Hiroshima

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY: “Hiroshima and Nagasaki–Atomic Bomb Debate”

In this activity, students will engage in a structured debate about the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

At its core, Hiroshima grapples with the complexity of the use of the atomic bombs and the devastation they wrought upon those who were impacted. Your challenge is to engage in a debate with your peers about whether the United States should have used the atomic bombs, using evidence from Hersey’s book paired with outside resources about the scientific, political, and ethical concerns surrounding the dropping of the bombs.

• After breaking up into teams of two and assigning sides, select the stories and chapters from Hiroshima that best connect to and support the side that you are arguing. Go through the book and highlight specific quotes and passages.
• Review the outside sources provided and/or find your own. How can you connect the morals/ethics, technology, and politics surrounding the decision to drop the bombs to Hersey’s book?

o “The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb”

o “Stimson: ‘Why We Used the Atomic Bomb”

o “If the Atomic Bomb Had Not Been Used”

• With your team, plan your arguments. What are your main points? What evidence supports them? What are your counterarguments that you will use to address the other team’s points? (Remember that you must use Hersey’s text as a source.)
• Decide who will take on what role for your team:

o Each team will provide an opening statement and present their three points.

o The opposing team will have an opportunity to cross-examine the three main points and ask questions.

o After various rounds are completed, each group will provide a closing statement in which they summarize their main points and further address any counterarguments presented by the opposing team.

After the debate, you will reflect individually and engage in a class discussion on how the debate impacted your understanding of the unit themes of The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons, The Simultaneous Fragility and Tenacity of Life, and The Commonalities of Humans. Did it change (or reinforce) your perspective on the atomic bombs that ultimately ended the war in the Pacific?

Teaching Suggestion: You may consider assigning time limits to the various rounds in the debate. You may also choose to moderate the debate to ensure respectful dialogue and adherence to the guidelines and process.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with learning differences and/or for students who struggle with organization, consider providing a graphic organizer in which they can keep track of their notes as they build their argument. You may also want to present them with academic discussion sentence starters (“I disagree with _____ because…,” “In my opinion…,” “At first I thought _____, but now I think _______,” etc.) to stimulate ideas.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Hersey’s use of imagery in Hiroshima helps develop the theme of The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons.

• How is imagery used to develop this theme throughout the book? (topic sentence)
• Cite three strong examples of imagery in the text and evaluate how Hersey uses that imagery to support this theme.
• In your concluding sentences, consider how Hersey’s imagery contributes to the text’s tone and mood, and comment on the impact this has on readers.

2. Hersey writes at the end of Chapter 4, “The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose.”

• How does this book use the devastation of the atomic bomb to take a stand for or against war in general? (topic sentence)
• Analyze the ways in which the survivors and events in the book convey a message about the ethics of war. Cite three direct quotes to support your thoughts.
• In your concluding sentences, connect your argument to one of the unit’s main themes.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the structure and organization of Hiroshima. Why is the book structured as it is? How does this structure help reinforce and develop the book’s themes? Keep in mind that Hersey wrote and added Chapter 5 to the book 40 years after the original publication. As you compose your essay, reference each of the sections and incorporate at least three direct quotes from the text to support your thoughts.

2. Consider the various perspectives of Hiroshima. Hersey rotates among six different people, each with their own lived experiences. How do these multiple perspectives help develop and reinforce the theme of The Simultaneous Fragility and Tenacity of Life? Focus on three survivors as you compose your essay and cite at least three direct quotes to support your thoughts.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What common observation does each survivor in the book recall from the moment of the bomb’s explosion?

A) Hearing a loud noise

B) Seeing a flash of light

C) Feeling a large quake

D) Hearing an eerie silence

2. What of the following best describes the survivors’ immediate thoughts after the explosion?

A) Confusion

B) Terror

C) Curiosity

D) Acceptance

3. What does Dr. Sasaki’s belief that “the enemy had hit only the building he was in” show about the general perception of the bomb at the time?

A) No one could fathom the destructiveness of this bomb.

B) The people of Hiroshima were ignorant of the realities of war.

C) The Japanese deeply distrusted their government.

D) The Japanese people were used to similar bombings.

4. How do the author’s stylistic choices express the vastness of the bomb’s destruction?

A) He uses simple similes to relate the bomb’s destruction to common events.

B) He uses imagined first-person narratives to convey the memories of each character.

C) He details the distance of people and things from the explosion’s epicenter.

D) He employs a flowery style filled with evocative imagery and figurative language.

5. What does Miss Sasaki (wrongly) believe has happened to her leg after the bomb?

A) It had been broken.

B) It had been left uninjured.

C) It had been dislocated.

D) It had been amputated.

6. Which evidence from the text best shows the desperation and helplessness of the wounded?

A) “She did not sleep at all.”

B) “He saw a number of bodies floating in the river.”

C) “Thousands of people had nobody to help them.”

D) “Mr. Tanimoto was still angry at doctors.”

7. Why does the author include the detail about Father Kleinsorge’s suitcase? 

A) To sow doubt about his fate

B) To demonstrate his connection to another survivor

C) To show the random effects of the destruction of war

D) To remind the reader of Asano Park

8. What line concerning Mr. Tanimoto best reflects the unprecedented brutality the bomb had on the survivors aiding the wounded?

A) “He had to keep consciously repeating to himself, ‘These are human beings.’”

B) “They did not move and he realized they were too weak to lift themselves.”

C) “When he had finished, he decided he had to have a rest.”

D) “He had for a moment a blind, murderous rage at the crew of the ship.”

9. Why do the doctors treat their patients’ burns with saline compresses? 

A) Saline counteracts radioactive poisoning.

B) They have no other treatments to offer. 

C) Hiroshima was a major producer of saline.

D) Doctors misunderstood proper treatment.

10. What was the impact of Emperor Hirohito’s radio broadcast announcing the war’s end?

A) People were curious but disillusioned.

B) People felt betrayed and angry.

C) People felt disappointed but grateful.

D) People were confused and frustrated.

11. What is the best definition of the word “talisman” as used to describe Father Kleinsorge’s suitcase in the beginning of Chapter 4?

A) Something hopeful or promising

B) Something foreshadowing disaster

C) Something acting as a hindrance

D) Something holding good luck or magic

12. What is the mood of the following passage from Chapter 4? “And, as if nature were protecting man against his own ingenuity, the reproductive processes were affected for a time; men became sterile, women had miscarriages, menstruation stopped.”

A) Darkly ironic

B) Confused

C) Skeptical

D) Cautiously hopeful

13. Why might Hersey conclude Chapter 4 abruptly, with little closure about the fate of his subjects?

A) To leave the reader confused

B) To leave the reader unsettled

C) To leave the reader inspired

D) To leave the reader curious

14. What major life decision does Miss Sasaki make in the years after the bomb?

A) She gets married.

B) She writes a memoir.

C) She travels the world.

D) She becomes a nun.

15. In the closing scene of Chapter 5, what is Mr. Tanimoto’s memory compared to?

A) His dog’s

B) The Emperor’s

C) The world’s

D) Japan’s

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Describe the impact that the Emperor’s radio address had on the Japanese people, and how this unprecedented event helped shape Japan’s rebuilding effort.

2. At the end of Chapter 4, Hersey writes “A surprising number of the people of Hiroshima remained more or less indifferent about the ethics of using the bomb.” What about the experience of the bomb and its aftermath might have created this response?