Trials

869 Words2 Pages

Trials

“‘Isn’t it interesting, Stephen-san,” he said, “how sometimes you must cut away something in order to make it grow back stronger?... It may seem lonely and barren at first, only to flower again in the spring’” (193).

Matsu relates human emotions to a tree: A gardener who wants strong, fruit-bearing trees will prune the tree annually. These trees will yield higher quality fruit and live significantly longer. In a similar fashion, Matsu shares his belief with Stephen that a person’s life needs to be “pruned” in order to let them become stronger and wiser. The hardships in the lives of Stephen, Sachi, and Matsu all serve to make them more complete human beings and let them have a more fulfilling life. Each character reveals hidden attributes of honor and courage as they respond to both the physical trial of illness, as well as emotional hardships such as loneliness and prejudice.

Stephen would not have matured if he had not been infected with tuberculosis. While initially sent to Japan to recover from a life threatening disease, Stephen faces another hardship in the form of loneliness. In the simple village of Tarumi, he is the only young man not to have been drafted off to fight the war against China. However, instead of wishing he were back home and hiding in his shell, he starts forming bonds of friendship with those around him, starting with his caretaker and mentor, Matsu. Later, he connects with a woman who has also been stricken with a serious illness, leprosy, and had lost everything, but continues to live life. The friendships he forms with Matsu and Sachi turn out to be stronger than any previous bonds he had known. Being more mature, he is more thoughtful and able to take action. After receiving so much from ...

... middle of paper ...

...etly been seeing Sachi. Once Kenzo commits suicide, Matsu is able form the relationship with Sachi he had been withholding himself from for 40 years. At the end of the novel, Matsu and Sachi are finally together, and they feel like Stephen is “the musuko [they] had lost so many years ago” (205). In the end, Matsu is able to realize his own needs, and has his own family and a more fulfilling life.

The characters Stephen, Sachi, and Matsu all have experienced and weathered the storms of life. Besides enduring tragedies such as sickness, they have also faced all kinds of oppression, isolation, and prejudice. However painful they might have been, overcoming these hardships make them stronger and lets them have a more fulfilling life. These storms in life only serve to make a person stronger as they go through the different trials and triumphs that life has to offer.

Open Document