The character that has been the most interesting to me so far is Dr. Sasaki. He was the Red Cross doctor and was untouched by the bomb because of his location when it went off. I liked him right off the bat because he was helping people in his mother's town because they had inadequate medical equipment, even though practicing without a permit had severe penalties. He was the only doctor in the hospital unhurt and that soon caused extreme responsibility for him, when 10,000 came to the hospital for help. I thought the situation that revealed the most about him was when he worked helping people for three days straight. He had to hide behind the hospital just so he could get some sleep, then he was found and woken up after just an hour. After he worked he finally made his way to his mother's house and slept for 17 hours straight. It is just so hard to imagine working for that long in the chaotic conditions. He did very hard work and helped save many lives. He had to begin checking patients. On page 63 it talks about the process, "whenever a patient appeared to be moribund, a piece of paper with his name on it was fastened to his clothing." Not only was he responsible for helping people, he also had to make hard decisions like who to not help.
Asano Park
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| This is Asano Park, the first day after the bomb. |
I did some research on Asano Park. The first thing I learned was that this parked is typically called shukkeien by people who live in Japan. It is called Asano Park because during the Meiji Period the garden served as a villa for the Asano familly. The park was almost completely destroyed by the bombing but has been restored.
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| Shukkei-en Garden today |
There are three trees there today that survived the bomb.
Kenzie,
ReplyDeleteDr. Sasaki was a close second for my favorite character! To be a doctor faced with 10,000 patients, alone, would be so overwhelmingly daunting. Yet, he worked through it like a machine. I especially like the quote you chose because it highlights the futility of his challenge--he could not save everyone, but still he worked.
I also really like the pictures of Asano Park that you chose. They create a very dramatic contrast and the difference inspires hope.
Dr. Sasaki was dedicated to help others because he was the only one that was unhurt during the bomb. He did what he could and just as you mentioned, he sacrificed sleeping in order to keep helping others. He used his medical training to do everything he could and he helped a lot of people. That is cool information learning about Asano Park. I would have never guessed that some of the trees/plants made it through the bombing. I think that is pretty cool that the Japanese restored the park after the bombing. They probably restored the park because during the war it created a sort of safe haven for the Japanese people, and I think this park had a huge impact on the citizens of Hiroshima.
ReplyDeleteI really like how hard Dr. Sasaki was working to help as many people as he possibly could. He found a strength in himself that many people simply do not have. I love the pictures you chose, they really help show just how terribly the bomb destroyed this city.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how much you talked about how he was saving people from the beginning and he never thought twice about the fact that it wasn't allowed without a permit. He is one character much like the others that were completely selfless.
ReplyDeleteDr. Sasaki was also my favorite because of how unselfish he was. It takes someone like him to do as much as he did and didn't even think twice about it. I also agree that it would've been hard to work 17 hours straight. I know working a 6-8 hour shift is hard enough sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI liked Dr. Sasaki also. He seemed to be the most selfless character from the book thus far. He worked many days and long hours to help others. And according to what I gathered from the reading, he seemed to stay relatively calm during all this and just did the best he could. I wondered if this event made him want to quit medical practice or if it made his passion stronger for it.
ReplyDeleteI also like that you added in there that there were 3 trees that survived the day of the bombing. It is crazy the amount of chance that is constantly seen throughout this book.
The park in that picture looks so pretty, it's sad that it was destroyed but I'm glad that it was restored. Also I think it's incredible that there were three trees that survived the bombing. That's really interesting. I wounder why only those three trees survived...
ReplyDeleteDr. Sasaki was also another great doctor he really did work hard to help those in need even though it was a lot of work. It's amazing how much affect the war can also have effect on nature not just in people but nature. The good thing is that the park looks a lot better and another thing that I found interesting in your research was that there are three trees that survived the bomb.
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