THE SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JOHN HERSEY’S
WRITING STYLE IN
HIROSHIMA
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
JUVENTUS GEMBONG NUSANTARA
Student Number: 054214021
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
THE SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JOHN HERSEY’S
WRITING STYLE IN
HIROSHIMA
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
JUVENTUS GEMBONG NUSANTARA
Student Number: 054214021
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
Others have seen what is and asked why.
I have seen what could be and asked why not.
‐
Pablo
Picasso
In a war, a normal code of social life was suspended.
- James NachtweyFOR THE REST OF MY
The first one, I would like to thank the Almighty God for being inside me.
Thanks for the love and blessing upon me. I believe without the Almighty God’s
hand I will not have any power to finish this thesis. I do love the Almighty God
with my whole heart and soul.
I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. for helping
me in finishing this thesis. I thank for the patience, guidance, advice, time, and
support. This thesis would not complete without his help.
I would like to thank my co-advisor, J. Harris H. Setiajid, S.S., M. Hum.
for helping me in finishing this thesis. This thesis would never be completed
without his guidance, time, support and advice.
Then I would like to express my gratitude toward my family especially my
parents, my grandmother and my brother who pray for me every day. They always
give me love and support until this thesis finish. I dedicate this thesis for them.
Next I would like to express my gratitude toward Chatarina Trihastuti.
Thanks for the days we have spent together in finishing this thesis.
x
ABSTRACT
JUVENTUS GEMBONG NUSANTARA. The Special Characteristics of John Hersey’s Writing Style in HIROSHIMA. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2010.
In 1960’s, there was a new genre of journalism called as literary journalism or narrative journalism. This genre involves the strength of novel into journalistic work. Although it involves the strength of a novel, narrative journalism is not always a novel. HIROSHIMA is one work of narrative journalism. HIROSHIMA was a news report written by John Hersey. It was published for the first time on August 30, 1946 by the weekly magazine The New Yorker. Three months after, HIROSHIMA was republished by Alfred A Knopf in a book form, and later on HIROSHIMA is called as a novel. HIROSHIMA has certain characteristics of the writing style to be categorized as a novel.
The study covers two main problems. The first problem is to find the journalistic elements of HIROSHIMA. The second problem is to find the characteristics of HIROSHIMA that make it similar to a novel.
In order to answer the problems, this study used an analytical method. The first is data collection and the second is analysis based on the data. In the data collection, all the elements of journalism and novel are identified in the text of HIROSHIMA. From the finding of the identification, the next step is analyzing the writing style of HIROSHIMA based on the utilization of the journalistic work and novel elements.
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JUVENTUS GEMBONG NUSANTARA. The Special Characteristics of John Hersey’s Writing Style in HIROSHIMA. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2010.
Pada tahun 1960an ada sebuah aliran baru dalam jurnalisme, disebut sebagai jurnalisme sastrawi atau jurnalisme narasi. Aliran ini memasukkan kekuatan novel kedalam penulisannya. Walaupun aliran ini memasukkan kekuatan novel, tidak semua karya jurnalisme narasi adalah sebuah novel. HIROSHIMA adalah satu dari banyak karya jurnalisme narasi. HIROSHIMA adalah laporan berita yang ditulis oleh John Hersey. Pertama kali HIROSHIMA diterbitkan pada 30 Agustus 1946 oleh majalah mingguan The New Yorker. Tiga bulan kemudian, HIROSHIMA diterbitkan kembali oleh penerbit Alfred A Knopf dalam bentuk buku, yang kemudian disebut sebagai sebuah novel. Jadi HIROSHIMA dikategorikan sebagai karya jurnalistik dan novel. HIROSHIMA memiliki gaya penulisan yang khas untuk dikategorikan sebagai novel.
Penelitian ini mencakup dua masalah pokok. Pertama adalah mencari elemen jurnalistik di dalam HIROSHIMA. Kedua adalah mencari karateristik dari HIROSHIMA yang membuatnya sama dengan sebuah novel.
Dalam urutan analisis untuk menjawab permasalahan tersebut, penelitian ini menggunakan metode analisa. Pertama adalah pengumpulan data dan kedua adalah menganalisa berdasarkan hasil dari data temuan. Dalam pengumpulan data, semua elemen jurnalistik dan novel diidentifikasikan didalam text HIROSHIMA. Dari temuan identifikasi kemudian dianalisa gaya penulisan HIROSHIMA berdasarkan penggunaan elemen jurnalistik dan novel.
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
In 1960’s journalism in U.S. experienced a saturated situation in reporting
(Setiati, 2005: 43). Printed media had to strive against domination of electronic
media. Electronic media have the competitive advantage of giving up-to-date
information quickly. Starting from this saturated point, journalists of printed
media in U.S. tried to make different report that electronics media did not have.
Feature as a media deep report became a way out from saturation that covers
printed media. Kurnia in his book “Jurnalisme Sastra” (2002: 27) states feature is
a kind of journalistic report that has no deadline and it has light news. Feature
covers up humanity-theme-story, and it is also a long, detail, and deep story.
Years before, feature was called the writer’s masterpiece. It was so because the
writer was able to cover up minor news and changed it to major news by
maximizing human-interest point in the story (p.30).
Feature as pioneer of literary journalism has tone and unique style. The
journalists pay attention on fact selection, quotation, diction, and length of
sentences and paragraph (p.30). Kurnia gives example of feature of rock
musician and classic musician. In rock music feature, the journalists usually
write short sentences and in every paragraph the journalists use one or two
sentences. It is to match the feature with the beat of rock music. The journalists
will use different style if they write about classic musician. Long sentences and
calmness and taste of classic music become the focus of the journalist when the
journalist writes about classic music.
Kurnia (p.4) assumes that there are at least two reasons why literary emerges
and joins with journalism. The first is at that time a novel become a fever in
society. Writing style in novel is the trendsetter in writing. The second is in
effort of giving good competition to electronics media or audiovisual media.
Printed-journalists are tired of tight routine and tight procedure in writing report.
The monotonous in writing and covering procedure limit the journalist’s space
and their creativity.
Journalism needs something new and fresh. Kurnia (p.5) adds that they,
journalists, do not only write the fact but also give the readers detail of facts and
deep reports. Wolfe states in his book The New Journalism (1973: 25), all
journalistic students want to write not only a journalism report but also a novel,
like the experts do. Writing style of novel has entered in journalism reporting
and changes the standard of feature writing. A journalistic report is more like a
novel but non-fiction because all events are fact.
