Collins 1

Ryan Collins
Professor Padgett
ENGL 101
October 14, 2015
A Photo-Essay on the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy was the beginning of the end for
the nation of Japan in World War II. In what seems like such an abstract happening becomes a
reality in our mind when we see the pictures of the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki challenges the ethical mindset of the United
States Military in judging what is deemed necessary to win a war.
The first picture shown to us in A Photo-Essay on the Bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki we can see the ginormous mushroom cloud that was believed to have climbed sixty
thousand feet into the air in just about ten minutes. Within this picture you can see the horizon in
the background where the earth seems to drop off into a dark abyss of nothingness. The distance
of the picture being taken eighty kilometers away gives you a great sense of the pure destruction
that was done by such a lethal weapon. When looking at the picture there is a sense of
hopelessness that comes along with the mushroom cloud and it seems as if in this moment
nothing else matters. All the attention is brought to this ginormous cloud that was not created by
condensation but by explosives and lethal gases. The black and white color of the photograph
adds to the dreariness of the photo leaving you in a sense of awe at the same time do to the
gigantic size of the mushroom cloud. The viewer can get a sense of the beautiful day it was on
August 6, 1945 due to the fact that there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Its a bit ironic who it
could be such a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky and in minutes it has changed into

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a dreadful dreary day cloud cover but with ashes and gasses instead of beautiful white clouds.
Understanding what has happened and looking at the picture now you think to yourself how
could anyone survive such an attack with such brutal force.
Proceeding further on down to look at the next two pictures in which you realize that
there truly was not much left after the brutal blow of the atomic bomb. In both pictures the
mountains in the distance give you a sense of how much everything has been flattened because
you can assume before from the angles to pictures were taken at you most likely would not have
been able to see the mountain range so fully. The color of the pictures adds a distinct feature to
the destruction because you can see everything that was destroyed that was a part of something.
You can identify metal and bricks that were most likely used for buildings completely mangled
and tossed around.
The next picture shown of a little girl was the most striking picture to me throughout the
entire photo essay for one reason, her innocence. Most Americans see this attack as a way to win
the war against or enemy but when you truly look at the situation we were not killing Japanese
soldiers we were killing innocent women and children. This picture of her mangled body with
skin peeling of her body like you would with an orange. This is the picture that strikes home
even with its lack of color you can sense the shear pain that this young girl must be in. This
picture brings you to think what did this young girl do to deserve such a brutal suffering.
Looking at this picture there is a line between human and unhuman. When looking at this picture
it forces you to think about what truly happened at the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The
viewer must understand who was truly harmed by these attacks and it is young children like this
girl who did nothing to deserve such a cruel treatment.

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When looking further down at the tenth and eleventh photo you get the sense that there
has just been a major battle taken place upon this land. In reality everything was destroyed
within seconds. The men standing in the picture give the pictures a sense of depth and perception
of how catastrophic the atomic blast truly was. The black and gray adds that sense of dreariness
and hopelessness to the picture as well. With the dark black areas representing the smoke thats
rising from the ashes of where innocent people used to live. Understanding how many people
were killed and harmed by the atomic bomb and then to actually see it in pictures are two
completely different things. You hear about the amount of people killed but in an unconscious
way you look at it almost just a numbers and dont put a face to each number. This picture shows
the contrary you can see the horrific destruction that has taken place but it does not just wipe out
buildings, statues, and roads it takes out young women and children as well, all being civilians.
Going along with the thought process of civilians being injured in the finally three
pictures you can see men, women, and children all torn to pieces. The body on the bottom all
charred from the explosion most likely was never identified. In a way you turn someone
unhuman because when you have no face to your body and your clothes are tattered like a
homeless person you become less of a human to other people. This image forces the viewer to
put themselves in the shoes of these victims and makes you wonder what would it have been like
if I had gone through such and ordeal. We also know now that not only was there destruction
during 1945 but there still continues to be problems due to the radiation that caused many birth
defects and mutations throughout generations. Not to mention the destruction of the soil that was
once used for farming their own goods that was then contaminated with the radiation from the
bombs.

