Grave Of The Fireflies Essay

To what extent is a war justifiable if hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians constitute the victim count? Grave of the Fireflies is an animation set during the few months leading to Japan’s surrender in World War II, focusing mostly on the destruction brought upon by the relentless fire-bombings, air raids, and the eventual usage of nuclear warfare. Seita, a fourteen-year-old boy who is caught in these attacks, along with his four year old sister, Setsuko, split from their mother to escape to nearby shelters. However, their mother reappears fatally-wounded which leave Seita and Setsuko dependent on each other for the rest of their journey of staying alive. As something that inevitably occurs during war periods, death is a major element in the movie and can be represented in several ways, from the death of the mother to the death of Japan’s collective fighting spirit.

In this film, Setsuko is the prime example of innocence and optimism, who at the beginning is yet to be tarnished by the evils of war. As Setsuko embodies this naive, free-spirited child, the retention of this spirit is challenged by the circumstances brought on by the several adults that she directly and indirectly interacts with. In this paper, I will be focusing on the adverse war consequences on children like Seita and Setsuko by locating differences between children and adults during the war period, looking at the various child-adult interactions and how they might inflict changes on each individual psychosocially, as well as the distinctive actions and mindsets for each age group when dealing with the