And in the end-nothing is learned

As Mr. Hershey updates us on the lives of his characters, we see that they survive. Humanity continues but without learning from our mistakes and especially of our aggressive need for power. As Mr. Hershey leads us through the characters' lives of surviving and putting a life together for themselves, he injects with a note of which country has established their own nuclear weapon. Proving that mankind has not learned anything, even though each postures for no more advancement in this type of weapon, we are well aware there will always be that threat hanging over us and each generation to come.

In reading this story and Hermann Melville's story about Bartleby I realize they are both about the effects the global environment places on individuals. Both authors use descriptive details to draw the reader into the lives of their characters. We can make personal connections to the characters and the events that take place because of their use of a universal theme that we are not alone in life, each action will lead to a reaction that can impact the world we live in. If the narrator in Bartleby chose to not be affected by Bartleby, would he have reached out to his fellow man? If Mr. Hershey did not tell the story of the survivors of Hiroshima, would we be so inclined to allow nuclear proliferation? In each reading there was a lesson to be learned in Hershey’s book it was an obvious lesson; Melville’s lesson was more oblique.

As we read a story, we think about what the author is trying to tell the reader. I don’t think every author starts out with the intent to give us a lesson, moral or otherwise. It is inevitable that there is an underlying lesson to be learned because of the interactions between characters and the events that unfold in a story. It is through the interaction author and reader that we can walk away with a newfound knowledge about ourselves.

When reading, it helps to put ourselves in one of the characters shoes. As the story unfolds we should stop and ask what we would do in their situation. In Hiroshima, I wonder if I would be so brave. In Bartleby would I be so caring towards a stranger if it meant to leave the comfort and security of my own little world. Reading lets us experience the life we do not have and the possibilities of what we could have.