RUDRA SIR

AN EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER

9051036979 / 9883114819

A DOCTOR’S JOURNAL ENTRY FOR AUGUST 6, 1945.

Describe the morning which is referred to in the poem.

The morning which the narrator referred to is dated 6 th August, 1945. It is on this date that the United States of
America dropped an atom bomb name “Little Boy” on Hiroshima.

Describe the morning just before the flash of light appears.

The morning of 6th August, 1945 was similar to any other regular morning. It was a cloudless morning and the
sun had come out in its entire splendor. The people were engaged in their regular day to day activities while
some others were going to attend to their jobs. The atmosphere was calm and beautiful. The day’s work had
begun in the fields and offices.

What was the narrator or doctor doing before the flash of light?
The doctor who is also the narrator was lying half-clad or half-dressed that morning. He was gazing out at the
leaves of the trees and its shadows which were shining with the soft light of the morning’s half-risen sun.

Why did the strong flash startle the doctor? What did he debate about?
The doctor who sat relaxing and looking at the calm and relaxed morning was surprised to see a strong flash of
light. He was all the more surprised because it was a bright sunny day and the flash seemed to be brighter than
sunlight itself. He also noticed the old stone lantern getting brightly lit up due to the flash. So he debated within
himself regarding the cause of the flash. He thought perhaps the flare of the flash might be caused due to the
burning of magnesium because magnesium produces night flashes of light when burst.

Describe the condition of the poet and the house due to the impact of the explosion.
Upon seeing the flash of light, the poem was debating about the cause when the roof and walls of his house
collapsed along with the houses and other structures of the surroundings. This makes the poet comment that he
felt as if the whole world collapsed around him in a heap of timber and other debris. A strong wind made the dust
swirl around him. He was now thrown away into the garden from the relaxing atmosphere of his house which he
felt was all the more disturbing. To add to this, the undergarments of the narrato5r namely his drawers and
undershirt were all destroyed and gone. A splinter of glass jutted from his injured and mutilated thigh which he
took out. He saw his cheek was torn and blood was oozing out of it. The right side of his body was bleeding
profusely. All this destruction and bloodshed around made him wonder about what had happened.

Why was the narrator panic stricken?

Seeing the destruction and bloodshed all around him, the narrator of the poem or doctor was alarmed and
confused. Being alarmed and concerned about his wife whom he could not see anywhere, he called out to her.
However the exertion of calling out loudly made the blood gush out of his body with force. Being severely
injured, he could not make out where the blood was coming out from and wondered if it was the artery in his neck
which was the cause.

Who was Yecko-San? Describe her condition. What did they do after her arrival?
Yecko-San was the wife of the doctor who is also the narrator of the poem. Upon being called by her husband,
she appeared pale and blood-stained from the injuries that she had suffered. She was frightened out of her senses
regarding the occurrence of the events which had caused such destruction and bloodshed. She was holding her
elbow suggesting that perhaps she had fallen heavily thereby injured her elbow.
RUDRA SIR
AN EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER
9051036979 / 9883114819

The narrator was relieved on seeing his wife Yecko-San alive and consoling her, he proposed or suggested that
they should get out quickly. As they somehow stumbled on to the street, they tripped and fell over something that
lay on the street. On looking down the narrator saw that it was a human head on which he had stumbled. He
became ashamed and upset at his act, the man was in fact dead and so the repeated prayers for pardon were
useless. A gate had crushed the man and severed his head from his body. This suggests the sheer impact of the
blast which had made a gate crush a man and severe his head.

How did the house collapse and what happened then?

The house’s gate, which had crushed a man, appeared before the narrator and his wife. It stood in a tilted or
slanted condition. It was swaying from side to side before it collapsed and crashed. The fires sprung out fiercely
from the dust of the debris and were spread out all the more by the strong winds that blew.

Why did the narrator decide to get to the hospital but why could he not do so at first or why could his physical
condition fail him?
Seeing the destruction all around, the narrator realized that there must be many people who were injured and
needed aid. As a doctor it was his responsibility to help the wounded. So he decided to get to the hospital as
quickly as possible to help the injured people and guide his medical staff. However he wondered how he could
help them or others because he himself was severely injured.
The physical condition of the poet did not permit him to reach the hospital at first. Being injured in the leg he
was unable to walk and so he sat down on the found. His mutilated leg did not permit him to go away any more.
He could not find water anywhere in spite of being very thirsty. His physical suffering made his breath short.

Why was the narrator or doctor not ashamed in spite of being naked and who gave him a towel?
The tremendous explosion had made the narrator completely naked by taking away his undergarments and under
shirt. But the shock of the explosion, the destruction all around and his own physical harm had made him forget
the feeling of shame that one had on being naked. A soldier who stood silently with a towel round his neck gave
it to the narrator to cover himself.

