Hiroshima

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-2

Reading Check

1. At what time does Hersey begin his narration in Chapter 1?

2. What is Mr. Tanimoto’s occupation?

3. How many children does Mrs. Nakamura have?

4. What piece of furniture falls on Ms. Sasaki?

5. What is the name of the park where the wounded have gathered?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is Mr. Tanimoto’s vantage point of the city, and what does he think must have happened to cause the destruction he sees?

2. How did the wind change in the immediate moments after the bomb was dropped, and how does this shift in weather impact the fires?

3. Toward which part of the city does Mr. Tanimoto run, and why?

4. What meal does Father Kleinsorge and Mr. Tanimoto organize and how many people does it feed?

Paired Resource

“The Only Known Photos From Hiroshima Taken on August 6, 1945”

• This photo essay from The World tells the story of Yoshito Matsushige, a local photographer who took the only known surviving photographs on the day of the bombing. (Some of the photos show potentially disturbing images of human suffering.)
• This resource connects to the themes of The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons, The Simultaneous Fragility and Tenacity of Life, and The Commonalities of Humans.
• Many of the descriptions in Hiroshima center around visual imagery of the aftermath of the bombs. How do actual photographs help supplement and deepen your understanding of the book?

CHAPTER 3

Reading Check

1. What span of time does Chapter 3 cover?

2. What scene does Father Kleinsorge’s messenger encounter at Misasa Bridge?

3. Why were the rising river waters concerning?

4. From whom did Dr. Sasaki borrow a pair of glasses?

5. On August 7, Japanese radio sent out their first broadcast after the bomb was dropped. What was that broadcast about?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What government presence appeared on Hiroshima’s rivers, and how did this impact the mood of the wounded in Asano Park?

2. What were the priests discussing regarding Fathers Schiffer and LaSalle, and what were their concerns?

3. Why were the Japanese soldiers unsettled by the priests, and how did this unease manifest?

4. How did the Japanese people learn of Japan’s surrender, and what was unprecedented about this communication?

Paired Resource

“Emperor Hirohito”

• This article from the Atomic Heritage Foundation provides background information on Emperor Hirohito and explains the relationship of the Japanese citizens to the emperor generally, and Hirohito specifically. It also provides context for Hirohito’s surrender.
• This resource connects to the theme of The Commonalities of Humans.
• How did the emperor’s role in Japan influence Japanese culture? What do you better understand about certain aspects of Hiroshima after learning about Emperor Hirohito?

CHAPTER 4

Reading Check

1. What time span does Chapter 4 cover, approximately?

2. What natural disaster occurs in early September that exacerbates the existing devastation?

3. What rumor changes Mrs. Nakamura’s attitude toward America and the bomb from one of passivity to active hatred?

4. As theorized by Dr. Sasaki and his colleagues, how many stages of radiation sickness exist?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 4, how does the health of several survivors change, and what is the cause of this change?

2. What unexpected thing does Miss Sasaki notice when she is able to observe the physical damage to Hiroshima, and why is this observation unsettling?

3. What happened to Father Kleinsorge’s white blood cell count after his exposure to the radiation and how does this impact his health?

4. To what other event does Hersey liken the sense of shared experience felt by survivors, and what is the connection between the two?

Paired Resource

“Science Behind the Atom Bomb”

• This resource from the Atomic Heritage Foundation explains the science behind the atomic bombs.
• This resource connects to the theme of The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons.
• How does an understanding of the science behind the atom bombs help provide better context for Hiroshima, particularly its structure and organization?

CHAPTER 5

Reading Check

1. How many years does Chapter 5 cover?

2. What are the section titles in Chapter 5?

3. What is Dr. Sasaki working on at the University of Hiroshima?

4. What does Father Kleinsorge change after he becomes a naturalized Japanese citizen?

5. What accident leads Father Kleinsorge to be bedridden until his death?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What hinders Mrs. Nakamura’s efforts to work, and how does this impact her financially?

2. What does Dr. Sasaki describe as the most important experience of his life, and how does this experience influence his relationship to his family?

3. What enables Miss Sasaki to excel at her job at The Garden of St. Joseph, and how did she develop this skill?

Paired Resource

“Hiroshima in Four Poems”

• This page from PBS includes four poems rooted in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Three are written by Japanese poets, and one is written by an American poet.
• Connects to the themes of The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons, The Simultaneous Fragility and Tenacity of Life, and The Commonalities of Humans.
• What do these poems show about the impact of the atomic bombs on various communities? How do the poems overlap with Hiroshima? In what ways do they offer a new perspective?

Recommended Next Reads 

Black Rain

• This 1965 novel by Masuji Ibuse describes the aftermath of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945.
• Shared themes include The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons, The Simultaneous Fragility and Tenacity of Life, and The Commonalities of Humans.
• Shared topics include war and destruction, resilience, suffering, morality, and moving on from tragedy.
• Black Rain on SuperSummary

The Girls of Atomic City

• This 2013 nonfiction work by Denise Kiernan tells the stories of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a town created solely to support the development and use of the atomic bomb. It describes the secretive nature of the work done there and the limited understanding that each employee had of her role in a larger project.
• Shared themes include The Horrors of Nuclear Weapons and The Commonalities of Humans.
• Shared topics include government propaganda, a community of shared experiences, and the ethics and morals of war.
• The Girls of Atomic City on SuperSummary