Literary journalism is one of three names of the writing genres in United
States that involves deep reportage and uses literary style. Some others say that it
is narrative journalism because it involves events, characters and actions
(Harsono, 2005: viii). Clark in his Nieman report “Essays on Craft” (2006)
remakes new 5W1H elements, “who” becomes “character”, “what” becomes
“action set in time”, “where” becomes “setting”, “when” becomes “chronology”,
3
Publishing The New Journalism (1973), Tom Wolfe and EW Johnson
introduce this kind of writing genre in journalism report as the answer of the
challenges, to compete with electronic media. The book is an anthology of
journalism report written by Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion, Truman Capote,
Jimmy Breslin, and Tom Wolfe himself. Wolfe titles its second part of preface
with “Like a Novel” (pp.10-23). His statement is based on the quality of literary
journalism. Literary journalism includes the novel strengths into journalistic
report and produces non-fiction writing as good as a novel (fiction). Reading
literary journalism reports is felt like reading a novel. It can bring readers to
come inside the incident not just the story. Commonly literary journalism works
do not tell what happened, but how it happened.
The reason HIROSHIMA is chosen because it is the most suitable work to be
analyzed journalistically and literally. HIROSHIMA is a journalistic work and a
novel at the same time (Crawford, 1953: 279). It was a journalistic work when it
was published in The New Yorker Magazine, and it is a novel when Alfred A
Knopf published it in a book. The other reason is HIROSHIMA is the best
narrative in the history of American Journalism chosen by 37 experts of history,
journalism, writing, and academic from 100 best narratives in United States
(Harsono, 2005: xiv).
HIROSHIMA has some interesting things that lay behind. First, the atomic
bomb dropped by a B-29 had killed thousands victims. Hiroshima bombing is
well known as the most tragic accident in the history of human kind. In this case
was inspired by The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder in the point of
view and in the writing style of HIROSHIMA (Harsono, 2001.
www.pantau.or.id/detailartikel.php ?id=5). Second, the bombing of Hiroshima
has a role in Indonesian Proclamation August 17th 1945. Indonesia could declare
its independence because there was a vacuum of power after Japan surrendered
to the Allied (Ricklefs, 2001: 425-426).
B. Problem Formulation.
In order to guide and limit the points of discussion, several research questions
relate to the topic are prepared. The questions are formulated as follows:
1. What are the journalistic elements in HIROSHIMA?
2. What are the characteristics of HIROSHIMA that make it similar to novels?
C. Objectives of the Study.
Based on the problem formulation above, this study has two objectives.
Basically this study tries to find out the journalistic elements in HIROSHIMA,
things that make it become journalistic work. After finding out its journalistic
elements, this study tries to discover the characteristics of HIROSHIMA that make
it similar to the novels; things that make HIROSHIMA called as a novel.
D. Benefit of the study
Like other researches, this research also has benefit. Expectantly, this
research can be useful for students, young writers and young journalists. Students
5
journalists can use this research as the reference if they want to write a narrative
journalism.
E. Definition of terms
There are some terms to be explained to prevent an ambiguity. All the
definitions are taken from trustworthy sources such as Glossary of Literary Terms
by Abrams and Dictionary of Stylistic by Wales.
A Character is a person in the story, novel or narration. The character lives in
story physically and psychologically. Dialogue and action are the indication of
character existence. Dialogue and action are the ways of expressing feeling and
thought of the character. Abrams explained character in his book A Glossary of
Literary Term sixth edition as
The persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral dispositional and emotion qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and by what they do – the action. (1985: 35)
Based on A Dictionary of Stylistic (2001: 6) “an action refers to physical acts
or activities, speeches and thoughts”. Then, action set in time is what happens in a
particular time or a situation in a particular time. It usually begun with a question
“What happens in that time?” The expected answer is mostly in detail.
The next term is setting. Abrams (1985: 192) said that setting is general
locale, historical time and social circumstances in which the action takes place.
Setting is not only related with place or location and time. Yet, it is also related
economic, culture, morality, ethic, way of thinking, inter-personal relationship and
emotion.
Chronology replaces for “when” element in journalism. In literary, the
common term for chronology is plot. Again, Abrams (p.159) defines plot or
chronology as a series of events that are arranged in time order toward achieving
particular emotion and artistic effects. There are some techniques of writing the
chronology. The writer can use forward plot, from beginning to the end. Second,
the writer can write the plot with flashback style. The writing from the end goes
backward to the past. Or the writer combines it, uses the forward and backward
style at the same writing.
Motive or motivation is a reason for someone to do or to say something.
Abrams explains it as “the grounds in the character’s temperament, desires, mad
moral nature for their speech and action” (p.23).
The last is “narrative” as the extension of “how”. Narrative is a story
involving characters, characters’ action, and events as described by Abrams
(p.123). Similar to the previous definition, A Dictionary of Stylistic (2001: 264)
defines narrative as “a story of happening or events, either real or imaginary”.
According to this dictionary as well, narrative is narrated in words, speeches and
in writing; and it can be visualized on stage, film or mime. In this case the
narrative is narrated in writing because HIROSHIMA was written in newspaper or
7 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is a review on related
studies. This review is to see the stand of this research and to support this
research. There are two related studies used in this research. The first study is an
article in Yale Alumni Magazine by Carter Wiserman (1993). The second study is
an article written by Steve Rothman. The next part is the review on related
theories. It contains some theories used in the analysis. The last part is the
theoretical framework. The theoretical framework explains briefly how the
theories are applied in the analysis systematically.
A. Review on Related Studies
Carter Wiserman, Hersey’s classmate in Yale University wrote in Yale
Alumni Magazine (www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/93_10/hersey.html;
1993) that Hersey’s writing style was a combination of fact and fiction. Wiserman
says Hersey had capability to write a narrative the same as its reality.
A unique relationship between reportage and fiction was to become his hallmark. A reporter, he could convey vividly the truth of a situation as he saw it. Marshaling an immense troop of facts, shaping them, giving prominence as he saw fit, he went beyond the surface narrative to reveal a further dimension. And that dimension almost invariably involved the individual person -- the soldier on foot, the plain citizen, the ordinary and faintly bewildered member of a confused society ... But the fiction is as spare in its reliance on realistic detail as had been the reporting; and sometimes (and indeed in his best work) the two forms become supplementary and almost indistinguishable. (1993)
Wiserman says Hersey could write a narrative as it was because Hersey saw
8
Hersey is he can mix between fiction and fact nicely. Hersey can write a realistic
event with fiction taste. The reportage writing can serve as a novel. These two
unique combinations almost cannot be separated from each other and from Hersey
as a writer.
