When a human sees another one in need, they tend to help them even if it puts their life in danger. This is an act of selflessness and there is always a reason behind why one decided to help another. In the non-fiction report, Hiroshima by John Heresy, the author reports the lives of six survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bomb and their selflessness. All six survivors were under immense radiation and had to deal with radiation sickness, yet they still put others’ lives before theirs. Heresy’s work displayed to the reader that empathy, self-worth, and acceptance compels an individual to put the needs of others over his/her own needs. Empathy is the act of understanding and sharing one’s feelings with another person. Furthermore, people do …show more content…
For some, being needy and always placing themselves first before others brings feelings of guilt and shame. Those were the feelings Mr. Tanimoto felt when he was wandering around the ruins of Hiroshima. Fortunately for Mr. Tanimoto, he wasn’t harmed or in awful critical conditions as the people around him were. However, he couldn’t bear the shame of leaving people alone to die: “...overwhelmed by the shame of being unhurt[, he] prayed as he ran,” (30). He ran, searching for his loved ones. Once he found his wife and his child, though, he departed immediately to help the injured and sick in Asano Park. He knew very little about medicine and how to handle individuals. Furthermore, the fact that there were little to no doctors there at the park enraged him even more: “Mr. Tanimoto, ashamed of hurting wounded people, embarrassed at being able to walk upright, suddenly thought of the naval hospital ship, which had not come (it never did), and he had for a moment a feeling of blind, murderous rage at the crew of the ship, and then at all doctors” (46). As a result, he moved those who couldn't up and down the river in a boat that he had found and comfort others because it was the best he could do. He believed it was his duty to aid those in need. Instead of protecting himself and his family, he chose to protect as many people as he could. His dedication to feel worthy pushed him to become selfless.
During the bombing of Hiroshima, casualty rates among medical personnel were in the range between 80 to 93 percent. Injuries resulting from the bombing often went untreated, and the survivors did not receive health care for some time. The book Hiroshima discusses this issue in great length, specifically why they were not given the necessary aid. The government of Hiroshima played a major role in this.
Human life is precious in the sense that it is all about survival. There are qualities found in humans that make survival possible. In the book Hiroshima, by John Hersey, readers experience the core of humanity found in the six survivors during the days, months, and years following the atomic bomb. Through inspiration, perseverance, and a sense of community, the Japanese people demonstrated the strength of the human spirit.
John Hersey's journalist narrative, Hiroshima focuses on the detonation of the atomic bomb, Little Boy, that dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Although over one hundred thousand people died in the dropping of the bomb, there were also several survivors. John Hersey travelled to Hiroshima to listen to the experiences of six survivors. Hersey uses his book to tell the story of six of these survivors (spanning from the morning the bomb fell to forty years later) through a compilation of interviews. Hiroshima demonstrates the vast damage and suffering inflicted on the Japanese that resulted from US deployment of the atomic bomb. And although depressing, humbling, and terrifying, this book was very good, interesting, and
The book, Hiroshima, is the story of six individuals who experienced the true effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. Miss Toshinki Sasaki, a clerk in the East Asia Tin Works factory, just sat down in the plant office and was turning to converse with the girl at the next desk when the bomb exploded. Dr. Masakazu Fujii, a physician, was relaxing on his porch, which overlooked the Kyo River, where he was reading the morning periodical when the shell detonated. Before the eruption, Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura was observing her neighbor destruct his house as part of a fire lane in preparation of an American attack. Previous to the attack, Father
The non-fiction book Hiroshima by John Hersey is an engaging text with a powerful message in it. The book is a biographical text about lives of six people Miss Sasaki, Dr. Fujii, Mrs. Nakamura, Father Kleinsorge, Dr. Sasaki and Rev. Tanimoto in Hiroshima, Japan and how their lives completely changed at 8:15 on the 6th of August 1945 by the dropping of the first atomic bomb. The author, John Hersey, through his use of descriptive language the in book Hiroshima exposes the many horrors of a nuclear attack.
Mr. Tanimoto consciously repeated to himself “‘These are human beings’”(Hersey 1946), as he attempted to save paralyzed, dying men and women, in the book “Hiroshima” by John Hersey. This nonfiction book was published on August 31 1946, a year after the atomic bombing fell on Hiroshima, Japan. This publication was raw, uncensored, and truthful. John Hersey unapologetically revealed the gruesome damages done by the bombing, while also silencing those who believed that the atomic bomb was a justified attack. Hersey’s brilliant journalism and ability to write this story without bias, is why this book was selected. The author did not want those who died to be remembered as casualties, but as mothers, fathers and children. Hersey wrote this book about the the physical, and psychological impact this bomb had on both survivors and victims of the atomic bomb. There were many historical events that contributed to the cause and effect of the atomic attack; historical events such as industrialization, the trench wars, and militarism. This was not just a simple bomb, but a complex attack on humanity.
