Book: Hiroshima Author: JOhn Hersey This is a synopsis of Hiroshima. It gives a brief summary and commentary of important events.

Essay by teddygraham540High School, 10th gradeA+, April 2005

download word file, 2 pages 5.0

Downloaded 20 times

Hiroshima Synopsis

Hiroshima, by John Hersey, is set during August of 1945 in none other than the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The novel takes the reader into the lives of six of the surviving members of the Hiroshima Atom bombing, where they were, what they were doing, and how their lives were affected by the atrocious Atom Bomb. Ms. Sasaki, Dr. Fujii, Mrs. Nakamura, Father Kleinsorge, Dr. Sasaki, and Reverend Tanimoto all were in the right place at the right time on August 6, 1945 because they luckily survived the blast and the hardships that came after it.

The novel begins on the morning of August 6, 1945 and shows the reader exactly where each of the characters were and what they were doing. Some of them were in their houses while others were at work, unknowing of the horrific disaster that would soon befall upon them.

At 8:15 AM the bomb is unleashed and time stands still as a brilliant flash sweeps through Hiroshima and levels everything around it. Houses crumble to the ground, burying terrified Japanese on the way down, and people are thrown backwards by the sheer force of the explosion. Multitudes of people have flash burns, broken limbs, and lacerations all over their body. The atmosphere is chaotic as people frantically search for family members caught underneath all the rubble and dust. There are a few uninjured people, such as Reverend Tanimoto, that take on the overwhelming responsibility of caring for the thousands of injured Japanese. After reality starts to set in, the people of Hiroshima retreat to Asano Park, an area reserved for just such an event. Because there are only a few that can help mend the injuries, most of the people lie on the ground with tremendously painful injuries and...