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Literature / Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

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Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a 1977 book by Eleanor Coerr, based on the life story of Sadako Sasaki, who died in 1955 at age 12 as a result of radiation poisoning from the bombing of Hiroshima.

Sadako is a cheerful girl who survived the Hiroshima bombing when she was two. She's looking forward to making the relay team at school, but finds herself having strange bouts of dizziness, which she keeps secret from those around her. One day she collapses at school and is taken to the hospital, where she learns to her horror that she has leukemia. As her condition worsens, her friend Chizuko tells her that if she can fold a thousand paper cranes, the gods will grant her wish and make her healthy again, and she becomes determined to do this.

Tropes present in this work:

  • 1000 Origami Cranes: Sadako tries to fold 1000 cranes in the belief that this will make her well again.
  • Children Are Innocent: At first Sadako thinks having leukemia will only make her miss school for a while, but eventually realizes how serious it is. Kenji averts this, as despite the doctors' efforts to give him hope, he's smart enough to read his own blood chart and realizes that he's getting worse.
  • Downer Ending: Sadako grows too weak to fold more cranes and dies in the hospital.
  • Foil: Kenji is this to Sadako. While Sadako is optimistic and has a close support system, Kenji has given up on getting well and gets few visitors apart from Sadako.
  • Foregone Conclusion: The reader is told in the prologue that Sadako will die.
  • Foreshadowing: Sadako is pleased to find a spider at the start of the book, and her brother warns her that they don't really bring good luck.
  • Genki Girl: Sadako is cheerful, energetic, and full of life at the start of the book, which makes her fate even more of a tragedy.
  • Innocently Insensitive: Sadako views the Hiroshima memorial as a fun event due to the food and exhibits set out for the kids, and is scolded for taking such a cavalier view of it, as it's meant to remember those who died.
  • The Hero Dies: Sadako dies at the end of the book.
  • Motivational Lie: After Kenji dies, Sadako tearfully asks if she's going to be next. Her nurse tells her no, she'll live a long life, which they both likely realize is not going to happen.
  • Spiders Are Scary: Sadako doesn't think so, as she claims spiders bring good luck when she finds one in the first chapter. However, given what ends up happening to her, the trope is being played straight.
  • Wham Line: "She never woke up."

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