This research was conducted to support Wiserman’s opinion. This research
supports Wiserman’s opinion by its analysis on Hersey’s writing style in
HIROSHIMA. Hersey is well-known as a journalist who includes the strength of
fiction in reportage writing. Most of his reportages contain fiction elements, and
Hiroshima is the one example of it.
Steve Rothman argues that Hiroshima was written in coolness, simplicity, and
easiness. His argument is supported by Hersey’s letter to Boyer. Rothman argues
that Hersey’s style is good in persuading the readers.
Hiroshima was written in a dry, calm manner that struck some readers as emotionless but permitted the survivors' stories to speak for themselves. Forty years after he wrote the article, Hersey said in a letter to historian Paul Boyer, "The flat style was deliberate, and I still think I was right to adopt it. A high literary manner, or a show of passion, would have brought me into the story as a mediator; I wanted to avoid such mediation, so the reader's experience would be as direct as possible”. (http://www.herseyhiroshima.com/hiro.php)
Definitely, by analyzing Hersey’s writing style in HIROSHIMA, this research
supports what Rothman wrote in his article. In the way of writing HIROSHIMA,
Hersey chooses not to involve himself too far in the story. It gives enough spaces
for the readers to get involve into the six survivors’ life. Relationship between
survivors and readers can be built freely without the writer’s disturbance. It is
9
B. Review on Related Theories
In doing analysis, theories are needed to support the answers. Based on
problem formulation, theories are taken from literature (intrinsic elements) and
journalism. There are seven theories from literature. They are Theme, Character
and Characterization, Story and Plot, Point of View, Setting, Style and Irony.
From journalism there are two persons whose theories are used. They are Robert
Vare and Roy Peter Clark. Both are tutors of journalism in Nieman Foundation,
Harvard University. Clark is also a teacher in Poynter Institute, Florida.
Vare (Harsono, 2005; ix) make conditions of seven considerations in writing
narrative journalism. The seven considerations are Fact, Conflict, Character,
Access, Emotion, Series of Time, and Fresh. Whereas Clark (2006) redefine
5W1H to write a story, “who” becomes “character”, “what” becomes “action set
in time”, “where” becomes “setting”, “when” becomes “chronology”, “why”
becomes “motive” and “how” becomes “narrative”.
1. Theme
Theme is similar to motif (leitmotif in German). Colwell says theme is to
“express some conviction or belief about the way things are” (1968:17). The
theme is what is meant by the story or what the writer wants to say through the
work. It is “a general concept or doctrine … is designed to incorporate and make
persuasive to the readers” (Abrams, 1985:121). It is the idea that the writer wants
to speak through the story. In every story there must be theme because a theme is
the embryo of story. Any kind of art work has theme. Colwell states how theme is
10
Most serious stories – including funny stories … express a conviction about the world or some part of it. Many art forms other than stories and fables embody theme. In fact, all verbal forms tend to, including of course poetry and drama. Even comic strips may have themes … (1968:17).
2. Character and Characterization
In every narrative or a novel, character is a must. Characters can be human,
animal or plant (animal and plant only exist in fairy tale). As cited by Harsono
(2005: xiii), Vare states that narrative journalism needs characters. Characters are
needed to tight the story. There are two main qualities in character’s case
(Colwell, 1968:10-13). First is morality. Aristotle’s Poetic defines character as
moral quality, goodness and badness. It can be seen when one says “she has a lot
of character” – she has good morality. Second is personality. It defines character
as a personal and unique person. It sees a character different from other
characters.
Abrams combines those two qualities to define character as:
The persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral dispositional and emotion qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and by what they do – the action. (1985:35)
Commonly the appearance of the character can be drawn from the narration
or the other character description. According to Murphy (1972; 161) there are nine
ways of characterization.
a. Personal Description
The author describes the characters’ appearance directly, from physical body
and the clothes. The physical body for example the skin, the hair, the height, the
11
b. Character as Seen by Another
Here, the author through another character in the story describes a certain
character’s appearance and nature. As similar as the personal description, the
description of character as seen by another is covering the physical things of the
character. Additional, the description is not through the conversation.
c. Speech
Through the speech, the character’s nature is described. The description can
be the character’s speech or in the conversation through another character’s
speech. Murphy (1972; 164) explains as “whenever a person speaks, whenever he
is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving
us some clue to his character”.
d. Past Life
The character’s personality is formed by past life. By giving the information
of the characters past life, the author gives the readers clue of the character’s
nature. It is covering whatever in past life, does not matter the way of description.
“This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thought,
through his conversation or through the medium of another person” as Murphy
explains (1972; 166).
e. Conversation of Others
The author gives clue about the character’s nature through the others
characters conversation. The character becomes the object of the others characters
conversation. Through this conversation, some clues or descriptions of a certain
12
f. Reactions
The author gives a clue to a character’s nature by showing the character’s
reactions toward events or situations. The reaction of the character can show the
readers about the emotion, the behavior and the mindset of the character.
g. Direct Comments
Directly, the author describes or gives comment on the character’s nature.
The difference of direct comment to personal description is the direct comment
mostly about the psychological things, not the physical things.
h. Thoughts
Here the author uses omniscient narrator. The way the author gives
knowledge about the character’s nature is by letting the readers know what the
character is thinking about. It is only accepted in the novel.
i. Mannerisms
Through the manner of the character, the author describes the character’s
nature. The manner of the character is habitual or idiosyncrasy.
Based on the characters’ changing, characters are divided into two. The first
is a flat character. A flat character usually only has few qualities described by the
narrator. It makes the character scarcely change his or her morality value because
the changing of morality value needs support from complex and a lot of qualities
of the character, to make the changing acceptable (Colwell, 1968: 10-13). The
second is a round character. A round character has many qualities. The
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a reason why the character is changed. The change of a character not just happens
suddenly without any reason.
In every single story, a conspicuous character is a must. It is needed to lead
the story. There can be one or more prominent characters in a story. It is called
the protagonist. The protagonist becomes the center of interest and the leading
character in the story (p.15). Mostly, there is a character that against the
protagonist’s will, it is called the antagonist. An antagonist always stands on the
opposite land of protagonist. The antagonist is needed to keep the story runs in
balance.
3. Story and Plot
At a glance there is no different between story and plot, both are a narrative
of events. E.M. Forster in his analysis “The Story and The Plot” (2000: 44-46)
explains there is a different between story and plot. He defines “a story as a
narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence”. While he defines plot “also
as a narrative of events, the emphasis falling on causality”. It is the emphasis point
that differentiates story and plot. Forster gives example to differentiate story and
plot; the king died and then the queen died is a story but “the king died and then
the queen died of grief is a plot”. Both the story and plot preserving events or
actions in series of time, but plot highlighting on causality. Common questions to
differentiate story and the plot are ‘And then?’ for story (becomes chronology)
and ‘Why?’ for the plot.
