In the beginning to the novel, Hersey describes a scene as Mr. Tanimoto,a pastor of the Hiroshima Methodist Church, was searching for his wife and child after the noiseless flash affected the citizens of Hiroshima, but instead he sees a large group that is severely injured. “Many were naked or in shreds of clothing. On some undressed bodies, the burns had made patterns—of undershirt straps and suspenders and, on the skin of some women (since white repelled the heat from the bomb and dark clothes absorbed it and conducted it to the skin), the shapes of flowers they had had on their kimonos. Many, although injured themselves, supported relatives who were worse off. Almost all had their heads bowed, looked straight ahead, were silent, and showed…show more content… She saw the effects of the atomic bombing had on Hiroshima for the first time and she was astonished with the scene. “Over everything—up through the wreckage of the city, in gutters, along the riverbanks, tangled among tiles and tin roofing, climbing on charred tree trunks—was a blanket of fresh, vivid, lush, optimistic green; the verdancy rose even from the foundations of ruined houses. Weeds already hid the ashes, and wildflowers were in bloom among the city’s bones. The bomb had not only left the underground organs of the plants intact; it had stimulated them” (Hersey 69). She was blown away to see even after the destruction and devastation, there were unanticipated life forms lush greenery, weeds, and wildflowers in the crevices of the ruins. This observation of hers gave the reader a sense of hope and a bit of irony. The heaviest destructive machine ever used has killed and injured thousands, destroying the city of Hiroshima and changed the future of war weapons and nature still did not give up and continue to live and grow between the cracks caused by its destruction. This could also represent how the Japanese people did not give
