Journal 7 by Hunter

The character profile that has been the most impactful and interesting to me so far is Mr. Tanimoto, a Reverend in Hiroshima. Mr. Tanimoto was lucking unharmed in the dropping of the bombs and put his life on the line to help others around him that were worse off than himself. Maybe this a little survivor's guilt or because of his profession, but I say it takes a lot of guts to help others in a terrible and life threatening situation. In one part of the novel, Mr. Tanimoto decided he wanted to help get heavily injured people across the river and away from the spreading fire. He came upon a boat with dead men inside and said "Please forgive me for taking this boat. I must use it for others, who are alive" (Page 37). This shows Mr. Tanimoto's respect for the individuals who lost their lives but also his personality of being a gently and kind man.

Some of my research questions sparked by the destruction the bomb caused include"what would happen if an atomic bomb was dropped on my city?" and also "what effects does dropping an atomic bomb have on the human body/environment/etc"  . Google lead me to this website http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ This website allows you to type in any city and select which bomb you'd like to drop. I picked my home town of Marion, Ohio and the Hiroshima bomb. The total population of Marion is around 36,000 and according to this map, 9,680 people would die and around 14,000 would be injured which is an insane number to think about. While the majority of the causalities of Hiroshima died on the first day, many died of the after effects in the days to come. We all know radiation causes harm to the human body so we're forced to wear heavy vests at the doctors office to protect us from the rays. Radiation injury penetrates deeply into the human body and injures cells and molecules, resulting in cell death, inhibited cell division, and abnormalities of of molecules and membranes. (http://atomicbombmuseum.org/3_health.shtml) which basically resulted in death, cancer, or extreme illness depending on how far away from the "ground zero" you were. Also, there were very little people to help the injured after the bomb dropped as 90% of medical personnel were dead or disabled. It's hard to imagine being hurt and not having anyone to help your suffering. We can burn ourselves badly on the kitchen stove, go to the nearest hospital and be treated, no questions asked. These people were unknowingly torched alive and couldn't even make it into the nearest hospital.  (436 words)

The sheer heat of the bomb in Hiroshima caused haunting shadows to scorch on the side of buildings and sidewalks where people once stood.