Why did the narrator’s legs rebel and what did he tell to Yecko-San?
The tremendous explosion had severely injured the right side of the narrator or the doctor. A splinter of broken
glass had pierced his mutilated thigh. A lot of blood had already oozed out making him feel very weak. As a
result he had lost the power to walk. Besides, the dried bloods on his wounds made his legs stiff. So his legs
rebelled against him and did not allow him to stand on his feet.
He instructed his wife Yecko-San to go on and reach the hospital to get aid. At first she was unwilling to leave
the narrator in that distressful condition. But seeing no other alternatives she went on and obeyed his orders.

Explain the way the shadowy forms of people who were walking? Why were they walking in such a manner?
As the poet sat helplessly on the street after the departure of his wife, he saw the shadowy forms of the mutilated
and burnt people. Some of them appeared to be like ghosts while others were scare crows. Their hands were
burnt and mutilated and were dangling from their shoulders. Their faces contained the expression of unbearable
and indescribable pain. At first they could not realize the reason why they were walking in such a manner. But
then he realized that they were walking in such a manner to avoid the pain that is caused by burnt flesh chaffing
against each other. The friction of the burning skin pressing against each other was the reason for their straight
walking. They all seemed to be moving in a blank parade towards the hospital.

What thoughts came to the poet on seeing the naked woman and child and then a naked man?
RUDRA SIR
AN EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER
9051036979 / 9883114819

The narrator witnessed a woman carrying a naked child who was standing in the path. He felt a deep mental
agony on seeing them but could make out nothing. He wondered whether they had come out in this form from
the bath but was still at a loss of words. A little later he came across a naked man which set the narrator thinking
that probably some strange power had stripped them off their clothes. They had all become one in terms of
suffering and nakedness.

What does the suffering of the face of the old woman tell the poet?
The narrator came across an old woman who was lying on the ground with her face marred by unspeakable
suffering. Her face bore the expression of tremendous suffering caused due to the unbearable burns. In spite of
being in such great suffering she was silent and so were the others who were suffering like her. Silence was
common to all of them as well as their suffering and nakedness. The strong explosion had made everyone silent
and dumb. In spite of their suffering they could not utter a single word. Silence and suffering of the explosion
had made them all the same.

Ref. 1. Sprawling half clad, I gazed out at the form

Of shimmering leaves and shadows. Suddenly
A strong flash, then another, startled me.
I saw the old stone lantern brightly lit.
Magnesium flares? While I debated it, …….

Q1. Who is the narrator? State the theme of the poem?

Ans. The narrator is a medical doctor who describes his experiences, when the atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6th, 1945. It is an anti-war poem vividly describing the scene of fire, destruction,
blood, loss of limbs and death, through the doctor’s horrific experience of undergoing the ordeal.
The poem is a lyric with a regular rhyme scheme. It depicts the sorrow and suffering afflicted on the
victims after the devastation. Victims suffered physical agony, mental trauma as well as psychological shock.

Q2. Describe the fateful morning?

Ans. The doctor writes a journal entry of the day August 6th 1945, which began as a calm, beautiful, and warm
morning when the Japanese city of Hiroshima was bombed.

Q3. What was the doctor doing when this incident took him by surprise?

Ans. The doctor lay sprawled half-clad in drawers and undershirt, gazing at the leaves that were shimmering
and casting shadows.
Q4. What startled him? Why was he debating it?

Ans. A sudden strong flash, followed by another, startled the doctor and he saw the old stone lantern brightly
lit.
He debated whether these flashes were magnesium flares as they appeared extremely bright.

Q5. What plight was he in? Why had dust swirled around him? Which figure of speech describes vividly the
impact of the explosion on the narrator?
RUDRA SIR
AN EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER
9051036979 / 9883114819

Ans. The doctor’s drawers and undershirt disappeared as they had got burned due to the bomb explosion.
The roof and the walls, in fact the entire world had collapsed in timber and debris, swirling dust
around him, in the garden now.
The poet has used hyperbole to describe vividly the impact of the explosion on the narrator.

Ref. 2. …….and I
Dislodged, detachedly, a piece of glass,
All the time wondering what had come to pass.
Where was my wife?...

Q1. In what state of mind was the doctor? Give an account of the injuries sustained by him .

Ans. The doctor was alarmed, scared, and panic-stricken.

A splinter jutted from the doctor’s thigh, his right side bled, his cheek was torn and blood gushed
out from the artery in his neck when he called out to his wife.

Q2. What was his wife’s name? What did he notice when she appeared?

Ans. The doctor’s wife name was Yecko- san.

She emerged holding her injured elbow, looking pale, blood-stained and frightened.

Q3. How did the doctor reassure his wife?

