How does "The Aftermath," which was added to Hiroshima in 1985, change your perceptions of the incident itself and the story? Does it enhance or detract from its drama? Be specific and relate the aftermath to your chosen character. Use at least 2 textual quotes with citations and write a minimum of 2 paragraphs.
Due: Friday, December 10
The Aftermath of the bombing showed unexplainable results. The damages this bomb caused were just outrageous. So many people dead and others were dying with wounds. Buildings and houses torn apart and burned. Most people now lived in poverty with nothing left of their house. Not only the people that got hit by the bomb, but soon to be children got affected as well, radiation sickness was a huge result and it was being passed on to future generations.
ReplyDeleteAfter the bomb was dropped and sicknesses starting appearing, Dr. Sasaki used his next years in life to help as many people as he could. " Much of Dr. Sasaki's work as a surgeon at the Red Cross Hospital in the next five years was in the removal of keloid scars-" (102). But even after so many years of hard work removing the scars it still wasn't good enough, " They found that after the bulbous scars had been removed they often recurred" (102). Dr. Sasaki eventually came to the conclusion to just leave the scars as they were. He eventually left his job at the Red Cross Hospital and makes a private clinic in Mukaihara. Forty years after the bomb, still trying to help the victims of the tragic day, Dr. Sasaki works as hard as anyone to treat as many people as possible.
"The Aftermath" is an important part of the novel. It adds factual information and explains what happened to the characters after the bombing. It details the different effects the bomb had on the Japanese people and on Hiroshima.
ReplyDeleteFor my character, Tanimoto, I would say "The Aftermath" detracts from the drama. Throughout the whole novel, Tanimoto plays a leader who helps everyone. The last chapter explains that he attempted to form a group, consisting of survivors who were girls, that would get surgery to fix their wounds. He traveled to cities in the United States to try and raise money for all of his projects.
In the end, the group didn't go so well, and when one of the girls died, "he was not even invited to the funeral" (148). Also, with him being away from Japan for so long, he missed out on a lot of important things. For example, Hersey writes, "Nor did he have any place in the Japanese peace movement, for he had been out of the country at crucial moments in it's development..." (148). I think that Tanimoto had good intentions, but his ideas weren't really fulfilled, which took away from the drama of the bombing.
“The Aftermath” changed my perception of the bombing incident and the story drastically. Beforehand I figured many of the characters would die of young age. As well as having to change their lives to accommodate to their radiation symptoms and other injures, but my theory was proven wrong. Most of the main characters with an exception of a few lived their lives to the fullest and actually used the horrible A-bomb experience to their advantage and built off it. For example, if Dr. Sasaki hadn’t experienced the A-bomb he wouldn’t have had a good reason to give up working at the Red Cross Hospital and further his career elsewhere, “In 1951, Dr. Sasaki decided to quit working for the hospital, with its awful memories, and to set himself up, as his father had done, in a private clinic in Mukaihara” (103).
ReplyDelete“The Aftermath” seemed to detract from the novels drama. Part of the stories dramatic effect was all the dying and suffering people due to the bomb. In “The Aftermath” however, they focus more on how the survivors are doing years after the incident. For most of the survivors they were doing mediocre considering all they have been through. Like Dr. Sasaki who had made a fortune for himself, “His life was insured for a hundred million yen” (108). Them doing so well makes the reader less sympathetic to their circumstances, taking away the drama of it all.
I found the Aftermath of the bomb to be very difficult to read about. I say this because of the devastation it caused throughout the area. Over a hundred thousand people die overall and many more were injured. People’s lives were completely different, and it seemed for a while that the character’s lives would never return to normal. Miraculously, however, they did make recoveries, and all of them returned to health.
ReplyDeleteMy character of choice, Dr. Sasaki, was in my perspective the most helpful out of the group. He continued to help people throughout his whole life, devoting it entirely to helping the survivors of the bomb. He was also one of the most affected by the bomb, because while the other characters experienced some death, the doctor had to constantly endure the sight of death for weeks on end. His haunting memories seem to taunt him to no end, “… memories it would be his lifework to distance himself from,” (101). Dr. Sasaki also appears to be one of the most companionate characters, devoting his life to helping others. Even after the death of his wife, he continued on, “He threw himself more tirelessly into his work,” (105). Overall, I think the aftermath actually took away from the novel. I say this because I liked where it left off at the end of the bombing. The death and suffering gave me a clear visual of the attack, and the tortures in which it caused. I think the Aftermath sort of spoiled that for me.
"The Aftermath" does not change my perception of the story. This part is essential because it shows just how serious the bombing was. The side effects of the radiation would live on for generations. Not only would the people be affected but also the houses would not have the same home like feel. The environment would have to be completely replenished. The story does not change because you add on what life would be like now that the bomb had gone off
ReplyDeleteI believe "The Aftermath" also enhances the storys drama. This part of the story is a branch for the readers to find out what would become of the six characters. "Mr.Tanimoto's church had been ruined and he no longer had his exceptional vitality"(87). Mr. Tanimoto would never have his life the same way. Although he would always beat the odds and fight for what he was passionate about. He preached. "Kiyosho Tanimoto and four other protestant ministers, and with them a trumpeter and a drummer tooting and thumping 'Onward, Christian Soldiers.' Taking turns ministering on a wooden box..." Mr.Tanimoto was a strong man who proved loyal and proud of his country he battled the effects of radiation and got himself through life by doing what he loved.
