full title Hiroshima
author John Hersey
type of work Journalistic narrative
genre War account
language English
time and place written United States, 1946
date of first publication August 31, 1946
publisher The New Yorker magazine; Alfred A.
Knopf
narrator John Hersey, a journalist
point of view The narrator speaks in the third person, focusing on
the actions of the six main characters. The narrator describes the
characters’ actions and periodically gives the reader a glimpse
into what they were thinking and feeling, based on his interviews
with them.
tone Objective and removed; unemotional
tense Past
setting (time) August 6, 1945 and the forty
years following
setting (place) Hiroshima, Japan
protagonists Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, Father
Wilhelm Kleinsorge, Toshiko Sasaki, Dr. Masakazu Fujii, Reverend
Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto
major conflict The detonation of the atomic bomb
rising action The routine wartime actions of the six main characters
in the morning before the bomb drops
climax The detonation of the atomic bomb, as experienced by
the six main characters
falling action The six central figures’ recovery from their injuries
and reentry into daily life
themes Community survival in the face of mass destruction;
Japanese stoicism and personal submission; the unnatural power of
the bomb
motifs Death; chance; acceptance of life’s capriciousness;
confusion and ignorance
symbols The lush new greenery; the keloids; water
foreshadowing The opening of the first chapter tells us what each
character was doing in the instant before the bomb drops; we already
know about the climax—the bomb’s detonation—because the book is a
historical account.
