MODULE B Study Notes by Liv Filo Critical Study of Literature Prescribed Text: An Artist of the Floating World HSC: Paper 2 (13th Oct) MODULE DESCRIPTION Pink = Elements of the text Blue = External factors to consider Green = Personal response Yellow = What students need to produce In this module, students develop detailed analytical and critical knowledge, understanding and appreciation of a substantial literary text. Through increasingly informed and personal responses to the text in its entirety, students understand the distinctive qualities of the text, notions of textual integrity and significance. Students study one prescribed text. Central to this study is the close analysis of the text’s construction, content and language to develop students’ own rich interpretation of the text, basing their judgements on detailed evidence drawn from their research and reading. In doing so, they evaluate notions of context with regard to the text’s composition and reception; investigate and evaluate the perspectives of others; and explore the ideas in the text, further strengthening their informed personal perspective. Students have opportunities to appreciate and express views about the aesthetic and imaginative aspects of the text by composing creative and critical texts of their own. Through reading, viewing or listening they critically analyse, evaluate and comment on the text’s specific language features and form. They express complex ideas precisely and cohesively using appropriate register, structure and modality. They draft, appraise and refine their own texts, applying the conventions of syntax, spelling and grammar appropriately. Opportunities for students to engage deeply with the text as a responder and composer further develops personal and intellectual connections with the text, enabling them to express their considered perspective of its value and meaning. Looking at the HSC Exam PAPER 2: 2hrs + 5min reading time Section 2 (40 mins) Essay on An Artist of the Floating World. BEGINNING REVISION Take a fresh look at the novel. - Re-read key sections (especially June 1950) - Re-read Ishiguro’s introduction - Reflect on any new features or quotes that stand out to you - Review markers feedback for the 2021 HSC Exam (What words/phrases are emphasised and/or repeated throughout? What is clearly communicated about the ideas?) - Use key words from the module description - Memorise critical perspectives - Look at ‘Distinctive Qualities’ print out ADVICE FROM JILL - In constructing as a response, use motifs as an entry point to then branch out into an analysis of features. - The thesis of a ‘changing world VS fixed identity’ can generally fit into any question: Represents a fixed identity/ideology/view of the world which is in conflict/tension/struggling with a changing world. - Make sure your topic sentences are dealing with PURPOSE and IDEAS. - Talk about context – how Ishiguro’s context has shaped the development of characters and concerns in the novel. NESA CRITERIA In better responses, students were able to: - Use Postmodernism as a lens through which to explore how objective truth is relevant to the 'asking of questions' - Demonstrate an understanding of the multiple levels of context, both inside and outside the text, which convey a deep understanding of the author’s purpose - Provide a sustained and layered textual evaluation that examines overarching features such as motif, structure and representation - Link Ishiguro's key techniques of unreliable narration / fluid time / multiple perspectives / historical allusion to notions of context and style - Demonstrate an understanding of the contemporary relevance of Ishiguro’s ideas such as Thatcherism and the Americanisation of Japan. Areas for students to improve include: - Demonstrating understanding beyond a literal text level - Exploring other characters, apart from Ono, to broaden depth of engagement with the novel - Balancing understanding of context, at times there was an over exaggeration of the contemporary context, painting Thatcher as highly extreme, clouding the significance of the Japanese social environment in which the novel is situated - Selecting succinct, relevant and detailed textual examples. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro Overview - Written: Between 1981-1985 - Published: 1986 Context Ishiguro’s Personal Life - Kazuo Ishiguro was born in 1954 in Nagasaki, Japan. - Moved to England in 1960 (5 years old). - Became a British citizen at age 29 (1983). Historical Setting - Japan: This novel is set in post-World War II Japan (1948-1950). The war ended with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, meaning America had won. America then began to reconstruct Japan as a democratic and capitalist country. - 1980s Britain: Margaret Thatcher took office in 1979, beginning the development of Thatcherism (conservative ideology). Events such as tax riots and miner’s strikes occurred which caused lots of violence and destruction. - Throughout post-WWII Japan and 1980s Britain, division based on politics and ideology were common. The working class gained an increase say/louder voice. - Generational divides became increasingly obvious due to relatively rapid change. World tensions in capitalism and communism were present (Thatcher and her stance on communism/capitalism v newly Americanised post-WWII Japan). The Floating World - The Floating World = ukiyo - This was an expression of the new economy and social ambitions of the common people during the Edo period (1615-1868). - Focusses on