After the bombing, John Hersey interviewed six different individuals that were in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb struck. Each character shared their own stories from the crisis. Hersey interviewed the innocent victims and gained knowledge of their past, their lives when the bomb struck, and their lives years after the Hiroshima bomb occured. He wrote his novel to inform the world of the horrible fates each innocent, unlucky victim suffered. He titled his masterpiece "Hiroshima".
The first victim the reader is introduced to is Mr. Tanimoto. Mr. Tanimoto is a graduate from Emory College in Atlanta, Georgia, and is previously the pastor at a Methodist Church. He also suffered from terrible anxiety problems, most likely due to the fact that his wife and baby were staying with a friend during the time of the bombing. Mr. Tanimoto spoke excellent English and was often accused by police that he was spying for America. When the bomb flashed through the city, Mr. Tanimoto was unloading a cart of goods at a friend's house. Directly after the attack, Mr. Tanimoto set out to help others who were in worse condition than himself. In the long-run, he moved to America and became head of a church in New Jersey. He later returned to Japan only to find that he could not take part in Japan's peace movement. The attack brought much guilt and sorrow upon Mr. Tanimoto. He could not help his country's peace movement because he had been so involved with America. Overall, Mr. Tanimoto was a lucky survivor, however the bombing of Hiroshima held him back from accomplishing his dreams.
Miss Sasaki, like Mr. Tanimoto, was another atomic bomb survivor. On the other hand, her journey of survival was not as simple. Miss Sasaki was a clerk in the personnel department of East Asia Tin Works. Her entire family had been living with her because her baby brother was in a hospital in Hiroshima. When the bomb was dropped, Miss Sasaki was sitting in her office, at her desk, about to turn her head and speak to the woman next to her. She was thrown by the force of the bomb and woke up unconcious, under a bookshelf and a pile of heavy books. Her left leg was in horrible pain and she could feel the circulation cutting off right below her knee. Miss Sasaki's leg was crippled for most of the remainder of her life. She ventured through 3 surgeries that finally correct her limp. Miss Sasaki worked at orphanages and eventually joined the convent and became a nun where she finally found peace.
Dr. Fugii was a very successful doctor before Hiroshima was hideously bombed. Dr. Fugii owned a private hospital and had a family that consisted of a wife and four children. However, only his niece and the nurses lived with him. When the bomb was unleashed, Dr. Fugii was reading the Osaka Asahi while sitting on the porch of his private hospital that hangs over one of the seven major rivers that disect Hiroshima. His porch immediately collapsed and he was thrown into the river being held above the water's surface by a couple beams that had been broken. When he broke fee, Dr. Fugii wasn't badly hurt and decided to go help others who were in need. He saved a few people and hid under the bridge from raging fires but never saw his niece again. In his future, Dr. Fugii continued to be a surgeon with his sons following behind him. He built a house next to his and moved into it when he and his wife were having differences. Dr. Fugii was found unconcious one day, and lived the rest of his life as a vegetable in the hospital. The bomb caused him to take advantage of his life and caused a family to split up.
Mrs. Nakamura overcame a long journey of suffering. She was a tailor's widow and had to take care of her three children on her own. She was standing in her kitchen when she saw the bright and blinding flash of the feared atomic bomb. Her three kids were taking a nap in the living room. Mrs. Nakamura saved her children and brought them out of the wreckage of their home. She later ventured back into the ruins to save the kids' clothes to be used as bandages. She risked her life many times and finally retreated with her family into a safe haven in the woods. Years later, Mrs. Nakamura struggled to keep food on the table for her children. She was always very weak and ill. Mrs. Nakamuraloses facewhen her hair started falling out from radiation sickness and also when she had to sell her husband's prized sewing machine. Her last job enabled her to own a house and to fit into a group of friends. The bomb caused her to be an uneasy person and suffer through a great depression. Mrs. Nakamura grew very queasy when she visited a memorial of the bombing and was taken away in an ambulance.
Even though Father Kleinsorge was German, he too was affected by the attack that Americans fired on Hiroshima. He was a German priest who lived in the mission with four other priests, a student, and the diocese secretary and housekeeper. When the attack was launched, Father Kleinsorge was reading a magazine in a cot on the third floor of the mission house. The very next minute, he was wandering around the mission vegetable garden not knowing an atomic bomb had just been dropped. Father Kleinsorge then gathered a few of his things, took them to the shelter, and freed a few people from underneath the wreckage. Many years in the future, Father Kleinsorge continued to be a minister, however his career was impacted by his medical issues that he picked up from the atomic bomb. He spent a great amount of time in the hospital and converted many people to Catholicism. He became a Japanese citizen and changed his name to Father Takakura. He was very lonely, and the only person he was relatively close to was his caretaker, Yoshiki. His faith and Yoshiki kept him alive for a very long time, however, his unhealthiness brought him into a coma that led to his death.
Dr. Sasaki was another surgeon. He completed medical school at Eastern Medical School in China and later worked at a Red Cross Hospital. He was punished for being a practicing doctor without a permit. Dr. Sasaki was the only doctor in his hospital who was uninjured when the bomb crashed down on Hiroshima. He was walking down a hospital corridor when the bomb exploded. He immediately started treating wounded or dying patients. Later on in his life, Dr. Sasaki became very successful. He continued to work at the hospital and went back to school so he could open his own, private practice. He opened a public bath-house and gained much credit with the bank. Although he had opperated on many patients for the same reason, Dr. Sasaki continued to smoke and had to have a lung removed. He was extremely happy when he married the love of his life and had two sons. In contrast, he suffered through his own near-death experience and his wife's death. He suffered a great deal of loneliness but found joy that filled the gap when he helped other people.
