Hiroshima was written by John Heresy. In this paper, a discussion is going to be carried out on two of the main characters. The characters that are going to be considered are Reverend Tanimoto and Miss Toshiko Sasaki.
Reverend Mr. Tanimito
Mr. Tanimito woke up at exactly five in the morning on that particular day. He had been left alone in the parsonage since his wife had been going with their baby for some time to sleep with her friend in Ushida. He had not had a good sleep the previous night since there had been some air-raid warnings. Alerts like this had been risen in this town early each morning for quite several days that had passed because at that time the B-29s were engaging in the utilization of Lake Biwa which is located in the northeastern part of Hiroshima as a meeting place and regardless of whichever city the American people had plans to attack, there was flowing off the Superfortress in over the coast close to the town (Hersey Par 2).
Reverend Tanimoto was a person who was small in size and he was quick to talk and he could also cry or laugh quickly. Other than the Reverend having his wife sleeping in Ushida, he had been transporting all things that could be carried from his church to Koi which was located two miles away from the central part of the town. The man, to whom he carried things to, was a rayon manufacturer by the name Mr. Matsui, had made open his estate that had not been occupied at that time to many of his friends for them to move away from the possible target area to a distant, safe place.
Rev. Tanimoto made his breakfast. He was having a feeling of great tiredness. This followed the effort of moving the piano the previous day, having spent the night without catching up any sleep, staying in worry for several weeks, and the cares he had for the parish. That particular morning, before it reached six, he started the journey to his friend by the name of Matsuo to help him transport some luggage. The luggage that had to be transported was a huge cabinet that was filled up with household commodities
The two started their journey. The morning was very much clear in a faultless manner and it was warm as well to a level that there was an assurance that the day will not be comfortable. It did not take long after the two men started their journey before there was going off of the air-raid siren. This was a warning of the coming planes but this did not indicate much danger for the reason that such an event took place on a daily basis in the morning at a time the American weather plane were coming in.
After sometime, there was a terrific spark of light in the sky. The two reacted in horror. They were two miles away from the explosion point. Mr. Tanimoto ran in to the house and buried himself in the bedrolls. On the other hand his friend ran in the garden and hid himself between two rocks. He was not in a position to witness what occurred but he felt abrupt force and wreckages drop on him. He did not hear any roar (Anonymous, Auschwitz and Hiroshima: icons of our century para3).
At the time Mr. Tanimoto gathered enough courage, he lifted up his head and came to discover that the house of the rayon man, his friend to whom they were carried the luggage had fallen over. He had a mind that the bomb had landed on the house directly. In terror, in the meantime not thinking of his friend Mr. Matsuo, he rushed in to the streets. At the time he was he rushing out, he came to a realization that the estate wall had also fallen over.
When he reached in the streets, what he came to see first were the soldiers who had been digging in the side of the hill opposite. They had been digging out to make one of the many dig-outs in which the Japanese people clearly had intentions to offer resistance to invasion. These soldiers were getting out the hole where they should have achieved safety and blood was running all over their bodies. The day became darker and darker with each coming minute (Hersey, Par 8).
Of all the characters that have been focused on by the author, this character is one that is very much complicated and hard to understand. After bombing had taken play, the Reverend is committed to working hard during these days. However, he is self conscious with the activities he engages in and experiences powerful ties with America. The pressure this person undergoes makes a revelation of a significant cultural dynamic at that particular time (Anonymous, Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto, Para 1)..
As a person of Japan having ties with the United States of America, Reverend Tanimoto constantly experiences a feeling of guilt and the urge to give proof of his loyalty. In spite of the hard work he engages in, he does not succeed in acquiring respect from the Japanese people.
Reverend Tanimoto goes through great changes in lifestyle after the war. He engaged in travelling on a constant basis to the United States of America, sometimes he appeared on TV and also made attempts to set up his own peace center. The author of this story spends his time writing on this character and closes up the story by giving out a portrayal in which he depicts Tanimoto as an old man who was in his happy home.
The life of Tanimoto could act as a 1900 political allegory of what come about at the time good intentions are accompanied by the methods that are not calculated well and an urge to please that so much exaggerated.
Miss Sasaki
Miss Toshiko Sasaki is a clerk who is twenty years old. She was working in the factory before bombing (Anonymous, Character Analysis: Miss Toshiko Sasaki Para1 ). At the time the bomb drops on the factory in which she worked, she turns out to be pinned under a bookcase which breaks her leg. She remains under the bookcase for sometime without anybody coming to her rescue (Heresy 50).
Later someone came over to save her. This man pulled away several books and this went on up to the time the person made a channel to her. The man advised her to get out using all her strength. After she was not able to do this, later the man went away without offering more help to her. He told her that there was no man around to help her and the only option she was remaining with was to try her best and gather enough strength in order for her to get out from where she was. The man had suddenly got irritated and angry with her following his failure to help her out.
After a long while, a number of men came along and pulled her out. Her leg was badly broken and she could not even move. The men carried her in to a courtyard and at this time it was raining heavily. She remained in the rain without anybody coming to her aid for quite some time up to the time a man came and carried her to a shade. Later, the same man brought in two people who were badly injured. One of the two injured people was a woman whose breast had been cut off and the other was a man who had a face that had been burned. The three were left and no one came to help them immediately (Heresy 50).
Miss Sasaki did not obtain immediate medical attention from anybody for her leg which had been badly crashed. Miss Sasaki remained a cripple for the entire remaining part of her life. After the bombing, she undergoes much suffering as a bomb victim. Her lover leaves her and she is emotionally as well as physically terrified. Through the encouragement offered to her by Father Kleinsorge to become a Christian, eventually she turns out to be a nun. Following this, she gets a career that is distinguished and is able to travel to several places in the world. This gives her a hope for the future and she is filled with much optimism.
By looking closely at Miss Sasaki, she tends to be a representation of the many people, who are the survivors that have been wounded after bombing. Many of the doctors handle her with so much indifference for the reason that the injury she has is severe but it is immortal. She obtains very little mercy from those people around her. Miss Sasaki is entirely immobilized to a level that she turns out not to be able to engage in communal undertakings that many of the other characters engage in. Consequently, she suffers most of the time in loneliness (SparkNotes Editors Para 10).
Works Cited
Anonymous, Auschwitz and Hiroshima: icons of our century.
Anonymous, Character Analysis: Miss Toshiko Sasaki. Web.
Anonymous, Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto.
Heresy, John, Hiroshima, New York: READ BOOKS, 2006.
Heresy, John, Hiroshima. Web.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Hiroshima.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003.