On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy bombed Pearl Harbor.Pearl Harbor was a military base for the United States Navy, located in an island in Hawaii (Rosenberg, "Pearl Harbor Facts "). As a result, the United States entered World War II siding with Great Britain, France, Russia, and other small European countries. Towards the end of the war, the United States bombed two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to force Japan to surrender the "Pacific War. ".
The book, Hiroshima by John Hersey, is based on this traumatic event. On August 6, 1945 at 8:16 a.m., Japanese time, a B-29 plane dropped the first bomb over the city of Hiroshima. While many Japanese citizens died during the bomb, six people survived the sudden attack: Miss Toshiko Sasaki, Dr. Masakazu Fujii, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, and Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto. Hiroshima tells the readers about the individuals points of view and perceptions when the atomic bomb was dropped. After the explosion of the bomb, fires were spreading and many people in Japan were running around, trying to find their families despite their injuries. The six survivors were coping to stay alive, helping other injured people, and finding their loved ones. During the evening when the bomb exploded, a Japanese naval went up and down the seven rivers of Hiroshima to rescue any injured civilians. Many people were confused as to why an atomic bomb suddenly droppedinto the city. On August 15th, the Emperor of Japan broadcasted his voice on the radio, telling the civilians that the war was over and Japan was defeated. Several days after the bomb was dropped, many people,including three out of the six survivors, were ill because of the radiation coming off of the bomb. It took a while for them to be cured but they knew that their lives would never be the same again.
As we take a closer look into Hiroshima, we can examine each of the chapters little by little, starting with the start of the novel.