Inside my mind:
For my second project I wanted to do the bombings on Japan by America, during WWII (Firebombing of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki). When I found out the skill was perspective, the one theme that stuck out to me was revenge and regret. I know that many times in my life, I have done some actions out of how I had felt at the moment, and later on, I would regret my decision, or action. This made me think about the bombings that American had done on Japan, and wonder if America had ever regreted bombing Japan, or if we had apologized, which we have not. This project has thought me that before you act, you have to think and evaluate your decision, because they could have huge impacts on people lives. The could be very good, but on the other-hand, it might threatening to someone. The bombings of Japan, done by America during WWII had terrifying affects on the people of Japan. Many of the effects were even passed on to later generations.
ELA
For Language Arts, I annotated two poems, and then compared them. After that, I printed them, and pulled out specific lines from the text that showed something in both poems; using yarn I "drew" lines to a phrase that explained the line(s). Each of the yarn colors represent a different topic.
Japanese Poem Analyasis
August 6
By: TŌGE Sankichi, translated by Karen Thornber
can we forget that flash?
The explosion caused by the bombing of Hiroshima
suddenly 30,000 in the streets disappeared
30,000 people on the street had died as soon as the bomb exploded
in the crushed depths of darkness
the shrieks of 50,000 died out
The voices of people stopped, no one was talking
when the swirling yellow smoke thinned
The smoke started to died down
buildings split, bridges collapsed
packed trains rested singed
and a shoreless accumulation of rubble and embers - Hiroshima
Examples what Hiroshima looked like after the explosion
Singed: something that was burned
before long, a line of naked bodies walking in groups, crying
People's clothes came off (burned) from the heat of the explosion
with skin hanging down like rags
The skin of people was sagging, and looked like cloth rags
hands on chests
stamping on crumbled brain matter
People had to walk over shattered brain matter, since it had covered the ground
burnt clothing covering hips
corpses lie on the parade ground like stone images of Jizo, dispersed in all
Directions
Corpses of dead people were everywhere, in every which direction
Jizo: and allusion to a Buddhist monk, the name is translated to “Earth Stone”
on the banks of the river, lying one on top of another, a group that had crawled to
a tethered raft
Examples of where you could have found corpses
Tethered: something that is tied up, so that it is immovable
also gradually transformed into corpses beneath the sun's scorching rays
and in the light of the flames that pierced the evening sky
The flames from the bomb covered the evening sky
the place where mother and younger brother were pinned under alive
Alive people were caught under the explosion
also was engulfed in flames
And were covered in the flames
and when the morning sun shone on a group of high-school girls
who had fled and were lying
A group of high school girls that had ran away lying on the floor, the girls had done nothing wrong, but yet here they are on the floor, dead
on the floor of the armory, in excrement
Where the girls were lying, the description is very dark, shows the author’s feelings on this event
Excrement: waste matter discharged from bowels
their bellies swollen, one eye crushed, half their bodies raw flesh with skin ripped
off, hairless, impossible to tell who was who
Tells a description of what the people looked like, and it was hard to tell who was who because
their skin and hair was ripped off
all had stopped moving
They were not moving
in a stagnant, offensive smell
Stagnant: not showing any movement; dull
Environment of place they were lying in
the only sound the wings of flies buzzing around metal basins
city of 300,000
Number of people in the city
can we forget that silence?
The way it sounded after the blast, how it is not only being used literally, but also figuratively, most people's minds might not have yet recovered from the blast
in that stillness
the powerful appeal
The way the city looked like shows an example of how cruel human nature could be
of the white eye sockets of the wives and children who did not return home
that tore apart our hearts
How some of the survivors felt after the incident
can it be forgotten?!
Should/can an event like this (the bombing) be forgotten?
By: TŌGE Sankichi, translated by Karen Thornber
can we forget that flash?
