. Just awful was the comment on the Okinawa slaughter not of some pacifist but of General MacArthur. The intelligence officer of theU.S. Fifth Air Force declared on July 21, 1945, that the entire population of Japan is a proper military target, and he added emphatically, There are no civilians in Japan. Why delay and allow one more American high school kid to see his own intestines blown out of his body and spread before him in the dirt while he screams and screams when with the new bomb we can end the whole thing just like that? Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime. When the atom bombs were dropped and news began to circulate that Operation Olympic would not, after all, be necessary, when we learnedto our astonishment that we would not be obliged in a few months to rush up the beaches near Tokyo assault-firing while being machine-gunned, mortared, and shelled, for all the practiced phlegm of our tough facades we broke down and cried with relief and joy. David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing, Comments on the nature of the US system of schooling, big history, and the craft of writing. By that time, one million American casualties was the expected price. A few days later, the second atomic bomb devastated the city of Nagasaki. When the Enola Gay dropped its package, There were cheers, says John Toland, over the intercom; it meant the end of the war. Down on the ground the reaction of Sledges marine buddies when they heard the news was more solemn and complicated. One young combat naval officer close to the action wrote home m the fall of 1943, just before the marines underwent the agony of Tarawa: When I read that we will fight the Japs for years if necessary and will sacrifice hundreds of thousands if we must, I always like to check from where hes talking: its seldom out here. That was Lieutenant (j.g.) The editors of The New YorkReview gave the debate the tendentious title Was the Hiroshima Bomb Necessary? surely an unanswerable question (unlike Was It Effective?) and one precisely indicating the intellectual difficulties involved in imposing ex post facto a rational and even a genteel ethics on this event. )What was one of the major concerns of the American leaders and military during this time? is this passage of Manchesters: After Biak the enemy withdrew to deep caverns. and I never imagined anything or anyone could suffer so bitterly I screamed and cursed. A professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania whose speciality is the eighteenth century, Paul Fuss View the full answer We were going to grow to adulthood after all. The combat soldier, he says. Fussell is even keener on exposing the euphemisms and illusions of others. Fussell is angry. To this day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still a source of pain and shame for those afflicted and for those who survived. These leaders concluded that if the war continued without the bombs at least a million, In the 1940s there is no doubt that the United States of America was engulfed by mass anti-Japanese hysteria which inevitably bled over into Americas foreign policy. Many kept body parts, such as hands, as trophies. Who is the intended audience? The title piece, a defense of Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, generated lively controversy when it first appeared in the New Republic; a spirited . The stupidity, parochialism, and greed in the international mismanagement of the whole nuclear challenge should not tempt us to misimagine the circumstances of the bombs first use. Nor should our well-justified fears and suspicions occasioned by the capture of the nuclear-power trade by the inept and the mendacious (who have fucked up the works at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, etc.) In Scotch, Teacher's is the great experience." ., I was horrified indeed at the sight of a stark naked man standing in the rain with his eyeball in his palm. Kucinich supports the claim that the bomb was not needed to end the war, although some may disagree. Fussell argues that an infantry assault on Japan would have been deadly and would have resulted in the loss of huge numbers of Allied troops. (Pg.26) We all know that all war is cruel. ", What is an example of an appeal to character in "Thank God for the Atom Bomb? Thank God for the Atom Bomb and Other Essays by Paul Fussell. Arthur T. Hadley said recently that those for whom the use of the A-bomb was wrong seem to be implying that it would have been better to allow thousands on thousands of American and Japanese infantrymen to die in honest hand-to-hand combat on the beaches than to drop those two bombs. People holding such views, he notes, do not come from the ranks of society that produce infantrymen or pilots. And theres aneloquence problem: most of those with firsthand experience of the war at its worst were not elaborately educated people. Therefore, Fussell's argument is twofold: 1) that