Themes In John Hersey's A Rumor Of War

In Hiroshima, John Hersey focuses on the survivors of the atomic bomb that is dropped on the city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Instead of focusing on one individual, Hersey decides to report on six that survive the blast, including the immediate aftermath of the bomb being dropped. The survivors come from many different walks of life and are all affected by the coming of the nuclear age. Mrs. Hatsayo Nakamura was a widow raising three young children. Dr. Terufumi Sasaki was a young surgeon unhurt during the explosion, leaving him to care for thousands of Hiroshima’s wounded. Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge was a German priest that comforts many of the wounded and dying. Toshiko Sasaki was a young woman working in a factory to make ends …show more content…
Philip Caputo struggles greatly in proving that he is “manly”, and is no longer a soft boy from suburban America. He ends up proving this in the end, but may have gone too far. Having restraint can show that someone is mature, and therefore is “manly”. Compare this to how Caputo acted in the book, particularly toward the end. Caputo orders his men to capture men “suspected” of being Viet Cong. In reality, he wanted his men to kill the two “Viet Cong” boys as revenge for a fellow soldier's death. While not explicit, Caputo’s order was heavily implied. As horrible as the experience was, Caputo grew as a person from this experience. He struggled with the madness of Vietnam on a personal level. Compare this theme of personal identity with one of the themes in Hiroshima: community survival in the face of mass destruction. The survivors of Hiroshima had to band together to take care of themselves, the dead, and the wounded. The survivors tried to take care of one another. Mr. Tanimoto risking his own life to save the lives of others, Dr. Sasaki forgoing sleep for days to treat the wounded, and the dignified wounded dying in silence are examples of this community aspect of survival. Both books dealt with the idea of survival in general. In Vietnam, the goal for deployed soldiers was to not get sent home in a casket, and survive. This was the same goal as those affected by the dropping …show more content…
A Rumor of War puts the reader in a US soldier’s shoes on the ground in Vietnam, and is conveyed what it may have been like to fight in the conflict. Focusing on one character allows the story to be told in a chronological, easy to follow order. I believe Caputo is more successful than Hersey in making an impact on the reader. Hersey portrays the general horror of Hiroshima successfully, but does not convey each individual story very well. His reporting method, I believe, does not help. One paragraph you’re being told of the experiences of one character, while the next you’re at the exact same chronological moment, but reading about a different character. This becomes confusing to follow throughout the book. While you can still get a general sense of what’s happening, this method of reporting is poor at establishing the thought process and emotions of the characters. However, both books are still successful, in varying degrees, of conveying their