Mikaela Hanson

English 119

In Hiroshima John Hersey is aiming this book towards Americans, specifically American government figures. He wants Americans to empathize, and feel the significance of what their government does. I feel he’s picking survivors that are more likely to strike American hearts. Most of them are Christian leaders, Christians, or convert to Christianity. This religion appeals to American society, in those days we respected foreigners as human beings more if they were Christian. If they were not Christian they were savages. This passage is an example of John Hersey directing writing to American morals, Ms. Sasaki finds strength from a Catholic priest, an later converts, “‘My child,” Father Kleinsorge said, “man is not in the condition God intended. He has fallen from grace through sin.” And he went on to explain all the reason for everything” (106). Hersey uses several techniques to appeal to an American audience, he uses gruesome scenes to generate fear, and sympathy. Like a specific passage that describes Mrs. Nakamura’s hair falling out, “began fixing her hair and noticed, after one stroke, that her comb carried with it a whole handful of hair; the second time, the same thing happened, so she stopped combing at once” (96). The purpose of Hiroshima is to spread nuclear bomb victim awareness, and stop nuclear bomb use. He is trying to show the unknown and scary outcomes of the bomb. No one wants to use a nuclear bomb if it’s going create these