Ans. The doctor told her that they would be fine and suggested that they should get out quickly.

Q4. Describe their encounter as they stepped into the street? How did the doctor react?

Ans. As they stumbled into the street they fell, tripped by something at their feet. The doctor gasped out as he
saw that it was a head; it was a man crushed to death by a gate.
The doctor apologized to the dead man for stepping on him.

Ref. 3. My legs gave way. I sat down on the ground.

Thirst seized me, but no water could be found.
My breath was short, but bit by bit my strength
Seemed to revive, and I got up at length.
I was still naked, but I felt no shame.

Q1. What further destruction, frightened doctor and his wife, immediately before this extract?

Ans. A house standing before them tilted, swayed, toppled, and crashed and fire sprang up in the dust, spread
by the wind.

Q2. Why did they want to hurry to the hospital?

Ans. It dawned on them that must get to the hospital as they were both badly wounded and needed aid.
RUDRA SIR
AN EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER
9051036979 / 9883114819

Q3. And I should help my staff too. (Though this made Sense to me then, I wonder how I could) Explain these
lines.

Ans. The doctor soon realized he had to reach the hospital to do his duty as his staff would need help in
attending to the victims who suffered injuries or loss of limbs due to the violent explosion.
Unfortunately the doctor himself had become a patient in need of medical aid. He too had suffered
injuries and his legs could not carry him to the hospital.

Q4. What prevented the doctor from accompanying his wife to the hospital? How did he justify his decision?

Ans. As the doctor’s legs were stiff with dried blood, they gave way and he sat down on the ground. Thirst
seized him, but no water could be found and his breath was short.
The doctor told his wife that she should go ahead to the hospital as she needed aid. She did not
wish to leave husband behind in that condition, but in their distress, they had no choice.

Q5. How has the poet depicted the quality of human goodness in spite of extreme suffering?

Ans. In spite of intense suffering and chaos, the goodness in human nature does not vanish. There is hope and
concern in the attitude of the doctor, who bleeds and wants to extend help to his staff, but is helpless. A soldier
too offers a towel to help the doctor cover up his nakedness.

Q6. Explain the symbolism of the above lines considering the post-war history of Japan.

Ans. These lines depict the horrors of a nuclear war and the after effects on humanity. It exposes the
humiliation and the nakedness caused by the bombing. The doctor was disturbed at the thought of not being
ashamed of his nakedness. These lines are symbolic of how man is reborn and shows the strength of the human-
being to withstand the worst of calamities. It was the indomitable will, spurred by determination, with which the
Japanese were able to rebuild their shattered city and transform Japan into one of the leading countries of the
world.

Ref. 4. …..A dreadful loneliness

Came over me when she had gone. My mind
ran at high speed, my body crept behind.
I saw the shadowy forms of people,…..

Q1. What were the narrator’s feelings after his wife went ahead to the hospital? Name and explain the figure
of speech in the narrator’s feelings.

Ans. A dreadful loneliness came over the doctor after his wife had gone.
The figure of speech is Personification. A dreadful loneliness is used to describe the helpless
condition of not only the doctor but all the survivors.

Q2. ‘My mind ran at high speed, my body crept behind’ Explain the disparity shown between the body and the
mind?
RUDRA SIR
AN EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER
9051036979 / 9883114819

Ans. The doctor’s body was weak, exhausted and injured and his stiff legs failed to get him to the hospital, but
his mind raced ahead as he started imagining blurred shapes of people looking like ghosts and scarecrows.

Q3. How does he describe the shadowy forms of people ?

Ans. The shadowy forms of people appeared as ghosts as they were dead, some appeared as scarecrows, all were
wordless dumb. He heard no cries of anguish, silence was common to all.

Q4. Where were these people headed to?

Ans. These people shuffled in blank parade towards the hospital.

Q5. What thoughts occupied his mind as he watched them pass by?

Ans. It took sometime for the doctor to realize that the friction on their burns caused so much pain, they feared to
chafe flesh against flesh and therefore these people walked with their arms stretched straight out.

Q6. Which scenes made him realize that something strange had happened?

Ans. The doctor was dismayed on seeing a woman with a child stand in his path. Both naked and he wondered
if they had come back from the bath. He then came across a naked man and this made him realize that something
strange had stripped them of their clothes.

Q7. What was the expression on the old woman’s face?

Ans. The face of an old woman on the ground was marred with suffering, but she made no sound.

Q8. Which examples show that the narrator failed to hear cries of anguish? Why was silence common to all?

Ans. The soldier who has a touch of humanity was standing ‘silently’, the ghosts and scarecrows were
‘wordless dumb’, those who could, shuffled in ‘blank parade’, and the old woman on the ground made ‘no
sound’.
There is the silence of death and deep psychological shock that was common to all.

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