The explosion caused by the bombing of Hiroshima
suddenly 30,000 in the streets disappeared
30,000 people on the street had died as soon as the bomb exploded
in the crushed depths of darkness
the shrieks of 50,000 died out
The voices of people stopped, no one was talking
when the swirling yellow smoke thinned
The smoke started to died down
buildings split, bridges collapsed
packed trains rested singed
and a shoreless accumulation of rubble and embers - Hiroshima
Examples what Hiroshima looked like after the explosion
Singed: something that was burned
before long, a line of naked bodies walking in groups, crying
People's clothes came off (burned) from the heat of the explosion
with skin hanging down like rags
The skin of people was sagging, and looked like cloth rags
hands on chests
stamping on crumbled brain matter
People had to walk over shattered brain matter, since it had covered the ground
burnt clothing covering hips
corpses lie on the parade ground like stone images of Jizo, dispersed in all
Directions
Corpses of dead people were everywhere, in every which direction
Jizo: and allusion to a Buddhist monk, the name is translated to “Earth Stone”
on the banks of the river, lying one on top of another, a group that had crawled to
a tethered raft
Examples of where you could have found corpses
Tethered: something that is tied up, so that it is immovable
also gradually transformed into corpses beneath the sun's scorching rays
and in the light of the flames that pierced the evening sky
The flames from the bomb covered the evening sky
the place where mother and younger brother were pinned under alive
Alive people were caught under the explosion
also was engulfed in flames
And were covered in the flames
and when the morning sun shone on a group of high-school girls
who had fled and were lying
A group of high school girls that had ran away lying on the floor, the girls had done nothing wrong, but yet here they are on the floor, dead
on the floor of the armory, in excrement
Where the girls were lying, the description is very dark, shows the author’s feelings on this event
Excrement: waste matter discharged from bowels
their bellies swollen, one eye crushed, half their bodies raw flesh with skin ripped
off, hairless, impossible to tell who was who
Tells a description of what the people looked like, and it was hard to tell who was who because
their skin and hair was ripped off
all had stopped moving
They were not moving
in a stagnant, offensive smell
Stagnant: not showing any movement; dull
Environment of place they were lying in
the only sound the wings of flies buzzing around metal basins
city of 300,000
Number of people in the city
can we forget that silence?
The way it sounded after the blast, how it is not only being used literally, but also figuratively, most people's minds might not have yet recovered from the blast
in that stillness
the powerful appeal
The way the city looked like shows an example of how cruel human nature could be
of the white eye sockets of the wives and children who did not return home
that tore apart our hearts
How some of the survivors felt after the incident
can it be forgotten?!
Should/can an event like this (the bombing) be forgotten?
American Poem Analysis
Aerial Photograph Before the Atomic Bomb
By: Toi Derricotte
Why did such terrible events
catch my eye? After Hiroshima,
I turned the picture in Life around
Life: reference to Life magazines
in circles, trying to figure out this huge
The author is saying that she was looking very closely at the pictures of Hiroshima, after the atomic bomb explosion, from the Life magazine article
wheel in the middle of the air, how it turned,
like a ferris wheel, its lights
burning like eyes.
Simile~ comparing the life cycle to a ferris wheel
The atom spinning
on course over the sleeping
vulnerable planet (1). I turned it the way one might (2)
The author might be referring to the atomic bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki without a warning, on innocent people (1)
turn a kaleidoscope or prism (2). Even then I
She was curious, but also cautious, not know what outcome would come from her decisions (2)
knew about the town lying under,
like a child sleeping under the
watchful gaze of a rapist, before the spasm of
Shows the innocence and cluelessness of the citizens in the cities
stopped breath, the closure at the
scream of the throat, before the body is awakened
along its shocked spine to bursting
light, the legs closing, the arms,
like a chilled flower. That eye, that spinning eye
seeking the combustible.
Describes the moments leading up to the evet, what people can start to tell something is wrong, but don’t really know what it is that is off
Combustible: something that is easily set aflame; talks about a watchful eye, ready to warn, as soon as it know what the situation is
This was a heat
I had felt already in our house on Norwood.
Norwood: reference to the street she grew on, Norwood St., Hamtramck, Michigan
Everything
looked green, placid as a green field,
Placid: calm and peaceful with little movement or activity
predictable as machinery — an antique clock.
The author is comparing a green field to the destroyed city, says that the sight everywhere was practically the same, and was very predictable
This was the instant
before destruction,
Refers to right before the bombs go off (explode)
the fiery atom stuck
as if under the control of the artist
before it spilled and became irretrievable.