Barry (2002: 223) defines story in a novel as “being the events as they
14
with nothing left out”. Furthermore, the plot is “those events as they are edited,
ordered, packaged and presented … may well begin somewhere in the middle of
the chain of events, and may then backtrack, providing us with a ‘flashback’”
(p.223). The plot is used to get a certain effect by the arrangement of the events.
The plot is an important element in narrative. Even Aristotle recognizes the plot
more important than characters Aristotle says that “the plot, then, is the first
essential of tragedy, its life-blood, so to speak, and characters take the second
place” (Mcquillan, 2000:41).
4. Point of View
In reading a narrative, there must be a point from where the story is told.
“’What is the point of view?’ is virtually the question “From where is the story
seen?’” (Colwell, 1968: 20). Colwell compares point of view with watching a
television show. What is shown on television is a point where audiences see the
scene. On the screen, the point of view is a viewpoint and in written narrative the
scene is imagined from the narration. Abrams describes a point of view as “the
way a story gets told – the mode (or modes) established by an author by means of
which the readers is presented with the characters, dialogue, actions, setting and
events …” (1985:165).
A point of view is divided into two; first-person point of view and
third-person pint of view (p.166). In the first-third-person point of view, the narrator acts as
the character in the story and refers to the character as “I” (p.167). Whereas the
third-person point of view is divided into two; the omniscient point of view and
15
third-person to know everything about the characters, including the characters
thought, felt and experienced. While the limited point of view, the narrator tells
the story from the third-person but limited in the characters thought, felt, and
experienced; or the narrator only knows the characters in a surface. There is a
narrator that has an omniscient quality but limited, it is called as a selective
omniscient narrator (pp.166-167).
In a non-fiction narrative, the common way used as a point of view is a
third-person point of view. A third-third-person point of view is the most objective mode to
tell a non-fictional narrative. In non-fictional narrative what is told is a fact, true
and not writer-made. “In the non-fictional world, it is true, the normal convention
would be to use third-person terms of reference to talk about objective events that
can be observed and reported on” (Verdonk, 2002: 41).
There are four tools to write literary journalism. One of it is a third-person
point of view (Kurnia, 2002: 67). “In a third-person narrative, the narrator is
someone outside the story proper who refers to all the characters in the story as
name, or as “he”, “she”, “they’” (Abrams, 1985: 166). Later, Abrams explains an
omniscient third-person point of view:
The convention that the narrator knows everything that needs to be known about the agents, action and events, and also has privileged access to the characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motives; and that the narrator is free to move at will in time and place, to shift from character to character, and to report (or conceal) their speech, doings, and states of consciousness (p.166).
In journalism, the writers or journalists must be objective toward what he or
she writes about. The objectivity of journalists can be seen from the objectivity of
16
most part describes reports, or “shows” the action in dramatic scenes without
introducing his own comments or judgments” (p.166).
5. Setting
The setting of a novel relate to three dimensional world; when, where, what
social context. Abrams defines setting as “a general locale, historical time, and
social circumstances in which its action occurs” (p.192). The setting in any kind
of literary work is useful to generating the atmosphere (p.193). The setting also
helps the readers to understand the story by looking at the social-historical
background of the story.
Moreover, in the narrative journalism, the setting is the reality and contains
these two aspects, “where” and “when”. It is not a single of time but a series of
time. As the result of the series of time, it is arranged in chronology.
6. Conflict
A conflict is a situation of disagreement on ideas, opinions, principles and
interest (p.159). A conflict is needed to keep the attention on a long story or
narrative (Harsono, 2005: xii). Conflict makes a story interesting and attracting to
the readers so it is an important element. A conflict can be between people to
people, or inter group. It might happen to people and his or her feeling, and people
with social norm. There are two categories of conflict; major conflict and minor
17
7. Motive
A character has a motive in certain action. A motive is a reason why the
character does such an action (Abrams, 1985: 23). The actions also include a
speech. The reason of action covers temper, desires and moral personality. All the
physical action and speech done by the characters are supported by their motive;
or in other words there must be a reason behind the characters’ action. Like the
character’s changes, the character’s action is not just happened suddenly too,
without any motive or reason.
8. Style
Traditionally Abrams defines style as a “manner of linguistic expression”
(p.203). Style can be varied. In standard of rhetoric theories, style is classified into
three stages; high or grand, middle or mean, low or plain (p.203). The common
rhetorical devices are simile, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and
personification.
a. Simile
Simile is a figure of speech that gives comparison of one thing with another
different kind of thing (Apple Inc., New Oxford American Dictionary). The
comparison is indicated by word “like” or “as”.
b. Metaphor
Abrams (1985: 67) defines it as an expression of one kind of thing or action
that is applied to another thing or action which it is not applicable literally.
18
c. Metonymy
Metonymy is a substitution of the name of attribute to mean another thing that
is closely related in common experiences (p.68).
d. Synecdoche
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something to represent the
whole thing (vice versa) or the whole thing to represent a part of that thing (p.69).
e. Personification
Personification (in Greek Prosopoeia) is a figure of speech of an inanimate or
abstract object is represented in human quality form (Apple Inc., New Oxford
American Dictionary).
9. Narrative
Abrams (1985: 123) defines narrative as a story of events involving
characters that is told by the narrator. Wales (2001: 264) explains it can be “real”
or “imaginary” events. “Real” narratives are newspaper report, confession and
historical record. Then, the “imagery” narratives are comic strips, epic poems,
ballads, novels and short stories.
Narrative also can be the way of telling the story. In the journalism the
narrative using four tools; scene-by-scene construction, dialogue, third person
point of view, and tells the details (Kurnia, 2002; 45-88). From the scene-by-scene
construction it can create parallel narrative, as Clark calls (http://www.niemwn.
harvard.edu/narrative/essay/narrativedigestessayoncraft.html). Parallel narrative is
19
other. Clark also adds that the dialogue can have a role as subordinate narrator,
which is a narration inside the narration.
10. Irony
Irony makes a story strong and powerful. It can attract readers’ attention and
emotion. Irony also makes readers involve in the story because readers are invited
to think about the events. In literary works, irony is a required need; one way to
judge a literary work is good or not is by looking at its irony. Irony involves
conflict between what one speaker says and what the author means, what one
speaker says and what readers know to be case, or between one speaker says and
what speaker means. There are three kinds of irony; verbal irony, situational irony
and dramatic irony (Colwell, 1968: 38). Verbal irony is discrepancy of what
speaker says and what speaker means. Situational irony is discrepancy between
what is expected to be and reality. Dramatic irony is discrepancy between what
speaker knows and readers know. In general irony is “a conflict, a contrast,
between what is said or thought from one point of view or attitude and what is
said or thought from another (p.38).