the pleasure quarters and entertainment districts offering an escape from the everyday strains in life. - The painting and printmaking genre known as ukiyo-e, which depicted scenes from the floating world, developed in the 17th century and flourished for around 250 years until it became old-fashioned and too time-consuming compared to Western techniques. - Lifestyle of indulgence, extravagance, transgression and pleasure. Characters Masuji Ono Ono is the main character and narrator of Artist. He used to be an artist that created propaganda for Japan during WWII and moves around different studios with different bosses. Ono’s propagandist paintings earn him prestige in the city, but after the war’s end, nationalist ideas are discredited, and Ono is forced into retirement. He lost his wife (Michiko) and his son (Kenji) during the war, but instead of discussing his grief, he focusses on the proud work he did by them. Ono also has a bitterness toward the younger generation from wanting to change their traditions as a response to the war. He, however, concerns himself with arranging the marriage of his youngest daughter (Noriko) who resents her father because of how his past now hinders her future. Ono endures a journey to find his identity in a post-war Japan as well as his place in his family and the art industry. Setsuko Setsuko is Ono’s first daughter and at the start of the novel she already lives apart from her father with her husband (Suichi) and son (Ichiro). She is reserved and shows respect toward her father but can be strong-willed when she wants to be. Setsuko gently suggests to Ono that there may be something in the family past which is getting in the way of her sister’s (Noriko) marrying. Later in the novel, Ono believes she was referring to his propaganda art in the war, but Setsuko disputes that by telling him that she never thought his art had enough of a reputation to damage the prestige of the family. By the end of the novel, she is expecting her second child. Suichi Suichi is Setsuko’s husband and Ichiro’s father. Due to his experiences as a soldier in the war, he is very against it and becomes quite angry and scarred. He is bitter toward the older generation, holding them responsible for the many losses of the war. Ono suspects Suichi’s anti-war sentiments have influenced Setsuko and Noriko, which fuels his suspicion that his daughters blame him for Noriko’s failed marriage contract. Suichi encourages the American occupation, encouraging his son to idolise American heroes rather than Japanese ones. Suichi now works for an American company and feels optimistic about the nation’s future. Ichiro Ichiro is Setsuko and Suichi’s son who is captivated by American cinema and TV heroes and is very lively and cheeky. In the novel he represents the younger generation in which he has no knowledge of the war that so heavily impacted the world and also has a more permissive upbringing. As Ichiro grows he starts to resemble Ono’s deceased son (Kenji) and it’s Ichiro who innocently points out Ono’s sense of powerlessness when he is unable to persuade Setsuko that Ichiro be allowed to taste sake. Noriko Noriko is Ono’s second daughter who speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to talk back to her father. Noriko lives with her retired father with whom she shares a strained relationship; she often complains about his laziness, meddling and lack of activity. Prior to the novel’s beginning, she has a failed marriage contract (with Jiro Miyake), making her afraid that she’ll never marry as she’s already 26 years old. Noriko suspects the marriage contract failed due to something her father had done or said, which is the catalyst for why Ono dives into his past. Later in the novel, Noriko found a potential marriage partner (Taro Saito) which proves successful and by the end of the novel she is married, living in a modern apartment in the city and is expecting her first child. Jiro Miyake Prior to the novel, Jiro was a potential husband to Noriko, however pulled out of the marriage negotiations with little reasoning. Him and Ono had a conversation waiting for the tram one day, in which Jiro said something that now makes Ono think that his past is to blame for the failure of him and Noriko’s marriage. Taro Saito Taro is the new potential husband for Noriko and comes from a more progressive family which encourages females to participate and not be deferent. He appears to have an easier relationship with Ono than Setsuko’s husband Suichi. Taro welcomes the American changes but asserts that they should be carried out slowly and carefully. By the end of the novel, he is married to Noriko, living in a modern apartment in the city and is expecting his first child. Mrs Kawakami Mrs Kawakami’s bar in the pleasure district is the setting for many nostalgic conversations between Ono, Shintaro (her only customers) and herself. She and her establishment represent all that’s left from the old days, prior to the war. Mrs Kawakami keeps her bar open in the hopes that the pleasure district will see a resurgence but at the end of the novel she moves elsewhere and sells her bar. Akira Sugimura Sugimura is a prominent and wealthy man who is very influential in the city where the novel takes place from 1913-1920. He attempts to enrich the city by establishing cultural institutions in Kawabe Park but loses all his wealth in the early 1920s so cannot carry out his plans. Ono buys his house from the Sugimura family after Sugimura’s death. He greatly respects Sugimura’s boldness and ambition, which