John Hersey performed these interviews and wrote the novel because he felt the world should know how the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima affected the lives of so many people. The bomb did not only destroy the city, but it created many long term affects that people back then did not know how to cure. The atomic bomb was an unfair and unjust way to settle American and Japanese differences.
The first victim the reader is introduced to is Mr. Tanimoto. Mr. Tanimoto is a graduate from Emory College in Atlanta, Georgia, and is previously the pastor at a Methodist Church. He also suffered from terrible anxiety problems, most likely due to the fact that his wife and baby were staying with a friend during the time of the bombing. Mr. Tanimoto spoke excellent English and was often accused by police that he was spying for America. When the bomb flashed through the city, Mr. Tanimoto was unloading a cart of goods at a friend's house. Directly after the attack, Mr. Tanimoto set out to help others who were in worse condition than himself. In the long-run, he moved to America and became head of a church in New Jersey. He later returned to Japan only to find that he could not take part in Japan's peace movement. The attack brought much guilt and sorrow upon Mr. Tanimoto. He could not help his country's peace movement because he had been so involved with America. Overall, Mr. Tanimoto was a lucky survivor, however the bombing of Hiroshima held him back from accomplishing his dreams.
Miss Sasaki, like Mr. Tanimoto, was another atomic bomb survivor. On the other hand, her journey of survival was not as simple. Miss Sasaki was a clerk in the personnel department of East Asia Tin Works. Her entire family had been living with her because her baby brother was in a hospital in Hiroshima. When the bomb was dropped, Miss Sasaki was sitting in her office, at her desk, about to turn her head and speak to the woman next to her. She was thrown by the force of the bomb and woke up unconcious, under a bookshelf and a pile of heavy books. Her left leg was in horrible pain and she could feel the circulation cutting off right below her knee. Miss Sasaki's leg was crippled for most of the remainder of her life. She ventured through 3 surgeries that finally correct her limp. Miss Sasaki worked at orphanages and eventually joined the convent and became a nun where she finally found peace.
Dr. Fugii was a very successful doctor before Hiroshima was hideously bombed. Dr. Fugii owned a private hospital and had a family that consisted of a wife and four children. However, only his niece and the nurses lived with him. When the bomb was unleashed, Dr. Fugii was reading the Osaka Asahi while sitting on the porch of his private hospital that hangs over one of the seven major rivers that disect Hiroshima. His porch immediately collapsed and he was thrown into the river being held above the water's surface by a couple beams that had been broken. When he broke fee, Dr. Fugii wasn't badly hurt and decided to go help others who were in need. He saved a few people and hid under the bridge from raging fires but never saw his niece again. In his future, Dr. Fugii continued to be a surgeon with his sons following behind him. He built a house next to his and moved into it when he and his wife were having differences. Dr. Fugii was found unconcious one day, and lived the rest of his life as a vegetable in the hospital. The bomb caused him to take advantage of his life and caused a family to split up.
Mrs. Nakamura overcame a long journey of suffering. She was a tailor's widow and had to take care of her three children on her own. She was standing in her kitchen when she saw the bright and blinding flash of the feared atomic bomb. Her three kids were taking a nap in the living room. Mrs. Nakamura saved her children and brought them out of the wreckage of their home. She later ventured back into the ruins to save the kids' clothes to be used as bandages. She risked her life many times and finally retreated with her family into a safe haven in the woods. Years later, Mrs. Nakamura struggled to keep food on the table for her children. She was always very weak and ill. Mrs. Nakamura loses facewhen her hair started falling out from radiation sickness and also when she had to sell her husband's prized sewing machine. Her last job enabled her to own a house and to fit into a group of friends. The bomb caused her to be an uneasy person and suffer through a great depression. Mrs. Nakamura grew very queasy when she visited a memorial of the bombing and was taken away in an ambulance.
Even though Father Kleinsorge was German, he too was affected by the attack that Americans fired on Hiroshima. He was a German priest who lived in the mission with four other priests, a student, and the diocese secretary and housekeeper. When the attack was launched, Father Kleinsorge was reading a magazine in a cot on the third floor of the mission house. The very next minute, he was wandering around the mission vegetable garden not knowing an atomic bomb had just been dropped. Father Kleinsorge then gathered a few of his things, took them to the shelter, and freed a few people from underneath the wreckage. Many years in the future, Father Kleinsorge continued to be a minister, however his career was impacted by his medical issues that he picked up from the atomic bomb. He spent a great amount of time in the hospital and converted many people to Catholicism. He became a Japanese citizen and changed his name to Father Takakura. He was very lonely, and the only person he was relatively close to was his caretaker, Yoshiki. His faith and Yoshiki kept him alive for a very long time, however, his unhealthiness brought him into a coma that led to his death.
Dr. Sasaki was another surgeon. He completed medical school at Eastern Medical School in China and later worked at a Red Cross Hospital. He was punished for being a practicing doctor without a permit. Dr. Sasaki was the only doctor in his hospital who was uninjured when the bomb crashed down on Hiroshima. He was walking down a hospital corridor when the bomb exploded. He immediately started treating wounded or dying patients. Later on in his life, Dr. Sasaki became very successful. He continued to work at the hospital and went back to school so he could open his own, private practice. He opened a public bath-house and gained much credit with the bank. Although he had opperated on many patients for the same reason, Dr. Sasaki continued to smoke and had to have a lung removed. He was extremely happy when he married the love of his life and had two sons. In contrast, he suffered through his own near-death experience and his wife's death. He suffered a great deal of loneliness but found joy that filled the gap when he helped other people.
John Hersey performed these interviews and wrote the novel because he felt the world should know how the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima affected the lives of so many people. The bomb did not only destroy the city, but it created many long term affects that people back then did not know how to cure. The atomic bomb was an unfair and unjust way to settle American and Japanese differences.