Hiroshima Susan Sontag Analysis

The American Revolutionary War was the most important war in gaining America’s independence. Other than the statistics that showed the American troops being greatly outnumbered, the images drawn from the war display their true honor and persistence. Without the access these images, we would not be able to see the realities that the troops faced. The images of war serve to paint the emotions of the people involved in war and expose the real horrifying effects. Authors, John Berger and Susan Sontag, believe that images go hand-in-hand with war for these very reasons. In the article “Hiroshima,” Berger insists that people do not know the true devastation of the Hiroshima bombing because the images of the incident were kept. He believes that no …show more content…
Berger continues Sontag’s point about the importance of war images by providing the benefits it brings to the people outside of the war. Berger points out the flaw in relying upon the numbers of war, “Such statistics tend to distract. We consider numbers instead of pain. We calculate instead of judging. We relativize instead of refusing.” (319). Images provide an approach to war that statistics cannot do. After the bombing in Hiroshima, the people of America were not heartbroken over those who were bombed because of the low number casualties caused in relation to other wars and bombings. Berger did not see the true effects until the citizens of Hiroshima drew pictures showing their struggles. The horrible losses and illnesses citizens of Hiroshima had to endure were all evident in the drawings. No human could justify a means to cause that much harm to innocent people and Berger was able to see that through these drawings. The images allowed Berger to refute the bombing, and come to a conclusion that the people of Hiroshima were not the real enemies, but it was actually the violence that was used. The Hiroshima bombing appeared as justified and correct to the citizens of America, but turned out to be gruesome and