11. Elements of Narrative Journalism: Fact, Access, Emotion, and Fresh
Fact, Fresh, Emotion and Access are elements of narrative journalism that
created by Robert Vare (Harsono, 2005: xii-xiv). These four elements are placed
in the same section because they are short, simple and one group in journalism.
Additionally, the source of fact, fresh, emotion and access is only one source. The
20
dictionary is used as the source because the term of fact, fresh, emotion and access
are common term not special term. Yet, after it is related to narrative journalism,
these terms have interrelationship with the text.
In any kind of journalism, including narrative journalism or literary
journalism, fact is the most important and the first priority. The fact is sacred in
journalism. The fact is defined as “the truth about events as opposed to
interpretation” (New Oxford American Dictionary). Every detail of events that
was written on narrative journalism is based on fact. The journalist is not allowed
to add some information or detail based on s/he imagination.
To get all the fact of the story a journalist must get an access to the character
of the story. The access is as close as and as deep as possible to the character.
Access is “a right or opportunity to approach or see someone” (New Oxford
American Dictionary). The access to the character is needed by the journalist to
do some deep and intense interview. This kind of interview is needed to get all the
detail about the story.
As conditions by Robert Vare (Harsono, 2005:xiii) the next element in
writing a narrative journalism is emotion, a story must include emotion to make
the character alive. According to the dictionary, “emotion is any of the particular
feeling that characterizes such a state of mind, such as joy, love, anger, hate,
horror and etc”. Emotion is also needed to get the readers intention and
involvement to the story.
To avoid dullness, a narrative should contain new information although it is
21
easier to report new things from different point of view. A journalist should find
something fresh, “not previously known or used; new and different” (New Oxford
American Dictionary).
12. Stylistics
Peter Barry stated that “stylistics is a critical approach which uses the
methods and findings of the sciences of linguistic in the analysis of literary text”
(2002: 203). Barry (p.203) also adds that stylistics maintains accumulation of
knowledge by empirical investigation of external phenomena. Stylistics always
uses empirical investigation on every phenomenon. Stylistics provides “hard”
data from literature but it is not conceding literature in a high level. Stylistics
concedes literary language as common field; that is why stylistics also can be
applied to political speeches, advertisement, newspaper headline and so on (p.
204). Abrams (1985: 283) sees this as a study of style analysis in literary texts.
C. Theoretical Framework
This research has two problems to answer. The first is what the journalistic
elements in HIROSHIMA are. The second is what characteristics of HIROSHIMA
make it similar to novels. To answer the first problem, it is used the narrative
journalism elements by Robert Vare (Harsono, 2005: xii-xiv) and Roy Peter Clark
(http://www.niemwn.harvard.edu/narrative/essay/narrativedigestessayoncraft.ht
ml). Vare (pp.xii-xiv) makes condition of seven considerations in writing
narrative journalism. They are fact, conflict, character, access, emotion, series of
22
journalism theory, 5W1H. The new extension of 5W1H element is “who”
becomes “character”, “what” becomes “action set in time”, “where” becomes
“setting”, “when” becomes “chronology”, “why” becomes “motive” and “how”
becomes “narrative”.
Later, these two categories are unified because there are some elements that
are similar. Therefore the elements of journalism are Character, Setting, Conflict,
Motive, Narrative, Fact, Access, Emotion, and Fresh. The Setting group includes
Series of the time, Action set in Time, Chronology, Setting of Time, and Setting
of Place.
Step by step, each theory is used to help analyzing HIROSHIMA. First, the
theory of character is used to find the characters of HIROSHIMA. Second, the
theory of setting is used in finding the setting of HIROSHIMA. It includes the
chronology arrangement as the result of the series of the time in the story. The
next one is searching the conflict in HIROSHIMA using the theory of conflict.
Forth, the theory of motive is used to find the reason of the action. There are two
steps in the motive analysis. The first step is looking at the characters action; and
then the second step is looking out the motive or reason of character’s action. The
fifth is the theory of narrative. Narrative here tends to the way the author tells the
story. It is more like finding out the strategy of Hersey in telling HIROSHIMA.
Next, the theory of fact is used to see the fact of HIROSHIMA. The seventh
theory used is theory of access. It is used to help in seeing John Hersey’s access to
the characters. Eight, the theory of emotion is used in discovering the emotion
23
information; consider that tragedy of Hiroshima had past one year before
HIROSHIMA published.
After analyzing the first problem, the next is to answer the second problem.
The second problem is related with literature, especially a novel. To answer the
second problem, it is used the basic characteristics or intrinsic elements of the
novel. These basic characteristics are theme, character and characterization, story
and plot, point of view, setting, style and irony. These seven intrinsic elements of
literature are used as conditions for a work, in this case HIROSHIMA, to be called
as novel (Crawford, 1953:279).
The first theory is the theory of theme. Theory of theme is used to find out
what the theme of HIROSHIMA is. All literary works including novel have theme.
Theme is the main element of literature work. The second theory is the character
and characterization. Character and characterization are used to find out the
character in HIROSHIMA and the characterization of that character
The third theory is story and plot. This theory is used to discover what the
story and plot of HIROSHIMA is. The fourth is point of view. Theory of point of
view is used to find out what kind of point of view is used in telling story of
HIROSHIMA.
The fifth theory is setting. Commonly all literary works especially novel has
setting. Setting is needed to generate atmosphere. Once again, theory of setting is
used to see what the setting of HIROSHIMA is and its contribution in building the
atmosphere. The sixth theory is style. Every author has style in writing, so does
24
HIROSHIMA is discovered. The last theory is irony. A good literary work is also
judged by its irony. Since irony is an important point to evaluate a literary work,
includes novel; this analysis uses the theory of irony to find out the irony in
HIROSHIMA.
The theory of stylistic is used to make a conclusion based on the finding of
hard data in the analysis of the first and second problem.
25 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter contains three parts. The first part is object of the study. This
part explains about HIROSHIMA. It gives information about the kind of work, the
printed version, publisher, special record of HIROSHIMA and what the
HIROSHIMA is generally about. The second part is the approach of this study.