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1. The thesis might be In what seems like such an abstract happening becomes a
reality in our mind when we see the pictures of the aftermath of the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is basically saying that the photos make us connect
to the situation.
2. There is not a lot of summary. You did a good job of identifying what picture you
were talking about, analyzing it, and saying what was important about it.
3. There is not a lot of vocabulary from our toolbox, but I think your analyzation
of the photos was still good.
4. The best thing about this essay is your structure of paragraphs. You identified the
picture and then analyzed it. You might need to incorporate some of the elements
or vocabulary in the analyzation, but overall I think it was a well written piece
especially the structure. The one thing that I thought could be improved was the
ending was kind of abrupt.
A Photo-Essay on the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy was the beginning of the end for
the nation of Japan in World War II. In what seems like such an abstract happening becomes a
reality in our mind when we see the pictures of the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki challenges the ethical mindset of the
United States Military in judging what is deemed necessary to win a war.
The first picture shown to us in A Photo-Essay on the Bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki we can see the ginormous mushroom cloud that was believed to have climbed sixty
thousand feet into the air in just about ten minutes. Within this picture you can see the horizon in
the background where the earth seems to drop off into a dark abyss of nothingness. The distance
of the picture being taken eighty kilometers away gives you a great sense of the pure

Collins 5
destruction that was done by such a lethal weapon. When looking at the picture there is a
sense of hopelessness that comes along with the mushroom cloud and it seems as if in this
moment nothing else matters. All the attention is brought to this ginormous (Is this a word?)
cloud that was not created by condensation but by explosives and lethal gases. The black and
white color of the photograph adds to the dreariness of the photo leaving you in a sense of awe at
the same time do to the gigantic size of the mushroom cloud. The viewer can get a sense of the
beautiful day it was on August 6, 1945 due to the fact that there was hardly a cloud in the sky.
Its a bit ironic who it could be such a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky and in
minutes it has changed into a dreadful dreary day cloud cover but with ashes and gasses
instead of beautiful white clouds. Understanding what has happened and looking at the picture
now you think to yourself how could anyone survive such an attack with such brutal force.
(Awkward) Proceeding further on down to look at the next two pictures in which
you realize that there truly was not much left after the brutal blow of the atomic bomb. In both
pictures the mountains in the distance give you a sense of how much everything has been
flattened because you can assume before from the angles to pictures were taken(Awkward) at
you most likely would not have been able to see the mountain range so fully. The color of the
pictures adds a distinct feature to the destruction because you can see everything that was
destroyed that was a part of something. You can identify metal and bricks that were most likely
used for buildings completely mangled and tossed around.
The next picture shown of a little girl was the most striking picture to me throughout the
entire photo essay for one reason, her innocence. Most Americans see this attack as a way to
win the war against or enemy but when you truly look at the situation we were not killing
Japanese soldiers we were killing innocent women and children. This picture of her

Collins 6
mangled body with skin peeling of her body like you would with an orange.(Awkward) This
is the picture that strikes home even with its lack of color you can sense the shear pain that this
young girl must be in. This picture brings you to think what did this young girl do to deserve
such a brutal suffering. Looking at this picture there is a line between human and unhuman.(How
so?) When looking at this picture it forces you to think about what truly happened at the bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The viewer must understand who was truly harmed by these attacks
and it is young children like this girl who did nothing to deserve such a cruel treatment.
When looking further down at the tenth and eleventh photo you get the sense that there
has just been a major battle taken place upon this land. In reality everything was destroyed
within seconds. The men standing in the picture give the pictures a sense of depth and perception
of how catastrophic the atomic blast truly was. The black and gray adds that sense of
dreariness and hopelessness to the picture as well. With the dark black areas representing the
smoke thats rising from the ashes of where innocent people used to live. Understanding how
many people were killed and harmed by the atomic bomb and then to actually see it in
pictures are two completely different things. You hear about the amount of people killed but in
an unconscious way you look at it almost just a numbers and dont put a face to each number.
This picture shows the contrary you can see the horrific destruction that has taken place but it
does not just wipe out buildings, statues, and roads it takes out young women and children as
well, all being civilians.
Going along with the thought process of civilians being injured in the finally three
pictures you can see men, women, and children all torn to pieces. The body on the bottom all
charred from the explosion most likely was never identified. In a way you turn someone
unhuman because when you have no face to your body and your clothes are tattered like a

Collins 7
homeless person you become less of a human to other people. This image forces the viewer to
put themselves in the shoes of these victims and makes you wonder what would it have been
like if I had gone through such and ordeal.(The viewer wonders about you?) We also know
now that not only was there destruction during 1945 but there still continues to be problems due
to the radiation that caused many birth defects and mutations throughout generations. Not to
mention the destruction of the soil that was once used for farming their own goods that was then
contaminated with the radiation from the bombs.
1.

There is a thesis in this piece. The thesis states that the photo essay is meant to

2.

prove the point that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unethical.
The piece does do a good bit of summarizing. There is however, also a good bit

3.

of analysis on the pictures using elements we discussed in class.

The paper uses some vocabulary used in class, but perhaps it could use some

4.

more.
This piece does a great job of showcasing what the photo essay is offering to its
audience but could use deeper analysis on the specific visual elements that
provoke negative emotions in the audience. Maybe the author should explain
some of the contrast, lines and texture of some of the photos.