Generational Trauma and the Impacts of Family History

Essay Two

For Essay two, please consider the ways in which Stillman explores trauma. For this essay, you will take a position on the roles of familial trauma and history that take part in the construction of one’s identity. In Sarah Stillman’s “Hiroshima: The Inheritance of Trauma”, Stillman is surprised to learn about the traumas created by the Hiroshima bombing. Specifically, Stillman is looking through the lens of Shoji’s family. It is heavily explored how the physical and psychological effects still plague Shoji years later. It is also explored how much the bombing still impacts Keni as an individual. Consider the title of Stillman’s —Think of the title itself and its use of “inheritance”. Think of the portions of the essay where Keni discusses the word “hibakusha” and what exactly this means for her grandmother, and herself. “I’d always assumed, in ignorance, that to survive the atomic bomb — to be a hibakusha, or “explosion-affected person” — was to have conferred upon you a certain esteem or deference, not unlike that afforded to the bearer of a Purple Heart. Shoji’s family wasted no time correcting me. To be a hibakusha, they explained, was not an honorific but a source of shame, a secret to be closely held” (373). Think about this example in terms of what this definition means for Shoji and for Keni. Based on their [the grandchildren] grandparents’ experience, they believed their genetic material to be equivalent to “spoiled goods” (373). Think of the physical troubles that are affecting Shoji’s quality of life years after the bombing. Stillman details Shoji’s eyes giving out early, feelings of internal coldness and other ailments. You are expected to answer the prompt using specific details from Stillman’s article. Additionally, consider using this evidence and these concepts to analyze your own family’s history and to make a larger argument about inherited trauma. Take a stance on the way(s) trauma or familial trauma shape a person’s identity. Make sure to use specific details from Stillman’s text, along with your own analyses and observations. 

Consider:

1. How does Stillman define trauma? How does Stillman define shame?

2. How might you define individual identity? Familial identity?

You can also connect Attack on Titan to Stillman if you feel so inclined. There are many parallels with scenery; like Shoji’s “black rain” for ashes, and Erens shower of blood in the sunset changing the tone of his life. Both scenes illustrate views of an individuals’ world view changing drastically. Erens’ ending monologue suggests a type of self-prophecy, as if the future is tainted due to his traumatic experience. This can be said for term, “hibakusha” that Stillman learned and the way it impacted Shoji and her grandchildren in their present.

Formatting and Requirements 

• Copy and paste your essay directly in Achieve. I strongly encourage you to write your essay in another platform (Microsoft Word or Google Docs) 
• Your essay should be approximately 3-4 pages in length (around 1350-1400 words)
• Include your name, my name, class and date in the upper left corner of the 1st page
• Format your essay according to MLA guidelines (see Documenting Sources: MLA Style in Achieve)
• Include a Works Cited page listing all sources you used or consulted