Refers to the moment when the paint does what it wants, and doesn't listen to the artist, so they end up having to adjust to the paints’ will
Could it be sucked back
in its lead bag, the doors of the underbelly slammed,
Underbelly: a hidden unpleasant or criminal part of the society; talks about how even the lower parts of the society had their backs to the truth, and how everyone eventually follows someone else
and those men who would go on to
suicide and madness, go on instead
to become lovers, priests, Buddhist
smilers and scholars, gardeners in the small plots
of contained passion?
Refers to the suicide bombers, and soldiers that have fought in the war, asking them if there was another was around the problem, other than the war, a way of peace
By: Toi Derricotte
Why did such terrible events
catch my eye? After Hiroshima,
I turned the picture in Life around
Life: reference to Life magazines
in circles, trying to figure out this huge
The author is saying that she was looking very closely at the pictures of Hiroshima, after the atomic bomb explosion, from the Life magazine article
wheel in the middle of the air, how it turned,
like a ferris wheel, its lights
burning like eyes.
Simile~ comparing the life cycle to a ferris wheel
The atom spinning
on course over the sleeping
vulnerable planet (1). I turned it the way one might (2)
The author might be referring to the atomic bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki without a warning, on innocent people (1)
turn a kaleidoscope or prism (2). Even then I
She was curious, but also cautious, not know what outcome would come from her decisions (2)
knew about the town lying under,
like a child sleeping under the
watchful gaze of a rapist, before the spasm of
Shows the innocence and cluelessness of the citizens in the cities
stopped breath, the closure at the
scream of the throat, before the body is awakened
along its shocked spine to bursting
light, the legs closing, the arms,
like a chilled flower. That eye, that spinning eye
seeking the combustible.
Describes the moments leading up to the evet, what people can start to tell something is wrong, but don’t really know what it is that is off
Combustible: something that is easily set aflame; talks about a watchful eye, ready to warn, as soon as it know what the situation is
This was a heat
I had felt already in our house on Norwood.
Norwood: reference to the street she grew on, Norwood St., Hamtramck, Michigan
Everything
looked green, placid as a green field,
Placid: calm and peaceful with little movement or activity
predictable as machinery — an antique clock.
The author is comparing a green field to the destroyed city, says that the sight everywhere was practically the same, and was very predictable
This was the instant
before destruction,
Refers to right before the bombs go off (explode)
the fiery atom stuck
as if under the control of the artist
before it spilled and became irretrievable.
Refers to the moment when the paint does what it wants, and doesn't listen to the artist, so they end up having to adjust to the paints’ will
Could it be sucked back
in its lead bag, the doors of the underbelly slammed,
Underbelly: a hidden unpleasant or criminal part of the society; talks about how even the lower parts of the society had their backs to the truth, and how everyone eventually follows someone else
and those men who would go on to
suicide and madness, go on instead
to become lovers, priests, Buddhist
smilers and scholars, gardeners in the small plots
of contained passion?
Refers to the suicide bombers, and soldiers that have fought in the war, asking them if there was another was around the problem, other than the war, a way of peace
Explanation
Both "August 6" and "Aerial Photograph Before the Atomic Bomb" are narrative poems about the bombing of Hiroshima. "August 6" was by a survivor, from Hiroshima, where-as "Aerial Photograph Before the Atomic Bomb" was by a professor from Pittsburg University. Both of their poems are very descriptive on the bombing and explain their feelings about the bombs being dropped. Overall, the poems are mostly about the bomb being exported, what it was like right after the explosion, the heat of the explosion, with descriptions of the people that were killed, the destruction caused by the bomb. In both poems, the authors ask if the bomb was really necessary. In "August 6" the main idea of the poem was to show how much destruction and how cruel humans could be; where-as "Aerial Photograph Before the Atomic Bomb" shows the perspective of some of the Americans on the dropping of the bombs. Both of the poems show that war isn't only about the army and each country, but also the citizens, who could be in more peril then the army itself.
History
For history, I wrote two poems. One is from the perspective of a building in Japan during the bombings. The second is from the perspective of an American bomber plane that was going to bomb Japan.
Japanese perspective
1945
It was almost, almost a regular day,
people were coming in and walking out of me.
Out of nowhere, the sky darkened
the world had come to an end.
Vibrations from the sky hit me,
my spine crumbled into a million pieces,
I would never smell fresh paint again,
or feel its coolness against my walls
nor would people ever walk into me,
only on me from now on.
