John Hershey's Hiroshima
... priests construct a mission house similar to the one before the bomb, and Father continues to put others before himself. Dr. Sasaki is one of the doctors making observations about the different stages of radiation sickness, and marries once life resumes a somewhat normal course. Finally, Reverend Tanimoto also attempts to rebuild a facility of worship but is financially constrained. These are the ‘true’ impacts of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Hersey’s initial novel concluded with Mrs. Nakamura’s young son wandering the streets, knowing his family is safe and complete, and witnessing his friends’ mothers dead or wounded. This was a perfect end to Hiroshima, not politically comfortable, but personal and I felt it was meaningful for a general audience. The conspiracy elements of Hersey’s Chapter 5 “The Aftermath” are primarily political. Starting the use of the atomic bomb during World War II, the Americans were unprepared for the actual results of their technological advancement (I think they knew exactly what it would do). The extent of the destruction that the Americans caused by way of the bomb created an atmosphere of excuses and explanation on the home front. Although many would argue that the use of the atomic bombs on Japan hastened the end of World War II, there were still countless civilian casualties, a fairly new concept of warfare. The pressure put on the American government at the time the bomb dropped was immense, and many turned to President Truman either for reassurance for their countries actions or to publicly decry his decision. It is for this reason that I feel Hersey sought out his characters and picked up their lives many years after the war, as a way of saying ‘Look, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all’ because these people continued to live their lives. Ultimately this viewpoint results in Hiroshima “The Aftermath” being viewed as a propaganda article for a liberal democracy and an excuse for the United States. A character of particular interest, which supports the addition of Hersey’s fifth chapter, is Mr. Tanimoto. Singularly Mr. Tanimoto takes it upon himself to spread awareness about the complications of the bomb to others –particularly the Americans. Making numerous trips to the United States to raise money for surgery for the hibakusha survivors, Mr. Tanimoto has little to do with the political celebration and the rebuilding process back in Hiroshima. At a time when the Japanese should have been angered at the Americans, Tanimoto is the epitome of an individual praising the Americans for the bomb. A country full of anger that had originally blamed the Americans “had by now subtly modulated toward their own government, for having involved the country in a rash and doomed aggression” (Hersey 135). Tanimoto’s character serves Hersey’s purpose of portraying the bombing in a positive or excusable very effectiviely, yet takes away from the sincerity of the other characters. Hersey’s choice of the six characters plays heavily into the residual message of Chapter 5. All six characters that Hersey chooses survived for many years after the bombing and went back to a comfortable standard of living, many even living a lifestyle better than that prior to the bombing. Despite being ‘survivors’ I feel that the publicity these six characters experienced after the bomb as portrayed through “The Aftermath” is a negative decision by Hersey. Although they do continue to live their lives drastic changes occur. Mrs. Nakamura who manages to scrape together enough of a living to feed her family, experiences “the lowest and saddest moment of her whole life” (Hersey 92) after the bombing when she is forced to sell her only means of deriving a livelihood, her sewing machine. Toshiko Sasaki is negated to the fact that she will not be getting married as her fiancés family “had second thoughts about permitting their son to marry a hibakusha” (Hersey 119). Although she does continue to serve others through the orphanages and convents, the change in her life path is radical. Th...