more Americans would die without the bomb; and 2) that Japanese civilians would be killed in large numbers during the planned invasion, meaning the bomb was instrumental in limiting the loss of human life. Thank God for the Atom Bomb, and Other Essays. I believe Dower used these sources to present a shocking and accurate assessment of why battles in the Pacific were often ones of extermination between the US and Japanese forces. Therefore, Fussell's argument is twofold: 1) that more Americans would die without the bomb; and 2) that Japanese civilians would be killed in large numbers during the planned invasion, meaning the bomb was instrumental in limiting the loss of human life. Hiroshima, he says, was "the most cruel ending of that most cruel war." Among Americans it was widely held that the Japanese were really subhuman, little yellow beasts, and popular imagery depicted them as lice, rats, bats, vipers, dogs, and monkeys. . I dont demand that he experience having his ass shot off. In Paul Fussell's essay "Thank God for the Atom Bomb" , he argues the importance of experience when thinking about the use of the atom bomb. Fussell, a retired University of Pennsylania professor, is editor of The Norton Book of Modern War and the author of many books, among them Thank God for the Atom Bomb and Other Essays and the award-winning The Great War and Modern Memory. Still thankful for the bomb By John Rossi Some years ago, Paul Fussell wrote a controversial essay titled "Thank God for the Atom Bomb." In it, he argued that dropping two nuclear bombs on Japan was necessary to end the war in the Pacific. Having found the bomb, he said, we have used it. "A conservative cultural critic with a passion for nude beaches and the Indy 500 auto race, Fussell (The Great War and Modern Memory) explores some of his pet topics in this miscellany of essays and articles. Its been for me a model of the short poem, and indeed Ive come upon few short poems subsequently that exhibited more poetic talent. To experience both sides, one might study the book Unforgettable Fire: Pictures Drawnby Atomic Bomb Survivors, which presents a number of amateur drawings and watercolors of the Hiroshima scene made by middle-aged and elderly survivors for a peace exhibition in 1975. But when we meet in Japan proper, our Army will demonstrate its invincible superiority. This possibility foreclosed by the Emperors post-A- bomb surrender broadcast, the shocked, disappointed officers of one infantry battalion, anticipating a professionally impressive defense of the beaches, killed themselves in the following numbers: one major, three captains, ten first lieutenants, and twelve second lieutenants. If it is argued that the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima was necessary to shock the Japanese to surrender, how does one justify the hasty bombing of Nagasaki only It requires feeling its own pressure on your pulses without any ex post facto illumination. For present purposes we must jettison the second line (licking our lips, to be sure, as it disappears), leaving the first to register a principle whose banality suggests that it enshrines a most useful truth. ) Why does Fussell "thank God" for the atom bomb?What role does his own experience of history play in shaping his views as an historian? Paul Fussell, "Thank God for the Atom Bomb" Mac computer capable with iMovie, Quicktime (for recording and exporting) and Internet access (for high school) Assignment: For middle school students: Have students write a script for a chapter of a hypothetical documentary on the decision to drop the bomb (approximately three pages). He begins his essay with a verse: "In life, experience is the great teacher. Jones observes that the forthcoming invasion of Kyushu was well into its collecting and stockpiling stages before the war ended. (The island of Saipan was designated a main ammunition and supply base for the invasion,and if you go there today you can see some of the assembled stuff still sitting there.) What did Paul Fussel feel towards the dropping of the Atomic Bomb? But in one of his effusions he was right, and his observation tends to suggest the experimentaldubiousness of the concept of just wars. War is not a contest with gloves, he perceived. Part III, The War in Japanese Eyes, allows the reader to receive a Japanese perspective and also grasp how devastating the results of war were. As many as 200,000 deaths were caused by Little Boy alone and many people would die of radiation for years to come. When a neutron strikes the nucleus of an atom of the isotopes uranium-235 or plutonium-239, it causes that nucleus to split into two fragments, each of which is a nucleus with about . Analyzes how fussell uses logos to promote his argument for the atomic bomb. Theres no denying that Grays outlook on everything was admirably noble, elevated, and responsible. "This is not a book to promote tranquility, and readers in quest of