Chapter 1
When did the bomb drop on Hiroshima?
August 6, 1945
What did Father Kleinsorge consider as evidence of "providential interference"?
His suitcase
When was Nagasaki bombed?
August 9th, 1945
What are the evidences that Mrs. Nakamura has radiation disease?
Hair loss, weakness, tiredness
What does "hibakusha" mean?
It means bomb-affected person in Japanese
What time did the bomb drop on Hiroshima?
8:15 am
Who is Mr. Fukai and why does he want to stay back?
He is the secretary of the diocese. He wants to stay back and die.
How much money did the U.S. spend on the atomic bomb?
2 billion gold dollars
Where is father Kleinsorge taken for his radiation disease treatment? (hint: the name of the hospital includes his religion)
The Catholic International Hospital in Tokyo.
What were the after-effects of radiation exposure to the body?
It led to cancer, radiation disease, cataracts, leukemia, birth defects, and stunted in growth
B-san or Mr. B
Where did many people evacuate after the bombing? What is the name of that park?
Asano Park
Why does Father Kleinsorge go to the police station?
He had been notified that if he suffered property damage in the hands of the enemy, they could enter a claim for compensation with the prefectural police.
What percentage of people within a half-mile of the center of the bomb were killed?
95%
Who are the Hiroshima Maidens?
Group of women who were bomb victims who went to the US for plastic surgery
Why is Dr. Sasaki considered lucky during the morning of the bombing?
Had he taken his customary train and waited longer for his taxi, he would have been closer to the center of the bombing (he didn't!).
What does "providential interference" mean?
When a "third power" intervenes within someone's life
According to the US president, how strong is the atomic bomb?
It was more powerful than twenty thousand tons of TNT
What was so important about Father Kleinsorge’s suitcase?
The way it was almost supernaturally standing upright unharmed gave Kleinsorge a sign that God was with him and protecting him.
Explain how American solders are associated with the orphanage at which Miss Sasaki works.
They are the father of many of them.
What happens during Dr. Sasaki's nightmare?
`What did Mrs Nakamura's sowing machine represent? Why is her dropping it significant?
It represented her way of life, her method of money. Her dropping it showed her leaving her life behind.
Why does Toshio Nakamura have nightmares?
He saw himself with his friend Hideo and the two burned to death; in reality, Hideo was the one who burned alive in a factory and this caused a lot of trauma for Toshio
Mrs. Nakamura is very poor and rents a shack. Father Kleinsorge recommends that she do one of two things. What are these two choices?
1. Work as a domestic for some of the allied occupation forces
2. Borrow from her relatives enough money to cure her
In the last sentence of the book, the author says that the world's memory was "getting spotty". What does this phrase mean, and why does the author say it?
"Getting spotty" means having started to forget. The phrase talks about how news get old after a while and the author says this to express how the world is constantly changing every day