This part explains what kind of approach has been used in conducting the
analysis. The application procedure of approach is explained in detail. It is
explained the reason why the approach has been used in doing the analysis. The
last part is method of the study. This part contains three subparts. The first subpart
states the kind of this research; which is field research. The second subpart states
sources that have been used in the analysis. The sources are classified into
primary sources and secondary sources. The last subpart in method of the study is
the chronology of the analysis. This subpart explains specifically the steps in
doing the analysis.
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study was HIROSHIMA. HIROSHIMA was a reportage
about atomic bombing over Hiroshima, Japan on August 6th, 1945. HIROSHIMA
was written by John Hersey. There were two impressions of HIROSHIMA. The
first are a magazine impression. This impression was published by The New
Yorker, a weekly magazine (Hersey, 1946: 1). This impression was published on
bombing on Hiroshima. HIROSHIMA was a so special article that was why it took
the whole pages of the magazine when it was published.
The second impression was in a book form (Rothman, 1997: http://www.
herseyhiroshima.com/hiro.php), later which was called as novel (Crawford, 1953:
279). This impression was published on November 1946 by Alfred A Knopf
(Rothman, 1997: http://www. herseyhiroshima.com/hiro.php). HIROSHIMA was a
four-chaptered reportage in 115 pages of book. The chapters were entitled as
follow A Noiseless Flash, The Fire, Details Are Being Investigated, and Panic
Grass and Feverfew. Although there were two impressions of HIROSHIMA, only
one form was used namely the book form. It was because the book form was
easier to be found and there was no revision on a book form, it was stated that
“NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED” (it was stated in a page after the
title page, published by Bantam Books, 1975). The revised edition was published
later on July 15, 1985 by The New Yorker entitled HIROSHIMA: THE
AFTERMATH (Rothman, 1997: http://www.herseyhiroshima.com/hiro.php).
HIROSHIMA was the best narrative in 20th century in the history of American
Journalism chosen by 37 experts of history, journalism, writing, and academic
from 100 best narratives in the United States (Harsono, 2005:xiv). HIROSHIMA
got an award from New York Times as New York Times Bestseller in 1946
(http://www. librarything.com/work/45205). HIROSHIMA also got an honor for
New York Public Library Book for Teen Age (http://www.random
house.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780679721031&view=awards). In 1950
27
Jewish Book (http://www.jewcy.com/tags/john_hersey). In 2006 HIROSHIMA
was adapted into radio by The Pasifica Radio Achieves and received a National
Federation of Community Broadcasters Special Merit Award
(http://pasificaradioarchieves.org/browse. recording.php?recid=233&catid=6).
HIROSHIMA was a story about six survivors from the atomic bombing on
Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. There were Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a personnel
clerk; Dr. Masakazu Fujii, a physician; Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, a tailor's widow
with three small children; Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, a German missionary
priest; Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, a young surgeon; and the Reverend Mr. Kiyoshi
Tanimoto, a Methodist pastor. HIROSHIMA traced back their experiences,
starting from when the six survivors woke up that morning, a moment before the
blast, to what they were doing the moment of the blast and the next few hours,
what happened to them through the next several days and ended with the
conditions of the six survivors several months later after the atomic bombing.
B. Approach of the Study
In the analysis, the stylistic approach has been used. Peter Barry stated that
“stylistics is a critical approach which uses the methods and findings of the
sciences of linguistic in the analysis of literary text” (2002: 203). The stylistic
approach has been used in analyzing the style of HIROSHIMA as a novel, by
serving the “hard data” for the analysis. The hard data was the characteristics of a
The stylistic approach has been used in the analysis because it was suitable
with the topic and the problems that have to be answered. Additionally, the
stylistic approach can deal with journalism and literature issues.
C. Method of the Study
This study was a study with a book as the field of the research. The research
used a book as the main source and some books and texts to support and to do the
analysis. The primary source was a book entitled HIROSHIMA written by John
Hersey and published by Alfred A Knopf. There were some secondary sources
that were used in this research. The secondary sources were books and articles
from online sources. The books sources were Jurnalisme Sastra by Septiawan
Santana Kurnia, Jurnalisme Sastrawi: Antologi Liputan Mendalam dan Memikat
by Andreas Harsono and Budi Setiyono, Aspect of the Novel by E.M. Foster, A
Glossary of Literary Terms by Abrams, A Student’s Guide to Literature by Carter
Colwell, A Dictionary of Stylistic by Katie Wales and so on. The online sources
were The Publication of “Hiroshima” in the New Yorker by Steve Rothman
published in www.herseyhiroshima.com and Essays on Craft by Roy Peter Clark
published in http://www.niemwn.harvard.edu/narrative/essay/narrativedigestessay
oncraft.html.
Mainly there were two big steps in the analysis based on the problems. The
first big step was answering the first problem by analyzing HIROSHIMA using the
narrative journalism elements. The narrative journalism elements that were used
29
The steps that were taken in answering the second problem were stated
below.
The first was analyzing the characters in HIROSHIMA. As stated by Vare and
Clark, the character is an important element in narrative journalism. The next step
was analyzing the setting of HIROSHIMA. By analyzing the setting it covered
four elements in narrative journalism, they were series of time, action set in time,
chronology and setting of place. The third step was analyzing the conflict in
HIROSHIMA. It was not only the major conflict but also the internal conflict of
the characters that became the minor conflict. The fourth step was analyzing the
motive of American to drop the bomb and the motive of characters’ action. The
fifth was analyzing the narrative strategy of HIROSHIMA. After analyzing the
above elements, the analysis went on analyzing the facts in HIROSHIMA. The
analysis of the facts went on main issues in HIROSHIMA. The seventh was
analyzing the access. Based on the text of HIROSHIMA, it was analyzed the
access of the writer to the characters. The eighth was analyzing the emotion of
HIROSHIMA. It analyzed the emotion that is created in the story. And the last step
was analyzing the fresh information told in HIROSHIMA.
The second step was answering the second problem by analyzing
HIROSHIMA using the literature elements. The literature elements were Theme,
Character and Characterization, Story and Plot, Point of View, Setting, Style and
Irony. Based on the elements this first step contained seven specific steps. The
first was finding the theme of HIROSHIMA. The second was finding the
story and plot of HIROSHIMA. The fourth was finding the point of view of
HIROSHIMA. The fifth was finding the setting of HIROSHIMA. The sixth was
finding the style of HIROSHIMA. The style that was analyzed was the utilization
of the rhetoric devices. The last was finding the irony of HIROSHIMA.
After the analysis on the two problems has been done, the conclusion of the
31 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter is mainly discussing and analyzing the answer of the problems in
this study. The elaboration of the answer will analyzing what the narrative
journalism elements of HIROSHIMA are and what the characteristics of
HIROSHIMA make it similar to a novel.