The aftermath added to the emotion of the book quite a lot. The days directly after the bombing were, like any other major disaster, the most horrible. In this particular case, problems did not cease. There were still many sicknesses and deaths, although not nearly as bad as the first few days, that were still heart wrenching. Unless most bombing the main repair was of the damage caused by the explosion. In this case, the hibakusha, or explosion-effected persons, needed a large amount of help. They were prone to sickness and would easily get overworked and worn out. In Mrs. Nakamura’s case for instance, she was constantly working to try and make ands meet for her family but she had A-bomb sickness, as it was referred to, and had “a nagging weakness and weariness, dizziness now and then, digestive troubles, all aggravated by a feeling of oppression, a sense of doom…” (93).
ReplyDeleteThe effects of the bomb lingered long after the initial explosion. Dr. Sasaki, for instance, after his long time working with the overwhelming number of patients that came, still worked at the same hospital treating further symptoms. His work in “the next five years was in the removal of keloid scars…” (102) They were not sure how to go about this removal in some cases and wound up regretting removing many of them. The radiation was new to most doctors and in this was very easy to see in “The Aftermath”. It continued to affect even the children of people effected by the radiation and continued through generations. This section of the book definitely adds to the drama. It also, in many of the stories, leaves you with a hopeful feeling that the rest of the book lacks. These innocent citizens finally catch the break that they deserve.
To me, "The Aftermath" does both enhance and detract from the incident. It enhances it in many way because it adds to the depressing tone of the book. It shows how it took almost 40 years for people and Hiroshima to recover from this tragic event. Many were left without homes and money and jobs and still had to provide for their families, it showed the struggles they faced along with their injuries. It detracts from the incident because it showed how new opportunities were offered to people. It lifts the melancholy tone from the story. It focuses on the better than the bad.
ReplyDelete"The Aftermath" showed how many new clinics were opened to help the survivors, "After Norman Cousins had set up a Hiroshima Peace Center Foundation in New York to receive American funds, these people established the center in Hiroshima, with Tanimoto's church as its base"(139). This showed the hope for peace and represented positive opportunities. "The Aftermath" also added the remembrance of the atomic bomb everywhere. When Mr. Tanimoto met the copilot of the Enola Gay the mood quickly changed, "In a shaky voice, Lewis told about the flight. Tanimoto sat there with a face of wood"(145). "The Aftermath" brought hope yet despair.
I believe the Aftermath chapter detracts from the drama that the reader is left with at the end of Panic Grass and Feverfew. "...Mr. Tanimoto's church had been ruined and he no longer had his exceptional vitality" (87). Mr. Tanimoto, my character, is described as having lost a lot with not much chance of regaining, but in the Aftermath, this changes for all of the characters.
ReplyDeleteTanimoto not only regains his church but becomes a prolific speaker in America at churches across the country. Though, once the reader reaches the end of his part of the story, he realizes that Tanimoto has still lost a lot. He is not respected in his community because everyone believes he has become a fame seeker, exploiting Hiroshima for himself. "...In his desire to enhance his own presige and improtance he might ignorantly, innocently, or purposefully lend himself to pursue a leftist line..." a government officer reports about his possible danger. Tanimoto has been able to rebuild what he lost, but in the process, politics got in the way. Personally, I think the Aftermath took away from the drama of the bomb, but it definitely added to the drama of politics in general.
I think "The Aftermath" of the bombing showed how difficult being a victim of them bomb really was. Many people died or had radiation sickness. This sickness effected them for the rest of their life. It helps the reader relate to the people to try to understand what they were going through and it makes them feel sympathetic. It shows how all the characters became close to their loved ones and the people around them. I think it really enhances the drama of the bomb because it shows exactly what can happen to the people who suffered from it.
ReplyDeleteMy character, Mrs Nakamura, was "weak and destitute, began a courageous struggle, which would last for many years, to keep her children and herself alive." (91) She had to get various jobs to work until she was so weak, she was unable to do anything. She had to sacrifice a lot to help her family. She sold her kimonos and “To pay the doctor, she was forced to sell her last valuable possession, her husband’s sewing machine.” (92) She was suffering a terrible illness and could no longer work for the money.
Eventually her life turned around and things started to get better. Her children grew up, moved out, and got married. She was able to move into a better house that the neighborhood had built for the victims of the bomb. Also, “she began to receive a so-called health-protection allowance, she also received a pension, and a war widow’s pension” (99-100). This could help her pay her bills and begin to live a good, comfortable life again.
"The Aftermath", added to Hiroshima in 1985, changed my perceptions of the incident. I didn't realize how immense the effects were on both the survivors and their children. "The Aftermath" shows the long-term medical effects of the bomb, like radiation sickness, infection, cancer, and general tiredness. One can connect more with the survivors of the bomb, enhancing the power of the story.
ReplyDeleteIn the last chapter, Dr. Sasaki grows up. His wife comments, "You've reached maturity in your forties. I grew up when I was in my twenties" (106). The despair of a nuclear bomb and a near-death experience changes Dr. Sasaki and encourages him to become more composed and passionate. Other doctors find him odd, because he doesn't want to participate in the "exclusive high society of the medical associations" (109). He founds a hospital for the elderly and sponsors a croquet contest. Dr. Sasaki's growth as a person is displayed in "The Aftermath", and it shows that people who have seen incredible horror can turn their life around.