Miss Sasaki Hiroshima

650 Words3 Pages
Hiroshima by John Hersey focuses on six individuals heavily impacted by the explosion of the first atomic bomb on Japan. The accounts emphasize the suffering of both the individual and of the community as a whole. Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a clerk at the East Asia Tin Works, suffered the most. When the explosion went off, Sasaki was 1600 yards away from ground zero. She was simply talking to the girl next to her when her surroundings completely changed. She lost consciousness when bookcases fell on her, twisting and breaking her left leg. She wouldn't regain consciousness for another three hours. She would call out for help and no one would come to assist her, causing immense distress. When she was finally rescued, she was placed against an iron lean-to in the street with a woman who had lost a breast. Miss Sasaki had half-expected the men to come back to check on her, but they did not. She was in severe physical pain and was unable to move. Sasaki leaned against the metal for two days and did not sleep. As if her excruciating discomfort was not enough, she was informed that her family had died in the explosion. Doctors argued over whether to amputate her leg, only adding to her stress and confusion. The hospital she was placed in was clearing out in order to make room for soldiers. Sasaki was about to be relocated until the doctor took her temperature and saw that it was too high above average. She was then shipped to the hospital in Hatsukaichi to see if she had gangrene in her leg. Miss Sasaki was informed she had an internal leg infection and was transferred to the Red Cross Hospital. While going through town, Toshiko noticed that weeds and wild flowers were growing over the ruins. This caught her attention because life was being restored, and she had mixed feelings about this. The explosion destroyed her optimism. Before the atomic bomb occurred, Miss Sasaki's
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