Sadako’s excitement and optimism are again shown to be qualities that her family frowns upon. She is eager to observe Peace Day with her family, friends, and community, perhaps as a method of ameliorating the fears that she and her family all still fear, and which were just stirred up again, probably, by Mr. Sasaki’s morose and slightly fearful prayers. At the same time, Sadako’s excitement and inability to really understand the sadness that is part of the festival help to mark her as an innocent, who was not only not a part of the war that led to the nuclear bombing but too young to even understand it.