Many characters from Haruki Murakami’s novels live in the “Japan’s post-war era – Zenkyōtō [when] the popular student uprising against the U.S. – Japan Security Treaty […] collapsed in utter defeat.” (Strecher 264). After the collapse of Zenkyōtō Japan entered an economy growth period with led to ordinary people concerning more about wealth and less about politics. This, in return, as Strecher says, created “a threat to the development of a sense of self or individuality in contemporary Japan (264).” Perhaps the reason why Murakami has chosen to write so much about the shaping of identity of his characters was due to him being born in the Zenkyōtō era since, as Strecher points out, “the implicit question throughout Murakami’s literature has always been: how are Japanese of Murakami’s generation and beyond to define themselves as individuals in the post- Zenkyōtō era?” (264).
Researchers like Heather H. Yeung and Dil J.P. have provided another explanation for why one of the central themes in Murakami’s works is searching for identity. These researchers claim that the author’s works are written for autobiographical purposes, i.e. to include a part of self in his every work. Dil J.P, for example, claims that Murakami uses his writing as a therapeutic means for the author to deal
Strecher has already found some important aspects of the effect of the social surroundings such as Zenkyōtō on one’s identity, it is crucial to look further into the Japan’s historical background first in order to understand the protagonist’s choice of actions in the novel Norwegian wood. The analysis of the background will be followed by defining the protagonist as an “herbivorous man” or not. This will be backed up with a brief description and analysis of the main character’s relations with people around him. Finally, this research paper will look into the protagonist’s “change” or lack of it in his identity after being exposed to the sociocultural aspects mentioned
Matsumoto studies three generations, Issei, Nisei, and Sansei living in a closely linked ethnic community. She focuses her studies in the Japanese immigration experiences during the time when many Americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from Asia. The book shows a vivid picture of how Cortex Japanese endured violence, discriminations during Anti-Asian legislation and prejudice in 1920s, the Great Depression of 1930s, and the internment of 1940s. It also shows an examination of the adjustment period after the end of World War II and their return to the home place.
'Even with all the mental anguish and struggle, an elemental instinct bound us to this soil. Here we were born; here we wanted to live. We had tasted of its freedom and learned of its brave hopes for democracy. It was too late, much too late for us to turn back.' (Sone 124). This statement is key to understanding much of the novel, Nisei Daughter, written by Monica Sone. From one perspective, this novel is an autobiographical account of a Japanese American girl and the ways in which she constructed her own self-identity. On the other hand, the novel depicts the distinct differences and tension that formed between the Issei and Nisei generations. Moreover, it can be seen as an attempt to describe the confusion experienced by Japanese Americans torn between two cultures.
Musui’s Story is the exciting tale of a low class samurai’s life towards the end of the Tokugawa era. Although one would normally imagine a samurai to be a noble illustrious figure, Musui’s Story portrays the rather ignominious life of an unemployed samurai. Nonetheless, this primary account demonstrates the tenacity of samurai values and privileges present at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The social status of samurai had been elevated to such a state that even someone like Musui was easily able to gain influence in everyday affairs with his privileges. Not only that, but he had retained his values as a warrior and still kept great pride for his arts in weaponry.
Fear is a part of everyone’s life, but it is how it is handled that makes all the difference. In the story “The Seventh Man” by Haruki Murakami, a tragedy consumes a young boy and stays with him for many years. As the story continues, the narrator eventually realizes that he has to face his fear in order to lead a normal life. In “The Seventh Man”, Murakami develops the theme that one should face his or her fear with the use of similes, imagery, and symbolism.
When the American Commodore Perry arrived and forced the Japanese to open up trading with the Americans in 1853 it caused a massive shift in the way Japan was run. The shogun could not deal with the looming threat and began a campaign of anti-foreignism “’Toi!’ (Expel the Barbarians!)” . The shogun eventually capitulated and began to allow foreign ships into Japan; this sparked the anti-foreign element, created by the shogun, to remove the shogun and reinstate the Emperor into power: “’Sonno’ (Revere the Emperor) was added to their mantra of ‘Toi’ to represent the old system where the Emperor was like a god. The Emperor took power back into his hands and renamed himself Meiji meaning “Enlightened Rule.” However, the Emperor did not expel the ‘barbarians’, instead he saw them as a method of creating a better Japan and began a campaign known as the ‘Meiji Restoration’ to modernize the nation. Japan needed to modernize because the western countries had forced the Tokugawa shogunate to sign unfair treaties that greatly favoured the western countries, notably the United States of America, Russia, Great Britain and France . One of the key events of the Meiji Restoration was the decline and fall of the samurai class in Japan. This essay intends to show the reasons for the decline of the samurai at the beginning of the Empire of Japan through the policies enacted during the Meiji Restoration. This will be shown through the military, cultural, political and social reforms enacted by the Japanese government.
