Human nature compels individuals to form personal paradigms and aspire to follow them; however, when personal paradigms conflict with social paradigms feelings of apathy and grievance will arise. In the film The Last Samurai, directed by Edward Zwick, Captain Nathan Algren experiences feelings of apathy and grievance caused by a conflict between personal and social paradigms. Algren’s conflicting paradigms spawn a transition from an apathetic demeanor to a man content with his personal paradigm and it’s relation to the predominant social paradigms. Algren begins his journey with alcoholism; his method of choice employed to numb merciless emotions of apathy and divergence caused by his misaligned paradigm. Algren continues the evolution within by clearing his mind of the past to discern the values of his self reflected by the samurai. Finally, Algren applies his re-found values to his life by demonstrating his personal paradigm and inspiring others to do the same. Overall, Algren experiences a series of phases all of which shape him into a self-actualized human being.
Firstly, Algren’s feelings of divergence and indifference sprout from a personal paradigm which dolefully conflicts with the social paradigm of his peers. The social paradigm in America assumes that all natives are savages and require annihilation. Conversely, Algren believes them to be innocent people who do not deserve to die because of their ethnicity. Algren’s personal paradigm concerning the natives disagrees with the predominant social paradigm; leading Algren to believe he has no choice but to conform. For instance, during the dinner meeting with Mr. Omura, Algren is asked to help train and lead the emperor’s army in Japan. Though Algren disagrees with the t...
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...on, human nature entails a person to form their own personal paradigms while on the contrary requiring to be a part of the social paradigm. This however does not always work, causing a clash of paradigms and giving the indecisive person feelings of apathy and divergence. These feelings describe exactly how Algren feels before he rediscovers his paradigm. Overall, Algren’s indifference to the world is caused by his misaligned paradigm and the repercussions of that. He then begins the transition by clearing his mind to begin to see his personal paradigm reflected by the samurai. Finally, Algren uses his rediscovered principles within his own life and in doing so inspires others to do the same. The journey of self-actualization is often wrought with obstacles and setbacks; however the destiny is not nearly as enjoyable without the hard fought journey leading to it.
Many people often see little similarity between the country of Japan and Europe. However, there are actually several similarities between these two countries. In fact, Reischauer and Jansen note that Feudal Japan had departed so far from East Asian norms that it was more similar to medieval Europe than it was to China. Thus, the knight of Europe and the samurai of Japan despite a lack of contact with one another shared several common elements. This was a result of many similarities social and cultural influences experienced by the two distant countries.
Like walking through a barren street in a crumbling ghost town, isolation can feel melancholy and hopeless. Yet, all it takes is something like one flower bud to show life really can exist anywhere. This is similar to Stephen’s journey in The Samurai’s Garden. This novel is about an ailing Chinese boy named Stephen who goes moves to a Japanese village during a time of war between Japan and China to recover from his disease. By forming bonds with several locals and listening to their stories, he quickly matures into a young adult. Throughout the novel, Gail Tsukiyama shows how disease forces Stephen into isolation; however, his relationship with Sachi and his time spent in Matsu’s garden lead him out of solitude.
Even though it is most commonly known as of the first modern horror films that has made its way on the top ten highest grossing films of all time, Steven Spielberg’s classic 1975 film, Jaws, illustrates the unquenchable human desire for purpose and wholeness which advocates that adopting the belief of “anatta” or “no-self” is the way to be liberated from this “fragmented state of unelightenment” (Sluyter 97-98). In the bigger picture, the main antagonist of the film, the shark itself, reflects us as individuals according to Sluyter. To be more specific, the shark is meant to symbolize our “fragmented point of view” we have of our lives and our constant search to remedy our emptiness by “trying to concretize ourselves” with impermanent items
The obstacles Ichiro faced in searching for his lost identity reveal a discrepancy of American values, such as freedom and equality, which are deeply rooted in a segregated society. Through the negativity of many of the Japanese-American veterans and the differences among Ichiro’s entire family, he has literally gone from having a duel-heritage to no identity at all. Since he has no desire to be Japanese and feels unworthy to be American, he sees himself as nothing. His hatred of himself not only hinders the possibilities before him, but it also paints a whole new picture of America. Instead of a nation that is united and fights for freedom and equality, America is divided by racism and strips away the freedom of those they find inferior.
...ing them how they should behave, and what they should feel. A sense of self is bigger than what one person or group of people can tell you; it is found from within. Salinger, Plath, and Heller capture ambiguity on a personal level; their characters must look within themselves and beyond the ambiguity to discover who they are. They could easily accept what society tells them, but they would be embarking on a journey of misery. They must be strong enough to resist what others tell them about war, themselves, and everyone else. The experiences are truly unique, even if they are painful. They reveal the journey of self.
Akira Kurosaw’s Seven Samurai is a film that encompasses various ideologies in order to allow the audience to understand the lives of Japanese people during the 1600’s. The film delves deep in social issues of the roles of the people within the society, the expectations as well as the obligations within the respected castes and elements within groups of ; suffering, working together, protecting family and working for the better good of the community.
