After reading my blog partner Larry’s account of John Hershey’s book Hiroshima, I became intrigued because I do like historical events. I read the back cover about Mr. Hershey telling the story of the fateful day through the survivor’s of the attack on Hiroshima. What really intrigued me was his returning to Hiroshima almost forty years later to update his readers on the survivors’ lives.
There where many ways that Mr. Hershey grabs the reader’s attention. He starts by introducing the characters at the exact moment the atom bomb hit Hiroshima. Then he brings us back in time to the beginning of each survivor’s day. He gives us a very descriptive account of the people and their surroundings. His narrative style steps back to give us insight to what each person is thinking and feeling prior to the explosion. I think this is so we can feel the intensity of the horrible fate that awaits his characters.
I thought about Sept. 11th and how I was on the express bus to Manhattan. It was about 6:30 am and the sun was already up in the sky. But what a beautiful sky!!! I cannot ever remember the sky and temperature being so absolutely perfect. Even people on the bus started commenting on the beauty of that morning. As I looked past the Twin Towers from my office window, my co-workers and I said it is a great day to have “the flu” so we can enjoy this perfect day. Within 43 minutes it turned into the most horrible day.
I saw so many horrible things that day and walked through smoke, fear and confusion before I made it home.
As I read the “flash of bright white light” and the terror and destruction that ensued, I was able to be part of this because of my own personal experience. There are times we read about horrible things that happen in the world and the sympathy is great within ourselves. But, to live through an experience that is very similar I found made me mad. After almost 60 years, mankind has not learned a damn thing!
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It is interesting that you found his detail accounts of the setting and the characters of the story to be intriguing. I would wonder would that be due to the similarities between english literature and a historial novel such as Hiroshima. Would a typical student even read the backcover of the book in order to try to get some of a understand of the story background to help them? But like the prior class discussion, in order to gain student's interest, we must try to tap into their prior knowledge and personal experience on a similar matters.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you found the detail accounts of the setting and the characters of the story intriguing. But I would wonder if a student would even read the backcover to try to find some information that help them with the story? I think it is true for that certain english literature and historical novel to be similar and would that be one of the reason that help you to get into the story?? Much like our class discussion, it is important to use prior knowledge or personal experience to tap the interest of the students within topic. I wonder would it be difficult to engage the everyday high school student to be interest with the work?
ReplyDeleteI think if a teacher guides students to read the cover so they may gain insight to the book, it will be a good habit for them to learn. Also, we must look at recent events in the macro/micro global arena to entice them to connect with what they are reading. For me it was Sept.11th
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