of all of the survivors. Once she was crippled, her fiance abandoned her. This caused physical and emotional pain for the remainder of her life. Father Kleinscorge, another character in the novel, helped pick her up and put her back on her feet. Father Kleinscorge encouraged her to convert to Christianity and become a nun. Once she was a nun, Sasaki had a great career and was able to travel the world. She soon began to feel positive about her life and what the future held for her. Out of all of the survivors in this novel, Toshiko Sasaki best represented the group of survivors who did not receive much attention, and suffered in silence. Since her injury was not life threatening, she did not receive much treatment or sympathy from people around her. With her not being able to walk, she was not able to participate much in community efforts to renew Hiroshima, and this made her feel more alone than the other survivors. Like a majority of the survivors, Sasaki suffered in silence. Father William Kleinscorge was also a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. Father Kleinscorge was the only victim who did not have a Japanese background that was talked about in the novel. Even though he was not Japanese, Kleinscorge’s experiences were very similar to Japanese victims. His experiences help show that the bombing of Hiroshima brought everyone to the same level, and differences in nationality did not matter anymore. Everyone who was affected by the bombing, no matter race or gender, came together to help their fellow survivors. Since Kleinscorge was not Japanese, he was able to show readers what is was like for a somewhat outsider. He spoke mainly of how most Japanese victims suffered silently and did not

ask for pity or lean on their injuries to get them through life. Kleinscorge was able to see how growing up in different cultures will cause different ways of dealing with injuries or grief after a traumatic experience. Father Kleinscorge was a selfless, German priest, who worked very hard to comfort hundreds of dying and injured victims right after the bombing took place. While Father Kleinscorge was not initially wounded after the bombing, he does eventually come down with radiation sickness. Through all of his experiences, he grew to love Japan and the Japanese people so much that he eventually became a Japanese citizen. He then took a new name, Father Makoto Takakura. When this novel was originally published, there were only four chapters, but forty years later Hersey came back and added a fifth. The fifth and final chapter of this novel catches up with all of the survivors mentioned in the novel. Hersey also shows throughout this chapter that all of the survivors had a different story, and no victim has the same one. Hersey is able to show different aspects of life after the bombing of Hiroshima through using the stories of these survivors. By adding this fifth chapter, Hersey allows the audience to see that no help from the government happened for victims until around 1954. This caused a great ridge in the Japanese government and their residents. The residents of Hiroshima started to resent their own government for the bomb. Hersey shows that a lot of Hiroshima residents believe that if it was not for the Japanese government’s aggression, that the bomb would have never been dropped. The survivors spoken about in this novel worked really well in representing different experiences that a lot of Hiroshima victims share. One common experience that many residents of Hiroshima share is that there were many long term effects of the bomb that were not originally expected. According to studies performed by the Lancet residents of Hiroshima started to complain of different health problems that were eventually diagnosed as radiation sickness.

Symptoms of radiation sickness include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, general malaise, and loss of hair.1 Radiation sickness affected hundreds of thousands of people after the bombings of Hiroshima. Hersey showed how radiation sickness affected one of the victims in this novel as well. Father Kleinscorge was diagnosed with radiation sickness shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima. This shows that radiation sickness affected many people near the bombing site, and it did not matter of race or nationality. Something that Hersey does well in this novel is demonstrate the principle of proportionality, or lack thereof, in the war. The principle of proportionality in war deals with the prohibition of attacks that will cause harm to civilians that would outweigh the military advantage. This means that militaries should not plan attacks that will cause more harm to the civilians of another country, than good to their own. Hersey demonstrates that proportionality was thrown out of the window when bombs were dropped on Hiroshima. The Japanese had already surrendered, and there was not a need for an attack this huge. President Truman knew that this bomb would kill on a massive scale, upwards of one million people, but he still decided to use it. This shows that the principle of proportionality was not being followed by the United States. In conclusion, my initial response to Hersey’s novel, is a feeling of grief for the victims of the Hiroshima bombing, but also a feeling of pride for these victims. I took a strong interest in Toshiko Sasaki’s story for many reasons. Toshiko Sasaki was a lot like myself. I have also been looking out for my brothers and sisters even though I am still fairly young. Sasaki’s story makes me feel proud of how the Japanese people were able to handle the situation after the bombing. Even though Sasaki went through so much struggle with damaging her leg and still having to 1 “Remembering Hiroshima”. The Lancet (2005), Vol. 366. https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271074/

take care of her family, she never gave up and always kept a proud, brave face. I think that there are many things that this novel teaches people, and many things that can still be learned from it today. One thing that can still be learned from this novel is to remember the principle of proportionality in war. Hersey’s novel shows us that when there is no principle of proportionality, many people die who did not deserve to die. Hersey’s novel was an inspiring read that helps put more of a personal touch on such a tragedy in history. It helps young people today learn about the bombings of Hiroshima on a more personal and touching level.

Annotated Bibliography 1. Hersey, John. Hiroshima. Alfred A. Knopf, 1946. 2. “Remembering Hiroshima”. The Lancet (2005), Vol. 366. https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271074/...