There are many factors that lead to the development of an individual’s identity. Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” illustrates an extreme change in Gregor Samsa’s external identity and the overall outward effect it has on the development of his family. While James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” illustrates a young man struggling to find his identity while being pushed around by what society and his family wants him to be. Both of these characters exhibit an underlying struggle of alienation but both also demonstrate a craving for belongingness. This conflict of trying to belong to something as well as satisfying the needs of society, has directly impacted their own individuality and the lives of the people around them.
Throughout World War Z by Max Brooks, readers can see how the apocalypse begins. Some of these mistakes can be considered individual human error, but overall can be seen as the government failing to serve its purpose. For example, early in the book, China first discovered that there was a newfound disease starting to spread. Instead of taking the responsibility for this disease, they shrugged it off and redirected other countries attentions. This caused the disease to start as a small outbreak and eventually multiplied. This failure in government can be seen as somewhat of a selfish act in order to preserve the country’s secrecy. Because they did not take the initiative to tell anyone else about the disease, people were unable to take caution and prevent themselves from contracting the plague. Similar to the book Blindness, nobody understood that the disease was amongst them at first. People were suddenly beginning to go blind with many unanswered questions. However, there was never any real truth to be revealed to the citizens in Blindness as there was in World War Z.
Feifer, George. Breaking Open Japan: Commodore Perry, Lord Abe, and American Imperialism in 1853. New York: Smithsonian Books/Collins, 2006. pp. xx, 389 p.: ill., maps; 24 cm. ISBN: 0060884320 (hardcover: alk. paper). Format: Book. Subjects: Japan Foreign relations United States /United States Foreign relations Japan.
Royall, Tyler. ""I Am I": Genji and Murasaki." Monumenta Nipponica 54.4 (1999): 437, 475-476. JSTOR. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
In today’s world, we live in a society where we are subjected to follow rules, which are placed upon us by the society. Many people are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to follow the ideals of other people, or pursue their ideals and go against the prevailing conventions. In “Selections from Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, the author talks about a man named McCandless who went into the Alaskan wilderness in order to find his true self. His journey was also to escape from the societal norms of society. A person who goes into the wilderness believes that they can live their life with brute simplicity. This gives them little to no time with the complicated problems of modern society. Likewise, in “Waiting for a Jew” by Jonathan Boyarin, the author talks about one’s aspiration to find their identity and purpose in the community. He conveys that religious places, like shul, allow an individual to develop a cross- cultural self. The desires and expectations placed upon us by the society shape our strategies of personal identity; therefore, instilling fears that cause us to identify in opposition to our prevailing conventions.
Society often pressures individuals within it to conform to different ideals and norms. This stems from the fact that individuals in a society are expected to act in a certain way. If a person or group of people do not satisfy society’s expectations, they are looked down upon by others. This can lead to individuals isolating themselves from others, or being isolated from others, because they are considered as outcasts. The emotional turmoil that can result from this, as well as the internal conflict of whether or not to conform, can transform an individual into a completely different person. This transformation can either be beneficial or harmful to the individual as well as those around them. The individual can become an improved version of himself or herself but conversely, they can become violent, rebellious and destructive. The novels Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess both explore the negative effects experienced by individuals living within the confines of society’s narrow-mindedness. In A Clockwork Orange, protagonist Alex was the leader of a small group of teenage criminals. He did not have a healthy relationship with either one of his parents or with others around him. Instead he spent most of his time alone during the day and at night roamed the streets in search of victims he could mug or rape. In Fight Club the unnamed protagonist was an outcast in his community. He chose to distance and isolate himself from others and as a result had no friends, with the exception of Tyler Durden and Marla Singer. Due to his isolation, he often participated in nightly fights that took place in Fight Club so that he could relieve his anxiety and stress. In this way, Alex and the unnamed protagoni...
The Tale of Genji is considered the first great novel in the history of world literature. Murasaki Shikibu’s actual name is unknown, however it was common to name women after the office held by a male relative. Her father admired her academic brilliance but wished she were born a man instead because in the Heian society, Chinese learning was only valued for men. Men and women were strictly segregated in Heian Japan. Typically, women were married around ten or eleven, and their role was to bear children. The purpose of marriage was to continue the family line and create alliances with other families. Heian women’s literature thrived in this world of gender asymmetries. As female authors, women voiced how they suffered from their dependence on their husbands.
In every direction the sea rages and growls, tumbling its inhabitants in an ever-lasting rumble. Glory, honor, and duty are washed upon the glimmering golden shores of the Japanese empire. The sturdy land-bearers clasp hands with those thrown into the savage arms of the ocean. This junction of disparate milieus forms the basis of an interlocking relationship that ties conflicting elements and motifs to paint a coherent, lucid final picture. In The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea, Mishima incorporates the impact of contradictory settings of land and sea, combative ideologies of the Western and Eastern hemispheres, and inherent dissimilarities amongst the characters’ lifestyles in order to reinforce the discrepancy between his ideal Japan and the country he observed.