Although WW II ended over 50 years ago there is still much discussion as to the events which ended the War in the Pacific. The primary event which historians attribute to this end are the use of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the bombing of these cities did force the Japanese to surrender, many people today ask "Was the use of the atomic bomb necessary to end the war?" and more importantly "Why was the decision to use the bomb made?" Ronald Takaki examines these questions in his book Hiroshima.
The benevolent actions we see people take during wartime are based on those individuals’ beliefs. During war it may seem as if individuals take on an altruistic
While looking for a boat to carry the severely injured across the river, Mr Tanimoto “… Found a good-sized pleasure punt drawn up on the bank… five dead men, nearly naked, badly burned…” (Hersey, 37) near it, he “… lifted the men away from the boat… he experienced such horror at disturbing the dead…” (Hersey, 37). On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to end the war between them. Hiroshima, by John Hersey is a book about six survivors of the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a city. The six survivors tell their stories of where they were before the bomb was dropped, what they did after the bomb was dropped, and what their life was like years after the bomb. The book also
After the Japanese dropped the bomb on Pearl Harbor, the United States took serious offense to it. The Americans dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki because of them dropping the bomb on Pearl Harbor. America dropped the bomb because President Harry Truman commanded that if the Japanese made any attack on us, we would attack them. This bomb badly affected Japan. At least 140,000 Japanese people died, including 20,000 soldiers by December of 1945. At least 90% of the deceased were killed within two weeks of the bomb being dropped. 92% of 76,000 buildings were destroyed. (“Hiroshima Committee”)
After the tragedy in Hiroshima the people learned that coming together is essential Mr.Tanimoto’s worked with those around him to save as many lives as he could. Although he faced with complications such as no oras, Mr.Tanimoto’s perseverance saved many lives. “Mr.Tanimoto found about twenty men and women on the sandpit. He drove the boat onto the bank and urged them to get aboard”(45). Mr. Tanimoto’s selflessness and the selflessness of those around him saved many lives day after day even with the
President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the direct cause for the end of World War II in the Pacific. The United States felt it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on these two cities or it would suffer more casualties. Not only could the lives of many soldiers have been taken, but possibly the lives of many innocent Americans. The United States will always try to avoid the loss of American civilians at all costs, even if that means taking lives of another countries innocent civilians.
Explosion Fire Burning Pain Suffering dret catastrophe devastation. This was hiroshima, the day the first catastrophe of a bomb was dropped on a city. Creating unimaginable horrors. The novel hiroshima shows us that when we get knocked down that we will only prevail stronger, and smarter. Even in disastrous events such as hiroshima, the attack of the twin towers, it shows that even in the face of despair, there is always hope.
Although theories that suggest the non-existence of true altruism may be persuasive, it does not explain the reasons for selfless deeds done by famous figures for their love and services to people such as Mother Teresa. Batson (1991) suggested a hypothesis and feels that some people are genuinely concerned about other people’s welfare. According to his empathy-altruism hypothesis, empathic concerns produce altruism motivation and relieving their sufferings is the main priority. This hypothesis is supported by several experiments where participants are typically given an opportunity to help those in need for whom they have been led to different levels of empathic concerns.
Imagine a leader of a country that has sent a super weapon to a country they are fighting that’s already losing. This bomb kills over 80,000 people and ends the war with this country, and the leader still said that they made the right choice up until their death, about sending the super weapon. Well this actually happened, President Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war. The war has gone on for six years and over sixty-million people had died. Europe had already surrendered, but the war in Japan was still going on. The U.S. has developed a super weapon to end the war, and stop the endless bloodshed. This super weapon was the first atomic bomb. President Truman decided to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing Japan to surrender, but killing over 80,000 people in Hiroshima alone. The controversy over whether the U.S. should’ve dropped the bomb or not has been an endless debate (Debate: Bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki). The U.S. should have dropped the bomb on Japan because the U.S. didn’t know the power of the bomb, a demonstration of the weapon wouldn’t have ended the war, and because it helped Japan in the long run (Debate: Bombing Hiroshima