"Hiroshima" speaks to the reader like no other story may. Not only is it the real life account of something that historically occurred, it is an account of someone who lived through the event and was alive to see the horror that it truly produced. Hiroshima a fairly large city in Japan and was subject to an atom bomb back during World War II. The person that lived through the event tells the story through a book that he or she had on his or her desk. "Hiroshima" is a text that calls out the United States for destroying their nation and ultimately ruining the health of Japan for decades and more. To the United States, they succeeded because they had ended World War II. But this was not just a nuclear attack on a country that ended a war. Dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima changed Japan for decades. It killed thousands, and caused many more to be exposed to terrible types of radiation. It also caused many birth defects for the years to come.

A couple excerpts from the text that would strike the reader as important or shifting is "Nobody can confront the reality of 6th August 1945 without being forced to acknowledge that what happened was evil" (Berger 133). By calling what happened "evil," Berger wanted the reader to feel the hatred that Japan had for the United States at the time of the bombing. Berger went on to say that "It is not a question of opinion or interpretation, but of events" (133). He was saying here that it did not matter who looked at it or how many different angles one took at this horrific situation that it was one of the cruelest moments in the history of the world. It is not a matter of opinion when it comes to this nuclear attack on Japan. This was the United States striking out at a nation in one of the worst ways possible.

There were multiple places within the text where word choice dictated to the overall theme of the text. Most notably, "There was a preparation. And there was an aftermath" (132). These short, concise sentences contribute to the reader's thought process when reading. It makes one think about the effects of the damage during and after the attack. The effects after the bombing were close to as bad as the attack itself. Radiation affected everyone in Hiroshima and beyond because the nuclear attack was so great. When reading such short sentences, the reader realizes how much power is really behind the words in them. The word choice makes the reader think and consider how much damage the United States really did when they dropped this bomb on Hiroshima. Another example of word choice contributing to the theme is when Berger discusses how statistics differ greatly from reality. He says "We consider the numbers instead of pain. We calculate instead of judging. We relativize instead of refusing" (132). Berger wants the reader to realize that the statistics matter to an extent. But the reality or "pain" as he put it is really what contributed to the emotional side of Japan. The amount of emotional instability that the United States caused Japan carried on for generations. Aside from the death toll, birth defects, and other problems that they caused, the sense of never being safe again was always in the back of people's minds in Japan. The United States had in fact conducted a bombing that would be permanently engraved in citizen's minds as "evil." Berger is saying that instead of focusing so much on the numbers, the reader should consider everything other than just simply the numbers.

There are multiple types of writing in this text. The narrator uses description to prove arguments that are made throughout. There are many inserts from the book "Unforgettable Fire" that Berger uses to prove his points. Berger used one account of a seventy-eight year old man that described the effects of the bomb physically to a woman (130). He then refers to the attack as something from "Dante's Inferno" (130). Berger is attacking the United States in this text. By using descriptive accounts of what people actually went through during the attack truly shows how much physical and emotional stress this caused on Japan as a nation. He uses these types of writing to reach out to the rest of the world and prove that during this time period, the United States were ruthless in their actions towards other nations. 

John Berger has a variety of sentence structures to convey his message to the reader. Most of the time, his use of long, descriptive sentences followed by an account from a person to show how the United States had wronged Japan. But he goes back to the short choppy sentences with more of a message inside the sentences. An example of a short choppy sentence is "Do not misunderstand me" (131). Berger wants the reader to focus on what he is saying and not think too deeply about the situation. He uses short and concise wording to get his point across.

The entire passage, Berger flows vivid and rather disturbing imagery from the stories of survivors that lived the event. These stories include anything from hair falling out to skin peeling off. He does this so the reader can feel sympathy for Japan and the citizens of Hiroshima. He wants the reader to absorb this information about the burning of people and defects and turn it into hatred for the United States. Berger thinks that this attack was low for the United States because they knew the consequences and the power of the nuclear bomb but they still dropped it on Hiroshima.

"Hiroshima" was written to speak to the reader through actual stories from the bombing. John Berger wanted to show the reader that not everyone in this world is as innocent as they may seem. The United States especially. He shaped his text to wrap the reader's mind around the idea that the United States meant for everything to happen as badly as it did. He uses literary descriptions and certain diction that make his words acceptable in the reader's mind. In "Hiroshima," John Berger called out the United States by using real life accounts of what occurred in during the attack.