led him to rise above the mediocre even if his plans ended in failure. Artists Takeda Takeda is the owner of a studio of artists who hires Ono as a young painter and is Ono’s first boss in 1913. He produces commercial art, making copies of stereotypical images of Oriental Japan for a Western audience. He pressures his employees to work around the clock to meet the quota of Japanese-style prints commissioned by foreigners. Ono has many colleagues, one of which is Tortoise who he dislikes. Tortoise The Tortoise, whose full name is Yasunari Nakahara, joins Takeda’s firm alongside Ono and gets his nickname from the extremely slow pace he painted. Eventually, Ono takes him under his wing and convinces the Tortoise to move with him to Mori-san’s villa, and often showers Ono in praise. However, he is appalled when Ono rebels against Mori-san’s ideas, calling him a traitor and dissociates himself from Ono. Seiji Moriyama (Mori-san) Mori-san was Ono’s second teacher, with whom he worked for 7 years while living at his villa with the other students. Mori-san embraces the Ukiyo-e, “floating world”, style of art and aimed to capture the transient beauty of Japan through his artworks. He combined Japanese and European techniques however Ono believes that Morisan’s work is mediocre and not impactful, departing from his way of artmaking. Morisan then demands that he leave the villa. Sasaki Sasaki was once Mori-san’s prize protégé until he rebels against Mori-san’s creative constraints and attempts a new style. He was greatly judged and outcast for this and ends up resigning from the villa. Ono respects Sasaki in the beginning since he’s Morisan’s “leading pupil” however then views him as a traitor following his divergence away from the art style. However, when Ono eventually does the same, he emphasises with Sasaki and tries to justify his own actions by comparing both their situations. Chishu Matsuda Chishu Matsuda was Ono’s third teacher and used his position in the Okada-Shingen Society to open the eyes of talented artists, like Ono, to the problems that Japan face. Ono comes to work closely with Matsuda and created political propagandic art which addressed the social and political problems of the nation during the war. As the novel begins, Matsuda is older and less healthy, resigning himself to the failure of his ambitions, lost with Japan’s defeat. However, he still held an influential role in Ono’s life and may be loosely considered a father figure to him considering Matsuda had no children and Ono didn’t have much of a relationship with his own father. By the end of the novel, Matsuda revises his view of him and Ono’s contribution to the war, defining their status as “ordinary men”. Ono struggles to accept this as it contradicts his entire journey the novel’s constructed thus far, however, believes that Matsuda doesn’t truly believe this. Kuroda During the war, Kuroda was Ono’s most promising student and protégé and was spoken about in high praise. However, Kuroda’s art comes to differ from Ono’s principles and Ono reports him to the Committee of Unpatriotic Activities, leading to Kuroda’s arrest, interrogation, and mistreatment in prison. He’s held a grudge against Ono ever since and denies a request to meet together. After his release from prison, Kuroda returns to painting as a professor of art at a local college and has his own protégé, Enchi. Enchi and Ono have an argument in Kuroda’s apartment, when Enchi says that Kuroda would not want to see him, which Kuroda later confirms himself in a letter. Ono is then concerned that this incident with Ono is what caused Noriko’s failed marriage contract with Jiro. His guilt is never fully resolved and continued to believe that he could still reconcile his friendship with Kuroda. Shintaro Shintaro is another painter who was taught by Ono, however much less promising than Kuroda. Instead of meeting up with other students at the Migi-Hidari, he frequently visits Mrs Kawakami’s bar and showers Ono with praise for helping his brother (Yoshio) get a job. After the war, Ono and Shintaro continue to attend the bar and drink together, until Shintaro asks Ono to write to a school he is applying for that he didn’t have anything to do with their propagandic work. Ono refuses to help Shintaro and their friendship ends, since then being referred to as ‘The Tortoise’ of Ono’s students, as he lacked courage to admit their mistakes. Interestingly, Ono fails to notice the hypocrisy of this advice and describes Shintaro as mediocre, using him as a standard of measure for his own achievements. Overview of Chapters October 1948 (Autumn) Key Events - Ono explains how he acquired the Sugimura’s house (“auction of prestige”). - Ono’s wife (Michiko) and son (Kenji) were killed in the war. - Ono lives in his house with his youngest daughter, Noriko. Setsuko, Ono’s eldest daughter, is married and moved out. - Ono and Ichiro have a conversation about American heroes and movies - The failed marriage contract with Noriko and Jiro is revealed. - First mention of Kuroda (“protégé”). - Setsuko and Noriko complain that all Ono does is mope around the house. - Ono recounts his childhood with his father and the reception room who burns Ono’s paintings. - Ono reflects on a conversation with Jiro which prompts him to think that Noriko’s failed marriage contract had something to do with his past. - Ono talks about his time at Takeda’s firm and his interactions with the Tortoise. - Briefly mentions joining Mori-san’s villa. - Ono ran into Dr Saito on the tram and learn