John Hersey's Hiroshima Expository Essay

Hiroshima Expository Essay

Life is too short to focus on what you have lost, instead set your mind on what you have.

We learn from our past by having a clear knowledge and understanding that our mistakes had a purpose for happening; only then can we grow and learn from our regrets. The past is what molds our futures, ergo when we come to an understanding that mistakes are learning experiences, it can open up new opportunities for us to grow. For instance, in John Hersey’s book, “Hiroshima” Miss Sasaki, one of the survivors of the bombing, lost everything she had, was severely injured, and was left by her fiance. Hershey states “Thousands of people had nobody to help them. Miss Sasaki was one of them. Abandoned and helpless, under the crude

lean-to in the courtyard of the tin factory.” (48) After the war had ended and Miss Sasaki lost everything and went through a state of depression, but she found comfort in God and converted to catholicism. The significance of her suffering was for the purpose of her to find a new meaning in life. Although she may have lost all her worldly values, she found a calming sense of comfort in spirituality
Once we have taken what we have learned from our past, that is when we let it absorb in us so we can use it to make better choices in the future. Miss Sasaki took everything she had lost and turned her sufferings into something worth wild.
Many years after the bomb had passed Miss Sasaki became a nun and traveled across the world. Because of her new spirituality she would encourage other people to keep moving forward, much like she did. She changed and became a different person who would rather cling to something she cannot control . We can learn from Miss Sasaki in this way. Although she thought she lost everything she still gained something, and that was hope. This paints a picture for us to keep in mind the significance of what we are blessed with and how we should make the most of what we have right now, and not dwell on it once it’s gone.