Hiroshima Comprehension Questions

Chapter One

  1. The six main characters are real people who survive the atomic bomb. Hershey writes:

“A hundred thousand people were killed by the atomic bomb, and these six were among the survivors. They still wonder why they lived when so many others died. Each of them counts many small items of chance or volition – a step taken in time, a decision to go indoors, catching one streetcar instead of the next – that spared him.” (Pg. 2)

What does the above statement suggest to the reader about how the six survivors feel about being alive when so many others are killed?

  1. Who is Mr. B? Why are the citizens of Hiroshima “jittery”?
  2. The citizens of Hiroshima are preparing for an American attack on the city. How is Mr. Tanimoto making preparations for this attack?
  3. Why does Mrs. Nakmura decide to ignore the new air-raid warning on the radio?
  4. Why had Dr. Fujii been turning patients away from his hospital?
  5. What did the flash remind Kleinsorge of from his childhood?
  6. How many doctors in Dr. Sasaki's hospital were unhurt?
  7. What injury did Miss Sasaki suffer from in the blast?

Chapter Two

  1. What action does Mr. Tanimoto take once he realizes Hiroshima is on fire?
  2. What is the cause of some of the fires in Mrs. Nakamura’s neighborhood? For what reason does she decide not to stay and help put out the fire? Where does she take her children?
  3. What is Father Kleinsorge’s first action after the explosion?
  4. Why does Dr. Fujii return to the river after rescuing his nurses? What do you think of his decision to do this?
  5. Why do so many injured citizens die in the explosion?
  6. Of the 245,000 people living in Hiroshima at the time of the explosion, how many are killed or injured?
  7. How does Dr. Sasaki react to the overwhelming number of casualities entering the hospital?
  8. In what way do the wounded and suffering Japanese people in AsanoPark surprise Father Kleinsorge?
  9. Read the following excerpt from this chapter. How would you describe the tone of this passage? Why do you think Hersey writes this way?

“As Mr. Tanimoto’s men worked [to put out the fire in the park], the frightened people in the park pressed closer and closer to the river, and finally the mob began to force some of the unfortunates who were on the very bank into the water. Among those driven into the river and drowned were Mrs. Matsumoto, of the Methodist school, and her daughter.”