Comparison Between 'Hiroshima And Soldiers' Stories

The way people learn about tragedies and times of war has usually been through statistics and other types of facts. These facts usually tell us a great deal about these experiences and what went on during these times. However, they do not tell us the whole story. We are not able to understand the reality of the situations and what the people were actually feeling. Two articles, “Hiroshima”, by John Berger, and “Soldiers’ Stories,” which includes accounts from various authors, show how there are other ways to show the experiences and emotions people go through during war. “Soldiers’ Stories” helps reinforce the ideas about expressing experiences and pain through forms of art in “Hiroshima.”
“Soldiers’ Stories” supports the idea shown in “Hiroshima”
Berger once believed he knew the entirety of the events that transpired in Hiroshima. He thought that the history books and constant news stories were enough for him to fully grasp what happened in Hiroshima. However, he realized just how wrong he was when he saw the different types of art done by the survivors of the Atomic Bomb. He was able to truly understand what transpired on this horrific day after viewing these amatuer pieces, as well as see the images for what they were, “images of Hell,” (237). These images having been done by people who have not “painted anything else” (237) since they left school, emphasized to Berger the intensity of this event. Without these types of images people do not truly understand the severity of events like these. One account from “Soldiers’ Stories” shows this. Captain Lisa R. Blackman was a clinical psychologist during her time in service. In her writing she explains the kinds of people that come and see her and the different problems they all have. She gives the examples of the guy who wasn’t sleeping, one girl was angry about sexual harassment in her unit, another girl was depressed, and one guy just wanted to go home ( 380-381). She continues to tell a story about soldiers’ responses to the question “‘Have you ever been in combat?’” (381). She explains how all four of the soldiers she asked this question to “burst into tears” when the word “combat” is mentioned (381). She explains that the crying goes on for minutes, and gets so intense that she once had to “mop [her] floor” after a session (381). Accounts like this one really show just how strongly art shows the feelings of people in war. People would never understand the feelings these soldiers have during their time in war, but when people read about 4 strong U.S. soldiers with “tears running” and “snot