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/lit/ - Literature

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17823686 No.17823686 [Reply] [Original]

As the title says, I finished The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea a few days ago. I've been looking up interpretations and whatnot since. Mishima's political views and actions seem to cloud the reception of the book. The mother is seen as the personification of the "Westernization" of Japan, while the son who dreams of sailing far away represents traditional Japanese values. I can't wrap my head around that just because the mother deals in foreign luxury goods. The core conflict seems to be between the domesticity of marriage and settling down and the freedom and glory of a seaman's life further complicated by a child's naivety and inability to accept change. I find it hard to see Fusako as a representation of Westernization when she is constantly in Japan, while Ryuji is galavanting all over the world returning with tales of the palm trees in Haiti and Suez Canal. Evidence for Fusako's "Westernization" is that she doesn't celebrate traditional holidays, but does Ryuji when he constantly at sea? Can someone explain how Fusako represents Westernization more than Ryuji?

>> No.17825167

>>17823686
Screw Mishima, lets talk about that cat. That's one seriously cute cat.

>> No.17825172

>>17825167
Don't read the book if you love cats.

>> No.17825177
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17825177

>>17825167
Look, mittens, a faggot.

>> No.17825183

>>17823686
Sounds like a juxtaposition. Thanks for making a decent effort OP

>> No.17825221

>>17825183
I've remembered something that the Japanese have, it's this concept where everything has a facade and also an inner truth like how a building appears different from the outside and when you're inside you don't see the outside or how a duck is graceful on the water all the action is below the surface. Anyway, I've forgotten the name of the term. The Arabs have something similar with manners and character, manners being the outward and character being the inward true person.

>> No.17825234
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17825234

>>17825221
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honne_and_tatemae
?