Sample Essay On Hiroshima

According to the book, Hiroshima was an ideal target for American bombing. Americans had destroyed all the important cities of Japan with the exception of Kyoto and Hiroshima. This fan shaped city lay on the flat delta land of the river named Ota, which ran across the big town through seven outlets. Three quarters of its population lived in the central area consisting of over four square miles. Many of the people were evacuated to other safer places as the Japanese were aware that this city was the target of the American bombing and the population which was at its peak during the war time, at about three hundred and eighty thousand came down to two hundred and forty five thousand after the eviction. The outlying areas of the city were dotted with factories and residential places and there was no separate trading, business, or residential sectors. The sea, which drifted southwards, away from the sea to the interior, formed a string of islands with small waterfronts and ports. The city had major military settlements and the location of an airport added to its importance. Its shopping center was always brimming with activity and crowded with people. The city had mountains on three sides that may have been a bit discouraging to the attacking enemies. Apart from the central area that had concrete structures, the rest of the city had wooden workshops and the Japanese houses were made of wood with tile roofs. The city was thus most vulnerable to destruction and the Americans were very keen to cause the utmost damage.
The book Hiroshima profiles the lives of six persons who live to tell their experiences of the war. Of all the survivors, the character of Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto is very interesting and intriguing. He was the pastor at the Hiroshima Methodist Church and even though he worked relentlessly and with dedication, people eyed him with suspicion due to his American connections. He had graduated from the Emory College in Atlanta, Georgia, spoke good English, and dressed like the Americans. He had American friends with whom he had good relations before the war. The Japanese people who were tired and disturbed by the war distrusted him and doubted him to be an American spy. This worried him a lot. He wanted to prove to the people that he was a loyal Japanese citizen. The police also doubted his credibility and quizzed him several times. In chapter I we see how a retired Japanese officer, named Tanaka, famous for his buoyant lifestyle, made false allegations against him, and succeeded in making him look like a traitor amidst the people. In order to instill faith in the people and gain their confidence, Mr. Tanimoto became the chairperson of the local association “tonarigumi” and took additional responsibility of looking after the safety of twenty families during air raids. Chapter I describes how Mr. Tanimoto and his friend carried moveable articles from the church to the home of a rayon manufacturer in an adjusting town known as Koi. The attack occurred when they had reached there but Mr.Tanimoto was not hurt. He thought that a bomb had fallen on the house but was shocked to see a troop of soldiers with blood oozing out, emerging from the trenches they were digging. He ran towards the city searching for his wife and daughter, but was bewildered to see people running in the opposite direction. On the way he gave a helping hand to a lady struggling with her child and crying out, “ I’m hurt! I’m hurt! I’m hurt!”[Heresey, p. 32]. He guided her to a temporary hospital nearby, a school converted for the purpose. After this kindly act, he got rid of his own fear, and a new vigor to help the needy and the injured engulfed him. While he ran to help the people, he met his wife and child who were not injured. On moving further he came across many wounded persons, and awful scenes of women who had the flowers on their kimonos stuck to their burnt naked bodies, some crying for water “mizu, mizu, mizu.”[Heresay,p. 49] .Further down, he helped the thirsty injured persons with water and ferried many people across the water to escape from fire. He also met a young woman who was clutching to the dead body of her infant daughter hoping to meet her husband. Chapter IV explains how a vain Mr. Tanaka, who was against Christians was humbled by the injuries wrought on him by the war, and agreed to be comforted by Mr. Tanumoto who read to him his last sermon from his Japanese language pocket bible. He died soon after. I feel that of all the six persons profiled in the book, Mr Tanimoto devoted more time and energy to help the injured. He later fell sick due to radiation and lost much of his strength and stability.
Chapter IV of the book describes the after effects of the blasts, focusing mainly on the six survivors. Effect of radiation was new to the people including the doctors. After the blast, during the first phase, the doctors discovered that many died due to the effect of neutrons, beta particles, and gamma rays. These rays were strong enough to destroy the body cells and degenerate the nuclei. Many people became ill with high fever, headaches, indigestion, diarrhea and nausea. Many died without any injuries. In the second stage, some complained of falling hair and baldness. Blood diseases also started setting in. There was bleeding of the gums in some people and there was a noticeable drop of white blood counts in some that hindered the healing of the wounds. In the third stage, the white blood cell count of the patients began to stabilize but chest infections surfaced. Many of the injured who were treated for burns developed tumors known as keloids on the scarred tissues. The doctors were baffled with after effects of the blast because they had never encountered this type of ray emission before. As the symptoms became prominent, the doctors concluded that the sickness resembled the effects of overdose of X-ray. Before the doctors could come to terms with the disease, “the first stage had been over”[Heresay, p. 104] without any proper treatment. The doctors could not function to their optimum levels, as there was a shortage of medicines and medical instruments “The shortage of supplies and instruments hampered them” [Heresay, p. 104]. It was very much later that the doctors realized that though the people died of burns and injuries, “they had absorbed enough radiation to kill them” [Heresay, p. 104].