peace of mind should look elsewhere," writes Paul Fussell in the foreword to this original, sharp, tart, and thoroughly engaging work. ISBN-10: 0671638661. (LogOut/ He states in the book that He did not want to violate the widely held American moral view that war should be fought against soldiers, not civilians. People have argued over the years if the atomic bombing was justified or not, and multiple points can be made on both arguments, yet I take it that the bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not justified. The experience is common to those in the marines and the infantry and even the line navy, to those, in short, who fought the Second World War mindful always that their mission was, as they were repeatedly assured, to close with the enemy and destroy him. Destroy, notice: not hurt, frighten, drive away, or capture. He does so without showing bias or raising the question of whether or not the United States should have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The most spectacular episode of Harry Truman's presidency will never be forgotten but will be forever linked to his name: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and of Nagasaki three days later. 2) Considering Fussell's discussion of the treatment of Japanese skulls during World War II, as well as all the other atrocities of World War II (the Holocaust, the Japanese invasions . The dramatic postwar Japanese success at hustling and merchandising and tourism has (happily, in many ways) effaced for most people the vicious assault context in which the Hiroshima horror should be viewed. Times change. Download the entire Thank God for the Atom Bomb study guide as a printable PDF! Rooting them out became a bloody business which reached its ultimate horrors in the last months of the war. It is a peculiarly human activity. It was then republished under the title "Thank God for the Atom Bomb" in his essay collection Thank God for the Atom Bomb and Other Essays in 1988. I wonder what became of him. . So it's no wonder, with President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima this week (but no apology), that practically every journalist writing about the visit resorts to quoting from Paul Fussell's famous article in the New Republic in August, 1981: "Thank God for the Atomic Bomb.". Fussell begins by stating that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a necessary evil. That is the reason Fussell said, "Thank God for the Atom Bomb." I am writing about these events neither to justify nor to condemn the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. The audience is the readers of the New Republic magazine. But thank God that did not happen. What role does his own experience of history play in shaping his views as an historian? Because wed destroyed civilians? 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. Source: Paul Fussell, a World War II Soldier, Thank God for the Atom Bomb,1990. Chapter 8, The Pure Self, Dower explains the Japanese traditions and culture, along with the humiliation and discrimination the Japanese received. He believes that those who argue that the atomic. Nor do authors normally write about such vileness; unless they have seen it with their own eyes, it is too preposterous to think that men could actually live and fight for days and nights on end under such terrible conditions and not be driven insane. And Sledge has added a comment on such experience and the insulation provided by even a short distance: Often people just behind our rifle companies couldnt understand what we knew. Glenn Gray was not in a rifle company, or even just behind one. I tried to apply my right hand over my bleeding stump, but I didnt have the strength to hold it. The veterans in the outfit felt we had already run out of luck anyway. President Roosevelt approved several orders and committees that specifically targeted Japanese Americans on the West Coast, while war propaganda was created to instill fear and hatred of the Japanese in the American people. I merely note that he didnt. To observe that from the viewpoint of the wars victims-to-be the bomb seemed precisely the right thing to drop is to purchase no immunity from horror. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. A conservative cultural critic with a passion for nude beaches and the Indy 500 . And Winston Churchill, with an irony perhaps too broad and easy, noted in Parliament that the people who preferred invasion to A-bombing seemed to have no intention of proceeding to the Japanese front themselves.. Change). The warning from US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin . If around division headquarters some of the people Gray talked to felt ashamed, down in the rifle companies no one did, despite Grays assertions. What role does his own experience of history play in shaping his views as an historian? Rhetorical Questions Already a member? They did not start the war, except in the