The Black Rain, Essay Example

The “Black Rain” is a novel set in Hiroshima Japan in 1946. The book is specifically about an atomic bomb that exploded in Hiroshima on sixth of August 1946. It centers on a woman living with her family Japan Hiroshima but never survived the explosion. Ibuse, the author, gives various steps that were involved in the setting up of the explosion. It also describes the aftermath of the explosion using the affected families. It is a portrait of a group of people of a great city crumbling into defeat. The bombing is believed to have been caused by the United. The United States also dropped another bomb in Nagasaki, which is also a city in Japan. The novel provides a background of the war.

One of the most common themes in the book is effect of the blast/ war among the common Japanese citizens living in Hiroshima. In the novel, Mr. Shizuma is portrayed as an individual intrigued by several things and would like to see the kind of reaction people normally have from different types of actions. In the whole novel, he has the feeling that he should go throughout the city as well as the surrounding community in a bid to see the effects that the unknown bomb has caused the people. Funnily, he is not looking or studying the intense of the blast but rather the name of the blast. The novel reveals several names of the blast but the last the internationally adopted one was the ‘atomic bomb’. In other regions, it was secret bomb while other people termed it as a ‘new weapon.’ He is interested in the name of the bomb since he had never see such kind of a bomb before. Other bombs never caused the type of destructions the bomb caused in the city and its environs. “At a point three meters to the left of the waiting train, I saw a ball of blindingly intense light, and simultaneously I was plunged into total unseeing darkness …enveloped was pierced by cries and screams of pains and shouts of “Get off!” and “Let me by” curses and other voices in indescribable confusion” (Ibuse 37).  This excerpt is a perfect elaboration on the nature of atomic bombs, as well as, their effects to the people. In this case, the bombing led to confusions at first and later causing devastations and pains signified by people’s cries. The novel is a collection of diaries of individuals who experienced the attack. It describes what happened during the war. The diaries are of people who lost their families, friends and properties during the war. From a common analytical viewpoint, only important or serious events are kept in diaries.

The blast preceded by continued WWII led to several issues in Japan. From the book, when the war ended, there were no mussels or fish left in streams, rivers or lakes. Fishponds were contaminated and all fish died. The only thing that was left alive were eels seen swimming some hours before Japan surrendered the war. The end of the war looked like the sign of rebirth to many Japanese who were affected by the war. They believed that the government come to aid and set the issues like homelessness. However, it became strange that the people felt remorse after losing the war with many of them having their properties and houses burnt and destroyed. In other words, the blast caused homelessness and destruction of properties among the Japanese citizens.

The Hiroshima blast also resulted into deadly diseases and other psychological impacts. Some of the diseases caused by the blast were cancer, blindness due to huge and dense smoke and excessive lighting, Cleft palate. “Eventually, quiet descended around me, slowly and fearfully, I tried opening my eyes. Everything within my field of vision seemed to be obscured with a brown haze…”(Ibuse 38). Such type of light is dangerous to the normal human sight and causes blindness. Falling electric poles and electric wires also produced intense light leading to blindness.

The blast also caused death of many people. Hiroshima was a city where many Japanese worked due to the existence of many industries and companies. In other words, it harbored the most productive population of China. The blast resulted to the deaths of many leaving others homeless with serious injuries. In other words, it hindered the development of Japan as a country. Many Japanese died in the war leaving behind a large population f orphans to an uncaring government. All these dragged the development of the country. “The people in the street by the shrine grounds were all covered over their heads and shoulders with something resembling dust or ash. There was not one of them who was not bleeding”(Ibuse 39). The excerpt gives more explanation on the dangerous effects of the war. The death of many people not only led to economic downfall, it also led to serious psychological problems among the people who lost their friends and relatives. Health issues, in most cases, are cured or persist to death. There were several people who died following the attack in some later days are recorded lucidly in the book. Another notable point from the book is that the bomb enhanced the already started rift in the Japan. Japanese government was not in good terms with most of its citizens and some representatives, especially their take on the war. However, the United States believed that they had to drop the bomb in order to end the ongoing war in Japan.

Despite the above elaborations, the author has indicated to the readers that Japan still had hopes to rebuild itself. The eels seen in the river were still in larvae stage swimming in the river upstream. This symbolizes some kinds of hope to the man in the story that things will be all right. It gives him the belief that Japanese still had the power to ensure that a new community as well as help his family in dealing with the disease that has affected his daughter. “The skin is coming off and it’s turned a funny color. It must hurt-it looks as though it would” (Ibuse 44). This section shows that the narrator’s daughter was suffering from a dangerous skin disease that was caused by the blast. From the author’s description, it can be seen that the daughter was suffering from skin cancer. Despite all the tribulations, the man still believed that Japan would one time recover its initial status and continue developing like other countries. The overall interpreted meaning of the book is that war usually makes things become hard for individuals staying at home and have to support their soldiers. The enemy might attack them anytime. They are equally suffering and struggling just like the soldiers.

Chinese people who were also part of the communist war had their reactions on the Hiroshima bombing. Led by their chief legend and communist, Chairman Mao, the Chinese reacted differently to the bombing. At first, the reasoning most Chinese had was that Japan deserved the fate as a form of retribution from the United States in order to end the war. Nonetheless, based on the effects that the war caused to most common Japanese in Hiroshima and its environs, most Chinese have ended up undermining the step of the United States to bomb Hiroshima terming the process fake since it killed more common citizens than the soldiers who were involved directly in the war. Considering the fact that the Chinese have almost similar culture to that of the Japanese, their response to the war favored Japanese despite the fact that they were in different camps during the war. Due to this, most Chinese failed to follow Chairman Mao, their Chief communist during the war. The culture of Japan and sections of China changed after the war. Many people embraced peace and co-existence with one another.

Works Cited

Ibuse, Masuje. Black Rain. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons, 2003. Print.