The Samurai's Garden By Gail Tsukiyama

615 Words2 Pages

Stephen learns several life lessons through Sachi’s stories, that he applies to his own life, in addition to learning how to overcome new situations, making her the most dynamic character in Gail Tsukiyama’s novel, The Samurai’s Garden. In the middle of the novel, one morning Stephen wakes up early and goes to Sachi’s garden because he finds peace there. Sachi decides to show him a cluster of blooming flowers tucked in between two rocks (Tsukiyama 127). Stephen doesn’t understand how the flowers were able to grow in such a place, so Sachi explains to him how one of the miracles of life is that beauty can be found everywhere. Stephen then connects this lesson to his own life when Matsu’s sister comes to visit. He describes how he “couldn’t get over how easily she had stepped into [his life], settling in like another summer flower in the garden,” …show more content…

Additionally, Stephen now sees the beauty in relationships, and the new people that come into his life, even if it is only for a fleeting period. Another example of how Stephen changes throughout the novel is how he is able to make the most out of his time at Tarumi and start a new life there. At the beginning of the novel, when Stephen first arrives in Tarumi, he is homesick and unsettled by what is to come during his stay at Tarumi. Furthermore, he realizes that he will have to “adapt to the silence, put away all the noises and comforts of [his] family and friends in Hong Kong and Canton. It’s harder than [he] imagined, to be alone. [He] supposes [he] might get used to it, like an empty canvas you slowly begin to feel,” Tsukiyama 13. Leaving behind his home and life, Stephen is in a new environment, experiencing mixed emotions. The author utilizes the reference to the “empty canvas” to convey how Stephen has a fresh start in Tarumi and a choice of how he can spend his time

Open Document