Hiroshima Bombing: Experiences and the Side Effects From Radiation Sickness
Develop this topic into a well-organized four-paragraph essay, following the guidelines below. Correct spelling and grammar will be considered during grading. Part of your grade will depend upon including the required block quotes. Be sure to answer all parts of the question.
Students will generally compose the essay inside their word processor and then COPY and PASTE (using CONTROL V) the text into the space provided below. The essay should be approximately two - three double-spaced pages long. Do not worry, if your text loses its double spaced formatting after pasting.
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Finally, DO NOT copy material from another student or online source and paste it into this essay response box, representing it as your own work. Doing this will get you a grade of 0, and it is not difficult for instructors to detect.
Hiroshima
Relying only on material from the Hiroshima monograph, the textbook, and class notes and PowerPoints--thoroughly answer all of the following questions:
Section One: According to the book, why was Hiroshima such an ideal target for American bombing
Section Two:
a. Discuss the experiences of one of the central characters in this book.
b. Explain what you think the author's purpose was in telling so many individual anecdotes about life before the bomb.
Section Three: List and describe some of the side effects from radiation sickness.
Section Four: Explain why the medical and rescue efforts had so little impact on the survivors’ behalf, immediately following the blast.
***Include at least three direct, multi-sentence block quotes from Hiroshima to support your position. Be sure to cite these quotations in parentheses and in all caps. For example, your citation might look like this:
"Allied doctors who came in after the surrender found plasma and penicillin very effective." (HERSEY, P. 99).
PLEASE NOTE: If you do not include the 3 direct quotations from the book, you will lose 15 points from your score.
DO NOT USE any other sources than those provided by this class.
Hiroshima
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Hiroshima
Section One
According to the book, why was Hiroshima an ideal target for American bombing?
According to the book, Hiroshima was an ideal target for American bombing due to its significance as an industrial center and strategic location. As stated in the book, Hiroshima was a city that contained “factories and other residential districts, or suburbs, lay compactly around the edges of the city” and had “main commercial and residential districts” that covered about four square miles in the center of the city (HERSEY, P. 17). Additionally, the city was a transportation hub with several highways and railroads converging there. The city’s importance is further emphasized by the fact that it was one of the few important cities in Japan that the American B-29 bombers had not targeted before the attack. Finally, the city’s topography, with its fan-like shape and surrounding hills, was believed to focus the blast and increase the destructive power of the bomb.
Section Two
a. Discuss the experiences of one of the central characters in this book.
One of the central characters in this book is Dr. Masakazu Fujii, a prosperous and hedonistic single-doctor hospital proprietor in Hiroshima. The book describes the events leading up to and immediately following the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. Dr. Fujii allowed himself to sleep during the days leading up to the bombing. In his writing, John Hersey uses vivid sensory details and specific language to convey the shock and confusion felt by Dr. Fujii in the aftermath of the bombing. For example, when describing the moment, the bomb hits, Hersey writes, “To him faced away from the centre and looking at his paper it seemed a brilliant yellow” (HERSEY, P. 24). Notably, this detail emphasizes the suddenness of the explosion and the disorientation felt by those caught in its wake. Besides, the description of Dr. Fujii being “squeezed tightly by two long timbers in a V across his chest, like a morsel suspended between two huge chopsticks” creates a visceral image of his entrapment and the precariousness of his situation (HERSEY, P. 24). The specific mention of his left shoulder hurting terribly and his glasses being gone further emphasizes the physical toll of the bombing on Dr. Fujii.
b. Explain what you think the author’s purpose was in telling so many indi...