Known for her work as a historian and rather outspoken political activist, Yamakawa Kikue was also the author of her book titled Women of the Mito Domain (p. xix). At the time she was writing this work, Yamakawa was under the surveillance of the Japanese government as the result of her and her husband’s work for the socialist and feminist movements in Japan (p. xx-xxi). But despite the restrictions she was undoubtedly required to abide by in order to produce this book, her work contains an air of commentary on the past and present political, social, and economic issues that had been plaguing the nation (p. xxi). This work is a piece that comments on the significance of women’s roles in history through the example of Yamakawa’s own family and
...oss, but specifically in cases where the protagonists are unaware or do not desire loss of individual identity and cases where the protagonists purposefully choose to conceal individual identity by using disguises. In the progression of both stories, the former is seen less often while the latter becomes more common as both characters gradually become more aware of the differences between their individual identities and the collective identities of their surroundings along with greater authorial portrayal of the rigidity of society through necessary conformation to one collective identity. Throughout the two works, the two authors extend the concept of home beyond the conventional portrayal as merely a physical structure by giving it significance as a state where the uniqueness of individual identity can be freely expressed.
Identity is an important theme in many stories. Especially in the The Outsiders, Eleanor and Park, and“Flowers for Algernon.” In The Outsiders identity is tied heavily to which gang a person belongs to. In the novel, Eleanor and Park, identity is portrayed through gender and race. Also, in the short story, “Flowers for Algernon,” the main character identifies with his level of intelligence. Although, one common trend expressed is how jubilance is felt when the characters are free of how they are told they should identify. I will be analysing identity in these stories is represented through the characters, and how this proves how easily the characters find identify in themselves when they detach how they are to identify by society.
3. I felt that The Age of The Literary Memoir Is Now by James Atlas has had an impact on me as a writer because the introducti...
In his novel, Hosseini writes with a deceivingly simple form of prose. Instead of assaulting the audience with his extravagant vocabulary, he entices them with the minds of his characters. Leaving the audience with feelings of empathy and repulsion, the work exhibits Hosseini’s adept abi...
The literary technique of characterization is often used to create and delineate a human character in a work of literature. When forming a character, writers can use many different methods of characterization. However, there is one method of characterization that speaks volumes about the character and requires no more than a single word - the character's personal name. In many cases, a personal name describes the character by associating him with a certain type of people or with a well known historical figure. Therefore, since the reader learns the character's name first, a personal name is a primary method of characterization; it creates an image in the reader's mind that corresponds with the name of the character. Once this image has been created, all subsequent actions and beliefs of the character are somehow in accordance with this image; otherwise, the character does not seem logical and the reader is not be able to relate to the work. In the novels The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea, by Yukio Mishima, and Wonderful Fool, by Shusako Endo, each author gives one of his characters a personal name that guides the character's actions and beliefs.
The Fifteen-Year War was a time of great turmoil and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and driven to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways that had not exactly be seen before. War had a tremendous impact on every part of the life of a Japanese citizen. Both men and women began to fill roles that were completely novel to them. Race became a part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil for occupation, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations befell the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rape transpired. Through memory, research, and vivid creativity, the evolution of Japan during the Fifteen-Year War can be analyzed with great scrutiny.
When writing fictional stories it is imperative that the author implements the elements of fiction in the most efficient way possible to not only grasp the reader’s attention but to also. the author has .“South of the Slot” by Jack London which is the primary story in the comparative analysis of characters struggles with identity. The other short stories on which comparative analysis is done are the “Big Me” by Dan Chaon and “The Destructors” by Graham Green. From the three stories, “South of the Slot” by Jack London is considered the strongest.
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...
Technology has changed the way society has interacted with one another. While technology has allowed society countless means of social interactions that weren’t possible 50 years ago, and has allowed people to sustain long-distance friendships that would have otherwise ended, the fact remains that technology is still taking over human interaction. Many may argue that this change has been positive. However, there are those who believe that this is one of the numerous social disasters when it comes to technology. It is believed that the changes are ruining the quality of social interaction that we all need as human beings. It’s getting to the point where people are relying more and more on technology as a way to communicate with their friends