For the beginning, in order to answer the first problem, it will begin with
providing the narrative journalism elements. There are two categories of narrative
journalism elements used in the analysis. The first is Character, Action Set in
Time, Setting, Chronology, Motive and Narrative by Roy Peter Clark (2002: http
://www.niemwn.harvard.edu/narrative/essay/narrativedigestessayoncraft.html).
The second is Fact, Conflict, Character, Access, Emotion, Series of Time, and
Fresh by Robert Vare (Harsono, 2005: xii-xiv). Later, these two categories are
united in one section because there are some elements that are similar. Therefore
the elements of journalism are Character, Setting, Conflict, Motive, Narrative,
Fact, Access, Emotion, and Fresh. The Setting above is included Series of the
time, Action set in Time, Chronology, Setting of Time, Setting of Place and
Setting of social Circumstances. The text HIROSHIMA is analyzed using the
elements of journalism; whether HIROSHIMA has the elements of journalism or
not.
Since HIROSHIMA also categorized as a novel, the next analysis is providing
of HIROSHIMA make it similar to novels. They are Theme, Character and
Characterization, Story and Plot, Point of View, Setting, Style and Irony. All these
seven characteristics of the novel are searched in the HIROSHIMA; whether
HIROSHIMA has these characteristics or not.
The third is concluding based on the finding of analyzing the first and the
second problem. The first and the second problem are to provide the supporting
material for the conclusion.
A. The Narrative Journalism Elements in HIROSHIMA.
This part presents the narrative journalism elements of HIROSHIMA. The
elements are Character, Setting, Conflict, Motive, Narrative, Facts, Access,
Emotion, and Fresh.
1. Character
In a narrative journalism, character is required. Characters in a narrative
journalism are to tie the story. In In Cold Blood’s Truman Capote, the characters
are Richard Hickcock and Perry Smith (Harsono, 2005: ix). In Cold Blood tells
about the murder of a farmer family by Dick and Perry. Along the story, it tells
about the life of Dick and Perry and their murder investigation. Dick and Perry
become the characters in the story of In Cold Blood.
There are six characters in HIROSHIMA. They are Mr. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, the
Reverend; Mrs. Hatsuyo Nakamura, the widow of three children; Doctor
Masakazu Fujii, the doctor of private hospital; Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, a
33
Toshiko Sasaki, a clerk in the Tin East Works. HIROSHIMA tells about the life of
those six survivors when the atomic bomb is dropped.
2. Setting
In this section, the analysis of the setting in HIROSHIMA in the context of
narrative journalism is about series of time, chronology, action set in time, setting
of place. According to Vare, narrative journalism is not a single point of time
reportage but a series of time like a movie, not just a single picture of event
(p.xiv). Additional, as the effect of the series of time the arrangement of the story
is based on the chronology. The time is not arranged alone in the timeline without
any action followed, so that there are actions set in time to go after the timeline.
The general setting of place of HIROSHIMA is in the city of Hiroshima and
around; such as Mukaihara, Ushida, Kaitaichi, Inokuchi and Ninoshima. There is
only one place located outside Hiroshima; that is the Catholic International
Hospital in Tokyo.
HIROSHIMA is not only a report of single time, but it is story in a series of
time. HIROSHIMA takes time from early midnight in August 5th 1945 until
August 1946, a year after the bombing. At that time, Japan is in a World War II.
As the result of the series of time, the story is a long and detail story. The
arrangement of times creates a chronology of the event. HIROSHIMA is arranged
from the beginning until the end, or goes forward. The series of time is followed
3. Conflict
The major conflict in HIROSHIMA is a conflict between the six survivors and
the atomic bomb. The six characters have interest in living in peace; they want
that the war is ended which is they have to pay for this. The war is ended by the
different way from the expectation of the six characters. It is not ended peacefully
but by another terror. The “bomb” (the American government) has an opinion that
the war could be finished but it has to sacrifice a lot of human being, hard way to
defeat the enemy. The differences of the expectation to finish the war have created
a conflict between the six characters and the bomb. In addition, the six survivors
also have a conflict with the Americans.
Each character also has conflicts and its conflicts are the minor conflict in the
story. Mr. Tanimoto has a conflict with his humanity when the doctor of the Army
hospital rejected his request to help the wounded. In other side, Mr. Tanimoto has
a promise to the wounded that he would get them an aid. In the limited condition,
Mr. Tanimoto has confused about the action he should take to help the lives of the
wounded people.
Father Kleinsorge has a conflict when he was asked to save a woman’s
husband under the ruin of their house. Father Kleinsorge is described, “Already
growing apathetic and dazed in the presence of the cumulative distress …
(Hersey, 1946: 36)”. In other side he has to go and save the woman’s husband,
35
conflict with himself. As a human, Father Kleinsorge has to help him, but in other
side, he felt tired and lazy to help.
Father Kleinsorge also has a conflict when he tried to save Mr. Fukai, the
secretary of the diocese. Father Kleinsorge wants to save him but in other hand,
Mr. Fukai refuses it. For a moment, they have uncompromised. The difference
between Father Kleinsorge’s idea and Mr. Fukai’s idea has created a conflict
among both of them.
Dr. Sasaki has a conflict with medical regulation and internal conflicts. Dr.
Sasaki has an internal conflict in the morning before the bomb exploded. He felt
sluggish and feverish that morning but he had to go to the hospital. The situation
in which he had to choose whether stayed in the house or went to the hospital had
created internal conflict.
The other internal conflict of Dr. Sasaki is when he was asked by casualties to
take care of the victims. It happens when Dr. Sasaki took a rest after nineteen
straight hours working. Dr. Sasaki feels so tired and incapable of wrapping the
wound. In this situation Dr. Sasaki has an internal conflict whether he take a rest
after nineteen hours of dressing the wound or continue to dressing the wound.
Then his decision is to continue dressing the wound.
Another conflict of Dr. Sasaki is when his idealism met with the medical
regulation. The medical regulation requires a permit for practicing. In Dr. Sasaki
difference of the idealism and the regulation has created a conflict between Dr.
Sasaki and the formality.
Mrs. Nakamura has an internal conflict about the way she will get money for
living. The choices are she works as the domestic in the Allied occupation forces,
Japan allied, or borrowing some enough money from her relatives to repair the
sewing machine and works as a seamstress. The conflict is not resolve, until the
end of the story she still does not make a decision yet.