Under me, millions of people were dead,
Their skin had melted right off,
On'na ka otoko*, that I can't say.
Corpses were as far as a block could go,
nothing but shadows of the past,
The wind blew their ashes through my pieces.
They are nothing more than a memory now.
*On'na ka otoko: means female or male
This is a personification poem of a building in Nagasaki during the bombing. It describes how a person could have felt during the bombing, and how survivors felt after the moment. It shows how this incident could happen in any country, no matter the country or state/provinces, the devastation will always be great, and the people who live there will have it's after effects with them forever.
It was almost, almost a regular day,
people were coming in and walking out of me.
Out of nowhere, the sky darkened
the world had come to an end.
Vibrations from the sky hit me,
my spine crumbled into a million pieces,
I would never smell fresh paint again,
or feel its coolness against my walls
nor would people ever walk into me,
only on me from now on.
Under me, millions of people were dead,
Their skin had melted right off,
On'na ka otoko*, that I can't say.
Corpses were as far as a block could go,
nothing but shadows of the past,
The wind blew their ashes through my pieces.
They are nothing more than a memory now.
*On'na ka otoko: means female or male
This is a personification poem of a building in Nagasaki during the bombing. It describes how a person could have felt during the bombing, and how survivors felt after the moment. It shows how this incident could happen in any country, no matter the country or state/provinces, the devastation will always be great, and the people who live there will have it's after effects with them forever.
American perspective
My Nightmare
And once again they were loading me,
it was going to be a long fly,
they said.
They wanted to drop the instrument death,
my senses told me otherwise.
We took off,
something bad was to happen,
I could feel it in my engines and throughout my wiring,
they didn’t tell me what was going on,
classified they said,
I was going to be a part of this madness,
this was an unthinkable mission,
inside me was a bomb,
weighing more than a million pounds,
like the bomb itself fought being moved.
The wind begged me to turn around,
like nature was against us,
as if it knew the outcome.
The officers aboard had fire running in their bones,
the want for a good kill.
The thought of revenge was a constant on their minds,
the thirst of blood pulsing in their veins.
They were using me
as if I had no thoughts, no feelings,
Only I didn’t want to be an instrument used to execute hundreds.
This is another personification poem of one of the bomber jets that were flown to Japan to drop Little Boy and Fat Man (the atomic bombs). This poem shows how some Americans were against the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whereas others were with it. My research has shown that some of the scientists and crew members regretted their action, right after the fact. For the most part, the crew members were fine with bombing Japan, they even said that they would do it again, if needed. The represents the little of the American population that regret bombing Japan, whereas everything else everything/everyone else was with the decision.
And once again they were loading me,
it was going to be a long fly,
they said.
They wanted to drop the instrument death,
my senses told me otherwise.
We took off,
something bad was to happen,
I could feel it in my engines and throughout my wiring,
they didn’t tell me what was going on,
classified they said,
I was going to be a part of this madness,
this was an unthinkable mission,
inside me was a bomb,
weighing more than a million pounds,
like the bomb itself fought being moved.
The wind begged me to turn around,
like nature was against us,
as if it knew the outcome.
The officers aboard had fire running in their bones,
the want for a good kill.
The thought of revenge was a constant on their minds,
the thirst of blood pulsing in their veins.
They were using me
as if I had no thoughts, no feelings,
Only I didn’t want to be an instrument used to execute hundreds.
This is another personification poem of one of the bomber jets that were flown to Japan to drop Little Boy and Fat Man (the atomic bombs). This poem shows how some Americans were against the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whereas others were with it. My research has shown that some of the scientists and crew members regretted their action, right after the fact. For the most part, the crew members were fine with bombing Japan, they even said that they would do it again, if needed. The represents the little of the American population that regret bombing Japan, whereas everything else everything/everyone else was with the decision.
Art
For the art portion I did a mixed-media. It shows the perspective of a Japanese citizen that had seen the explosion from a distance. It shows how the first thing that people might have saw was a fleet airplanes.
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Works Cited:
Books:
Bender, David L., and Bruno Leone. World War II: Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven, 1997.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cats Cradle. Alberta Education, Learning Resources Centre, Specialized Services for Students with Visual
Impairement, 2013.
