Japanese Victims Of The Atomic Bomb example essay topic

Racist propaganda is often misunderstood by humans alike. People frequently throw the words around without knowing their true meaning. The term is composed of two separate words; racist and propaganda. Racist is defined as one race being superior to another. Propaganda is the widespread, systematic distribution of information intended to help or injure and institution, a cause, or a person. The two of these together are used in a very clever manner.

The most common use of racist propaganda is during the time of war. You see posters, television commercials, and you hear radio advertisements all used to weaken the opposition and strengthen the war morale. John Hersey uses racist propaganda in his book Hiroshima. He does this to ease the guilt of the American use of the Atomic bomb by dehumanizing the Japanese victims, by expressing the lack of fault placed on the Americans for dropping the bomb, and by implicating that Japan is better off because of it. Throughout John Hersey's book, we see countless examples of describing the Japanese victims of the atomic bomb as grotesque and inhuman. Hersey vividly paints pictures in the reader's minds of the horrible physical state of the atomic bomb victims.

It is impossible to find text in this book that describes a Japanese victim with compassion. They are always described with gory detail. For example, when Mr. Tanimoto is called upon to read the last rights to his dying neighbor, the comments he makes about the man are shocking and repulsive. .".. his face and arms puffed up and covered with pus and blood, his eyes swollen shut. The old man smelled very bad" (Hersey 80). The victim, Tanimoto's neighbor, whom he has known for years, is written about in such horrendous terms that the reader is sure to feel strong emotion. The emotion felt, however, is not compassion for the victim; it is disgust for his injuries.

Another example is found where a young mother is described by Mr. Tanimoto as she holds her dead baby in her arms. "She kept the small corpse in her arms for four days, even though it began smelling bad on the second day" (Hersey 76). This is surely a heart wrenching scene, but rather than commenting on the mother's suffering, Hersey talks instead of the awful stench of the dead child's body. This is an attempt by Hersey to characterize the Japanese victims as unpleasant, not sympathetic.

Description of awful injury is used by Hersey as a method of dehumanizing his victims further. In one memorable scene, Father Kleinsorge comes across a group of badly injured soldiers. "When he had penetrated the bushes, he saw there were about twenty men, and they were all in exactly the same nightmarish state: their faces were wholly burned, their eye sockets were hollow, the fluid from their melted eyes had run down their cheeks... Their mouths were swollen pus-covered wounds" (Hersey 68). The soldiers described are literally faceless by Hersey's description.

They are literally "dehumanized" by their loss of human characteristics. Hersey sends the message that these people are hideous monsters, not suffering individuals. Hersey expresses the Japanese feelings as not faulting the Americans. Therefore, Hersey wants Americans not to fault themselves. An example to support this argument is found on page 88. "But to my great surprise, I never heard any one cried in disorder, even though they suffered in great agony.

They died in silence, with no grudge, setting their teeth to bear it. All for the country" (Hersey 88)! This quotation clearly exhibits the lack of grudge held by the dying Japanese victims against the United States. Hersey convinces his audience that the Japanese died without blaming the Americans, so the Americans should not blame themselves. "Da ist nichts zu machen" (Hersey 89). This phrase was spoken by Dr. Fujii to Father Kleinsorge one evening, in German, meaning "there is nothing to be done about it" (Hersey 89).

Whether or not the Japanese were bitter towards the United States for dropping the bomb is an important question, but Hersey clearly answers it by saying that they were not. He wants American readers to feel no guilt. Hersey implies through his book that Japan is better off because of the Atomic bomb. The clearest example is found on page 69 of the text. "Over everything - up through the wreckage of the city, in gutters, along the riverbanks, tangled among tiles and tin roofing, climbing on charred free trunks - was a blanket of fresh, vivid, lush, optimistic green; the verdancy rose even from the foundations of ruined houses. Weeds already hid the ashes, and wild flowers were in bloom among the city's bones.

The bomb had not only left the underground organs of plants intact; it had stimulated them" (Hersey 69). This passage has a lot of meaning. Hersey's choice of words such as "fresh, vivid, lush, and optimistic" gives a positive outlook. Other words such as "bloom" and "stimulate" infer that Japan has improved since the bombing. It gives Japan a sense of hope. Many people judge this book before they actually read it.

In fact, this happened in our class discussion before we even read the first page. Several students predicted that the purpose of the book would be to make the Americans feel guilty about using the horribly destructive bomb. This is interesting because it serves the complete opposite purpose. Hiroshima is nothing more than American government propaganda, designed to ease the guilt over the use of the atomic bomb.