A Selection of Modern English Essays

(Compiled by Irfan Raza & Dedicated to my beloved father & Nauman Athar)

05: “Nagasaki August 9, 1945” by “Michaito Ichimaru”

Introduction:

"Nagasaki, August 9, 1945" by Michaito Ichimaru is an account of the tragic incident that took place as a
result of the blast of the nuclear bomb dropped by the United States on Nagasaki. He makes his essay
effective by giving details of the destruction and commenting on the after-wards condition.

The writer has given graphic details of the awesome power of the blast and the destruction, misery and
horror caused by it. When the plane dropped the atom bomb at Nagasaki, the air flashed a brilliant yellow.
There was a huge blast. Everything seemed flying in the air. In horror he ran to the toilet to hide. When he
came out of his refuge, he saw an unusual, unimaginable and unprecedented picture of gloom, misery and
destruction.

Uncountable black charred dead bodies with exposed white bones, fires, crying women, wounded children,
destroyed buildings, burnt up trees and rule of living death in the city presented a horrible scene. The blue
sky had turned black, and black rain began to fall. The air dose of radiation was more than 7,000 rads (A unit
of absorbed ionizing radiation equal to 100 ergs per gram of irradiated material).

All the survivors were in rags, bloody and dirty. They looked like ghosts and watched everything with vacant
stares. The number of deaths was so high that they had to burn the dead bodies in a pile of wood. It was
horrible to watch the dead bodies of friends and relatives burning in fire. All, whom he had tried to save,
rapidly grew weaker and weaker and passed away painfully.

Questions: 1) What details suggest the awesome power of the blast? 2) Which details reveal the unusual
effects? 3) The writer depicts a miserable picture of the horror and destruction of the bomb blast on
Nagasaki. Discuss! 4) Describe the misery and horror caused by the atomic explosion on August 9, 1945. 5)
Describe the misery and horror caused by the atomic explosion of August 9, 1945. 6) Write a tragedy which
befell in the light of the paragraph, “I cannot get rid of the sounds of crying women in the destroyed fields.
As I got nearer to school, there were black charred bodies, with the white edges of bones showing in the
arms and legs.” 7) Theme of the essay 8) How different would the effect of the essay be if Ichimaru had
begun with the thesis 9) Does the essay change your thinking 10) What do you understand of nuclear
warfare 11) Ichimaru is of the view that the use of nuclear warfare should be renounced in future. Discuss
12) Describe the everlasting effect of the nuclear explosion on the minds of the survivors as well as the
reader.

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The theme of the essay “"Nagasaki, August 9, 1945" is that the atomic weapons must never be used. No
matter what happens. We find the theme or the thesis at the end of the essay. The writer has used this
technique on purpose. This thesis is so powerful that the reader arrives at this thesis himself.

The details of the destruction have an everlasting effect on us as it might have on the survivors. If the writer
had begun his essay with his thesis, it would not have left the same impact on the reader, as it leaves now.

What details does Ichimaru interpret or comment on? Would these details have the same impact without
his commentary?

Describing the details of destruction Ichimaru purposely adds his occasional comments. As we can see,
these comments enhance the tragic and pathetic effect of his thesis. For example, describing the condition
of the people, he comments, ‘they looked like ghosts with vacant stares.’ Describing, Urakami after the
blast, he comments, ‘all that I had seen had now disappeared.’

Describing a helpless man, he comments, ‘the foam was coming from his mouth, but he was not alive.’
Describing the panic, he comments, ‘I cannot get rid of the sounds of crying women.’ Describing the
condition of the black charred dead bodies, he comments that they were with the white edges of bones
showing in the arms and legs. Describing the burning of dead bodies, he comments, ‘I clearly remember the
movement of the bowels in the fire.’ Describing the atmosphere of fear he comments,

‘It is impossible to describe the horrors I saw,’ and ‘I remember it as an Inferno.’ These comments invite us
to think subjectively. Thus we share the feelings of the writer and demand that the nuclear weapons should
be banned. Without these forceful comments, the impact of this thesis would not have been so grave and
moving.

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