I.An overview of the text

The author narrates an experience of his journey in Hiroshima and what he has seen and felt and understood there. At first, the author is puzzled why they are willing to hide or forget the history, especially the sad and painful one. But after a talk with an old atomic victim, he began to get a deeper understanding of their souls.

II. Writing features

This text is a piece of narration. The most used pattern of narration is narrating and describing. Apart from the main clue of the author’s thoughts and feelings, he also spices this piece with some typical description of the characteristics of the Japanese nation, and at the same time, he emphasizes the co-existence and struggle of the Eastern and Western culture. As the comment in narration is always its golden-stone which directly gives opinion and judgment of the narrated content, this text is no exception.

III. Rhetoric

Anti-climax, as used in the text, states one’s thoughts in a descending order of significance or intensity from strong to weak, from weighty to light. It has achieved a humorous or surprised or even a sarcastic effect when the mayor was introducing his city to the visitors.