Events Of Hiroshima Terrorist Attack In Literature - Essay Example

March 29, Insights on Essays about Hiroshima and A Modest Proposal Summary of Hiroshima by John Berger The essay is about the author describing his sentiments and sympathy about the horror, injustice and pitiful terrorist attack that happened in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 when a nuclear bomb was dropped in the city and thousands of innocent lives were taken (“Hiroshima” 315). He started his story through a book that he remembered to read when he received a letter from his American woman friend who informed him of the possibility of a third world war. His friend prompted his aggravation on the idea of a war when he read “the likely scale of destruction which would be caused by nuclear weapons, and then welcomed the positive possibilities that this would offer the socialist revolution in the United States” (316). That moment reminded him to read the book called Unforgettable Fire (316). The book contained drawings and paintings that depicted Hiroshima on the day the bomb was dropped in the city. These illustrations were made by survivors of that terrible day who were invited to come out and paint or draw the memories they had of that day. Heart breaking stories of death and holocaust were also included in the book. Essentially, the author expressed his antagonism towards war and the evil annihilation of innocent lives that come with it. He explained that war has its deceiving “mask of innocence” (320) hiding the destructive reality it can bring to the “victims and planners and supporters” (320) of such. And Berger insisted that it is by looking at the dreadful images of the past that one can be reminded of the reality of a war. Summary of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift Swift’s essay is a satirical approach in confronting social issues in Ireland regarding poverty, hunger, starvation, child labor, violation of women’s rights, overpopulation, human trafficking and other related unfortunate consequences of these. Upon starting his essay, the author established his personal burden about the existence of such problems for a long time. He then mentioned solid intentions to solve the problem. However, he also described the cruelty and erroneous systems presiding over Ireland, some of which are related to “curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming in our women” (Jonathan Swift 6). Swift’s essay focused mainly on his proposed satirical solutions on the unbearable social problems he vividly presented. He even proved his solutions to be practical by backing them up with estimated statistics. As he explained his proposals, he repeatedly emphasized the increase in economic return for every step taken successfully. His satirical proposals included turning over the abandoned children as food commodity to be supplied in entertainment and family dining of wealthy people (3). Moreover infants’ flesh could also be made seasonally available and children’s skin could be made into skin and summer boots (6). The author then enumerated six advantages to the social and economic systems running the country. In the end, he expressed his weariness and despair of the situation he had been witnessing for long years (6). He effectively poses a challenge to the reader to propose otherwise unless the idea can be sincerely put into practice. Analysis on the Two Essays Both essays elaborated on specific social tragedies in the 16th to early 19th centuries from which many people have suffered and died. Berger and Swift demonstrated their sentiments on the injustice experienced by the common people as a consequence of holistic or governmental decisions. Thus, these two works are related to each other through their struggles against tyrannical forms. Berger was against the tyranny of nuclear holocaust brought about by wars and he was against any decision that will include war in exchange of sovereignty. Swift was against the social injustice in Ireland during those times of English preeminence. Comparison and Contrast of the Two Essays Berger presented his topic through a story about how he remembered to read the book Unforgettable Fire (Hiroshima 316) because of his influential friend who wrote to him about the possible third world war and yet his friend sounded somewhat innocent of the destructive reality the war could actually bring. It could be through Berger’s frustration on this event that he vividly described the tragic story behind the book and what happened exactly when Hiroshima was exploded by a nuclear bomb. Similarly, Swift presented his topic by narrating observations on the streets of Dublin through the sight of a passerby. He furthered it with his thoughts on the ideal things that the poor people could be doing should the social conditions were fair. But he stressed how those pitiful scenarios should bring attention to the government (Swift 2) and yet it seemed that no valuable actions were taken. Thus, this brought him forth to come up with his satirical modest proposal. Both essays actually strived to criticize the current governments or political systems ruling the cities or countries specified in the writings. Berger was against the political conditioning that regarded war as an option to bring “positive possibilities” (Hiroshima 316) in the “socialist revolution in the United States” (316). Swift was against the English government system ruling in Ireland during that time that consequentially resulted to severe poverty and inhumane societal treatment to Irish poor people. He meant well when he said “I desire those politicians . . . thereby have avoided such a perpetual scene of misfortunes as they have since gone through by the oppression of the landlords” (Swift 7). Contrastingly, the authors used different methods within the essay itself to communicate their messages. In their attempts to inculcate powerfully in the reader’s mind the erroneous and dangerous systems that subtly devastated the society, one used morbid images while the other satirical approach. Berger imparted the destructive consequences of a war through the illustration of images of Hiroshima nuclear bombing victims during the Second World War. The horror and drama that the images depicted were louder than any cries or written words in the minds of any beholder of those images drawn by the victims themselves. On the other hand, Swift used a very striking satirical approach using his words and statistical calculations on a rather morbid idea of selling the meat of infants and children in the food market so that they can bring economic profits instead of societal burden to their poor parents and, miserable display of their misfortunes to any beholder. Berger and Swift effectively applied unalike techniques to emphasize their messages. However both were successful in raising their points. Berger and Swift were products of different societies with different systems that shaped their beliefs and consciousness. Berger lived in a younger generation from 1926 to 1972 (O’Connor). He was originally a British painter and drawing instructor before he became a novelist (O’Connor). He used words and images to bring out his message. Swift had his days earlier from 1667 to 1745 (Gascoigne). He was a passionate Irish author and journalist, and a notable prose satirist who became the dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin (Gascoigne). Both authors experienced disagreements to what they have witnessed during their lifetimes thereby leading them to the creation of their literary masterpieces. Works Cited Gascoigne, Bamber. “Jonathan Swift: (1667-1745)”. Time Search for Books and Writers. 2008. Web. 29 Mar 2012. “Hiroshima by John Berger”. Paired Readings on the Reality of War. Social Sciences and Public Affairs / Reporting: 315-322. n.d. PDF File. “Jonathan Swift: A Modest Proposal. (1729)”. Renascence Editions. 1-7. 12 Apr 2005. PDF File. O’Connor, Duncan. “John Berger”. The Literary Encyclopedia. 28 Feb 2003. Web. 29 Mar 2012. Read More