Images:
Atomic Bomb 3d Model. 15 May 2015.
Fat Man First Atomic Bomb - Money Box. 31 Jan. 2018.
Mushroom Cloud over Nagasaki. Nagasaki, 9 Aug. 1945.
Tokyo, 1945, www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0310-08.htm.
THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945: THE STRATEGIC AIR OFFENSIVE 1939 -1945. Europe, 1943.
Videos:
“Hiroshima Atomic Bomb: Survivor Recalls Horrors.” BBC News, 5 Aug. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-07xiaBl2vk.
“Hiroshima: Dropping The Bomb - Hiroshima.” BBC Worldwide, BBC, 14 Mar. 2017.
“Hiroshima, Nagasaki Survivors 70 Years Later.” Euronews, 30 Oct. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcD0E6IuOO4.
“'I'd Drop Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima Again If Needed' - Enola Gay Last Living Member.” RT, 2010,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDaiQ9n5wEM.
Jennings, Peter, director. Hiroshima: Why The Bomb Was Dropped. ABC News, 2002.
“Was It Wrong to Drop the Atom Bomb on Japan?” PragerU, 8 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmIBbcxseXM.
Websites:
Carney, Matthew. “Tokyo Firebombing: Deadliest Raid in History Remembered 70 Years On.” ABC News, ABC News, 8 Mar. 2015,
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-09/tokyo-wwiifirebombing-remembered-70-years-on/6287486.
“Firebombing of Tokyo.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9AD, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo.
“Hiroshima In Four Poems.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/newshour/features/hiroshima-poems/.
Horne, Alistair. “Payback for Pearl.” HistoryNet, HistoryNet, 3 Apr. 2013, www.historynet.com/payback-for-pearl.htm.
LeMay, Curtis, and Paul Tibbets. “Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - 1945.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, Atomic Heritage
Foundation, 5 June 2014, www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945.
Rothman, Lily. “WWII Firebombing of Tokyo:” Time, Time, 9 Mar. 2015, time.com/3718981/tokyo-firebombing-1945/.
Bender, David L., and Bruno Leone. World War II: Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven, 1997.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Cats Cradle. Alberta Education, Learning Resources Centre, Specialized Services for Students with Visual
Impairement, 2013.
Images:
Atomic Bomb 3d Model. 15 May 2015.
Fat Man First Atomic Bomb - Money Box. 31 Jan. 2018.
Mushroom Cloud over Nagasaki. Nagasaki, 9 Aug. 1945.
Tokyo, 1945, www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0310-08.htm.
THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945: THE STRATEGIC AIR OFFENSIVE 1939 -1945. Europe, 1943.
Videos:
“Hiroshima Atomic Bomb: Survivor Recalls Horrors.” BBC News, 5 Aug. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-07xiaBl2vk.
“Hiroshima: Dropping The Bomb - Hiroshima.” BBC Worldwide, BBC, 14 Mar. 2017.
“Hiroshima, Nagasaki Survivors 70 Years Later.” Euronews, 30 Oct. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcD0E6IuOO4.
“'I'd Drop Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima Again If Needed' - Enola Gay Last Living Member.” RT, 2010,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDaiQ9n5wEM.
Jennings, Peter, director. Hiroshima: Why The Bomb Was Dropped. ABC News, 2002.
“Was It Wrong to Drop the Atom Bomb on Japan?” PragerU, 8 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmIBbcxseXM.
Websites:
Carney, Matthew. “Tokyo Firebombing: Deadliest Raid in History Remembered 70 Years On.” ABC News, ABC News, 8 Mar. 2015,
www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-09/tokyo-wwiifirebombing-remembered-70-years-on/6287486.
“Firebombing of Tokyo.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9AD, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo.
“Hiroshima In Four Poems.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/newshour/features/hiroshima-poems/.
Horne, Alistair. “Payback for Pearl.” HistoryNet, HistoryNet, 3 Apr. 2013, www.historynet.com/payback-for-pearl.htm.
LeMay, Curtis, and Paul Tibbets. “Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - 1945.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, Atomic Heritage
Foundation, 5 June 2014, www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945.
Rothman, Lily. “WWII Firebombing of Tokyo:” Time, Time, 9 Mar. 2015, time.com/3718981/tokyo-firebombing-1945/.