4. Motive
Motive is the developing of “why” element in the basic journalism elements
(Clark, http://www.niemwn.harvard.edu/narrative/essay/narrativedigestessayoncra
ft.html). Motive, in the case of narrative journalism, is a reason from the action.
The action can be from the main action of the story or the minor action. The
motive also can be a reason of the character action.
In HIROSHIMA, the main motive is why Americans drop the atomic bomb
over Hiroshima and Nagasaki – to defeat Japan and end the war and to show to
the world especially Russia that U.S. is the superpower country (Gosling,
1999:45).
Each character action has a motive behind it. Sometime the motive is stated
but it is also possible not stated. In the characters action in HIROSHIMA, it has
reason. Dr. Sasaki helps the wounded people; Dr. Sasaki’s motive is his idealism
to serve people. Father Kleinsorge and Mr. Tanimoto help the wounded people
37
as the bomb exploded Dr. Sasaki does because he is injured badly enough and
have no power to help.
5. Narrative
Narrative in this case is the act or process of telling the story – how things
happened. The narrative journalism reports a news by storytelling. The narrative is
used to put the readers to the place in the story and allow the readers to inhabit in
that place, not just point the place and the action (Clark, http://www.niemwn.
harvard.edu/narrative/essay/narrativedigestessayoncraft.html).
The narrative, in the report, uses scene-by-scene construction, dialogue, third
person point of view and tells the details (Kurnia, 2002; 45-88). Scene-by-scene
construction is used to create the chronology of the story and invites the readers to
go along with the story. Clark (http://www.niemwn.harvard.edu/narrative
/essay/narrativedigestessayoncraft.html) adds that the scene-by-scene construction
can be used as the parallel narrative – two different stories that run into unity at
the end. The using of dialogue is to strengthen the scene and give a reality feeling
on the news story (Kurnia, 2002: 57). Clark calls the dialogue as subordinate
narrator strategy. It means that the source is given a space to tell the story. The
third person point of view in the narrative of a report is duplicated from the style
of biography writing. The third person point of view is to keep the objectivity of
the report. And the last is details. In a narrative report, the narration tells the
habits and soon. It is to give the readers a view of the social statue of the
characters.
In reporting the effect of atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Hersey uses narrative
strategy. The narrative of HIROSHIMA is built scene by scene. For example in the
chapter I – A Noiseless Flash – the narrative is telling the scene of Mr. Tanimoto
and then Mrs. Nakamura, Dr. Fujii, Father Kleinsorge, Dr. Sasaki and ends by Ms.
Sasaki. At first, in the narrative the six survivors are narrated in different scene. At
the end, the six survivors are narrated as a unity and they are connected to each
other – the parallel narrative, as Clark calls it. In HIROSHIMA there are some
dialogues. From one of the dialogues there is a subordinate narrator, as Clark calls
it. It is Mr. Tanimoto’s letter to Americans.
What a heartbreaking scene this was the first night! About midnight I landed on the riverbank. So many injured people lied on the ground that I made my way by striding over them. Repeating “excuse me”, I forwarded and carried a tub of water with me and gave a cup of water to each one of them. They raised their upper bodies slowly and accepted a cup of water with a bow and drunk quietly and, spilling any remnant … (Hersey, 1946:114)
A narrative is told by the narrator as well as the HIROSHIMA. The narrator
using the third-person point of view narrates all the events in HIROSHIMA. The
indication of the third person narrator is the narrator calls the character as he, she
or they or with the name; “Mr. Tanimoto found about twenty men and women on
the sandspit. He drove away the boat onto the bank and urged them to get abroad
(p.60)”.
The description of the detail is also specifying. Hersey is able to catch the
39
Father Kleinsorge had, at thirty-eight, the look of a boy growing so fast – thin in the face, with a prominent Adams apple, a hollow chest, dangling hands, big feet. He walked clumsily, leaning toward a little. He was tired all the time. To make matters worse, he had suffered for two days, along with Father Cieslik, a fellow priest, from a rather painful and urgent diarrhea, which they blamed on the beans and black ration bread they were obliged to eat. (p. 16)
6. Facts
The definition of fact refers to the general definition. That the fact, according
to Hornby (2000:472), is “things that are true rather than things that have been
invented”, so all the events includes the characters’ name, the place’s name in
which the action occurs, and the time of action are true, as truth as the reality, not
just based on the true story. Journalism is about fact and journalism does not have
a little space for fantasy. Harsono says the narrative journalism is in the domain of
fact, fact, and fact (2005: xxiv). If it so, HIROSHIMA must be a fact.
HIROSHIMA is a true story and it tells the facts. The bombing of Hiroshima
is true, “At exactly fifteen minutes past eight in the morning, on August, 1945,
Japanese time, at the moment, when the atomic bomb flashed above Hiroshima,
(Hersey, 1946:3)”. This fact is supported by the United States Department of
Energy in the book The Manhattan Project Making the Atomic Bomb (1999:51).
All the places in HIROSHIMA are true; it is really exist. Hiroshima, the Mission
house, the Mission Chapel, the Novitiate, the Red Cross Hospital, the Asano Park
etc. are the real place. The characters’ names are also the real name; Mr.
Tanimoto, Dr. Fujii, Dr. Sasaki, Ms. Sasaki, Father Kleinsorge and Mrs.
Basically the facts of HIROSHIMA are undoubted because The New Yorker,
in which HIROSHIMA is published, has the fact checker (Harsono, 2002:xxiv).
The fact checker has responsibility to verify every fact in the edited report. They
believe that the fact must be true and precise; starting from year, name’s spelling,
number, book, argumentation, quotation etc. (p.xxiv).
7. Access
In the process of writing a narrative report, an author must have an access to
the character to get as much as information. As much as and as detail as the
information collected, the narrative will be precise and accurate as the fact. As
seen through the detail information in the text HIROSHIMA, Hersey as the writer
has an access to the six survivors; Mr. Tanimoto, Father Kleinsorge, Dr. Fujii,
Mrs. Nakamura, Ms. Sasaki and Dr. Sasaki. Hersey has interviewed some
civilians and then he focused on the six survivors since the six survivors are the
good interview subjects (Rothman, 1997: http://www.herseyhiroshima.com/
hiro.php).
8. Emotion
The emotion makes the story alive (Harsono, 2005: xiii). The emotion, in
general meaning, is “a strong feeling such as love, fear or anger: the part of the
person’s character that consists of feelings (Hornby, 2000:430)”. The emotion in
the HIROSHIMA mostly is hatred to the Americans. This hatred feeling is caused
by the decision of Americans to drop the atomic bomb over Hiroshima and causes
a massive damage. In the one paragraph, Hersey writes the hatred feeling of
