Hiroshima written by John Hersey is a wartime novel about the effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. The author serves as the narrator in a third person point of view, which allows the narrator to follow the benevolent actions of multiple characters simultaneously. The story revolves around what these characters do in reaction to the bomb. There are internal conflicts among each character between choosing to help those in need and going to check on their families. Two of the six characters, Dr. Fuji and Dr. Sasaki, are dealing with extreme amounts of injured people flooding hospitals and debate between helping those who are seriously injured and may not survive or tending to people with minor injuries who will definitely survive if given proper care. Father Kleinsorge is a religious person who is very sick but overcomes his weakness to help those in worse condition. Mr. Tanimoto is an educated citizen that is concerned with helping as many people as he can around him while Mrs. Nakamura is more worried about her own family and close friends. As the story progresses each character starts to realize that not everybody can be helped and soon enough they are in need of help as radiation sickness starts to settle in. Those who recover from the radiation go on to try to rebuild all that was destroyed and return to a more normal lifestyle.
Religion played a very crucial role in Hiroshima. Religion served as a motif and a basis for several themes in the novel. Religion was a force that kept many people going and was a deciding force when choosing who to help. Devotion to religion was shown as a theme when Mr. Fukai refused to leave his burning church. Religion also was the reason that Father Kleinsorge helped others instead of tending to himself. Some victims held on to religion as a reason to survive while trapped under debris. Hersey’s diction while describing those victims brought the reader into Japan by using Japanese words in his writing: “Those who were burned moaned, ‘Mizu, mizu! Water, water!'” (Hersey 31). Another theme was that once something bad happens, good will come from it. For example when people were suffering from radiation the scientists made technological advances in curing it. This theme ties in with the concept of staying positive and moving forward. Mr. Tanimoto attempted to save many people from the rising tide by moving them uphill. Unfortunately, they were not high enough and were still swept away. After this failure, Mr. Tanimoto continued to volunteer and aid others.