terrible sense hinted atin Frederic Mannings observation based on his front-line experience in the Great War: War is waged by men; not by beasts, or by gods. (About 140,000 Japanese died at Hiroshima.) The author of Drop the Bomb as agreed by saying that the Japanese have demonstrated a willingness to fight to the death. E. B. Sledge, author of the splendid memoir With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa, noticed at the time that the fighting grew more vicious the closer we got to Japan,with the carnage of Iwo Jima and Okinawa worse than what had gone before. eNotes Editorial, 22 Sep. 2018, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/paul-fussell-thank-god-for-atom-bomb-intended-479503. Paul Fussell appeals to Pathos Reasons that he appeals to pathos is by including the audience in his speech. To call it a crime against mankind is to miss atleast half its significance; it is also the punishment of a crime. Knowing that unflattering truth by experience, soldiers have every motive for wanting a war stopped, by any means. I wanted to forget this miserable world. The A-bombs meant, he says, a difference, at most, of two or three weeks. But at the time, with no indication that surrender was on the way, the kamikazes were sinking American vessels, the Indianapolis was sunk (880 men killed), and Allied casualties were running to over 7,000 per week. General Hap Arnold explaines his point of view on why he thinks using atomic bombing in war should be used only in the proper way. He looked to be in great pain but there was nothing that I could do for him. His sources supplement his arguments, none more so than John Tolands The Rising Sun: the, Dennis Kucinich, a representative from Ohio, in the persuasive text titled We didnt need to drop the bomb, posted online in 2015, addresses the topic of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. John F. Kennedy. From his point of view, as someone who served in the infantry during WWII, the bomb saved thousands of lives that would have been lost if there had been a D-Day style invasion of the Japanese home islands. Details; Description; . When the young soldier with the wild eyes comes at you, firing, do you shoot him in the foot, hoping hell be hurt badly enough to drop or mis-aim the gun with which hes going to kill you, or do you shoot him in the chest (or, if youre a prime shot, in the head) and make certain that you and not he will be the survivor of that mortal moment? Why? It is easy to forget, or not to know, what Japan was like before it was first destroyed, and then humiliated, tamed, and constitutionalized by the West. [Excerpted from Paul Fussell's "Thank God for the Atom Bomb. The dramatic postwar Japanese success at hustling and merchandising and tourism has (happily, in many ways) effaced for most people important elements of the assault context in which [the dropping . A bloody woman holds a bloody child in the ruins of a house, and the artist remembers her calling, Please help this child! Russian troops had moved into Hungary and Romania, and [the U.S.] thought it would be very difficult Paul Fussell. Fussell is writing for an audience (readers of the New Republic magazine) that quite likely was born after World War II and has no direct experience with the war in the Pacific, or in later wars such as Korea or, more significantly, Vietnam. Accessed 2 Mar. I find this canting nonsense. They would have annihilated a lot of us Fussell. google my business from dodging creditors to. They are, on the one hand, says Bruce Page, the imperialist class-forces acting through Harry Truman and, on the other, those representing the humane, democratic virtuesin short, fascists as opposed to populists. But ironically the bomb saved the lives not of any imperialists but only of the low and humble, the quintessentially democratic huddled massesthe conscripted enlisted men manning the fated invasion divisions and the sailors crouching at their gun-mounts in terror of the Kamikazes. In 1945 Fussell had been a 20-year-old infantry second . Alsop concludes: Japanese surrender could never have been obtained, at any rate without the honor-satisfying bloodbath envisioned by Anami, if the hideous destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had not finally galvanized the peace advocates into tearing up the entire Japanese bookof rules. The Japanese plan to deploy the undefeated bulk of their ground forces, over two million men, plus 10,000 kamikaze planes, plus the elderly and all the women and children with sharpened spears they could muster in a suicidal defense makes it absurd, says Alsop, to hold the common view, by now hardly challenged by anyone, that the decision to drop the two bombs on Japan was wicked in itself, and that President Truman and all otherswho joined in making or who [like Robert Oppenheimer] assented to this decision shared in the wickedness. 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