they have a mutual friend; Kuroda. - Ono talks about being “dismissed” from Mori-san’s villa and joining Matsuda. - In present time, Ono and Matsuda catchup and he’s comforted by Matsuda saying he’ll speak positively about him (relief for Noriko’s new marriage contract). Key Themes - Role of the artist - Guilt and significance - Tradition and progress (generational differences) Key Quotes - “What we mean to do from here on is to conduct an auction of prestige.” (pg 9 Sugimura’s eldest daughter to Ono) - “[Setsuko] only remembers you from when you were a tyrant and ordered us all around. You’re much more gentle these days”. (pg 13 – Noriko to Ono) - “I have never at any point in my life been very aware of my own social standing, and even now, I am often surprised afresh when some event, or something someone may say, reminds me of the rather high esteem in which I am held”. (pg 19 – Ono) - “…our proudest honour will be to tell others that we were once the pupils of Masuji Ono.” (pg 25 – Kuroda) - “…you pause at the Bridge of Hesitation and look back towards the remains of our old pleasure district…” (pg 27 – Ono) - “Suichi thinks that American heroes are the better models for children now.” (pg 36 – Setsuko to Ono) - “But these are the men who led the country astray, sir. Surely, it’s only right they should acknowledge their responsibility. It’s a cowardice that these men refuse to admit their mistakes.” (pg 56 – Jiro to Ono) - “Brave young men die for stupid causes, and the real culprits are still with us. Afraid to show themselves for what they are, to admit their responsibility.” (pg 58 – Suichi to Ono) - “But, Ono, there are things we should both be proud of. Never mind what people today are all saying. Before long, a few more years, and the likes of us will be able to hold our heads high about what we tried to do.” (pg 94 – Matsuda to Ono) - “I felt a certain comfort in recalling Matsuda’s assurance that he would have ‘only the best of things to report from the past’.” (pg 96 – Ono) April 1949 (Spring) Key Events - Recalls history behind the name of the Bridge of Hesitation. - Shintaro asks to dissociate from Ono’s art during the war and their friendship ends. - Noriko’s miai happened recently (formal meeting between two families arranging their children’s marriages). - Noriko says to Ono that he meddles too much because he has nothing else to do. - Ono founds out Kuroda is now a professor at Uemachi College and goes to his apartment. To his surprise, a young man called Enchi (Kuroda’s protégé) answers the door. - Ono and Enchi have an argument about Kuroda because of what Ono did to him during the war. - Reflecting on the miai, Ono is proud that he declared what he did about his past because there was no reason to lie about it. - Ono criticises Shintaro for not honestly admitting his mistakes when he asked to dissociate from him. - Ono has a conversation with Mrs Kawakami and encourages her to accept an offer to sell her bar. She responds nostalgically by saying she’s been there for so long. Ono ponders that as enjoyable as it was, perhaps it’s best that the old times have passed but doesn’t say that to Mrs Kawakami. Key Themes - Guilt and significance - Truth and memory - Identity (within his family) Key Quotes - “’Shintaro’, I said, ‘Why don’t you simply face up to the past? You gained much credit at the time for your poster campaign… there’s no need to lie about yourself.’” (pg 103-104 – Ono to Shintaro) - “Young men of your generation tend to see things far too simply.” (pg 113 – Ono to Mr Enchi) - “We all know now who the real traitors were. And many of them are still walking free.” (pg 114 – Enchi to Ono) - “I freely admit I made many mistakes. I accept that much of what I did was ultimately harmful to our nation, that mine was part of an influence that resulted in untold suffering for our own people. I admit this. You see, Dr Saito, I admit this quite readily.” (pg 123 – Ono to Dr Saito) - “…I acted in good faith. I believed in all sincerity I was achieving good” (pg 123124 Ono to Dr Saito) - “In any case, there is surely no great shame in mistakes made in the best of faith. It is surely a thing far more shameful to be unable or unwilling to acknowledge them.” (pg 125 – Ono) November 1949 (Winter) Key Events - Ono remembers the first time he met Dr Saito and how he spoke very highly of Ono. - Noriko and Taro live in a modern apartment in the city which Ono thinks is cramped. - Reflects on Sugimura’s failed plans at Kawabe Park where he lost lots of money and his status. - Ichiro reminded Ono of his deceased son, Kenji. - Ono reflects on what a great teacher Mori-san was and how a teacher can still have a great influence on their student’s lives now. - Ono tells the story of Mori-san’s protégé, Sasaki, and how he got fired for straying away in his art. - Ono says that because Mori-san focussed so much on the “floating world”, this was reflected in their lifestyles as they spent many nights in the pleasure districts drinking and having parties. - Ono has a grandfather moment with Ichiro in wanting him to try sake, a Japanese tradition that he did when Kenji was Ichiro’s age. This doesn’t go down well with Setsuko and Ono fails to have authority. - Taro causes Ono to reflect on who the Tortoise was of his pupils, in which Shintaro came to mind. - Ono reflects on a conversation between himself and Matsuda, where he is enlightened to the power of art in communicating issues in society. In response to that, Ono makes a painting called “Complacency” which later got adapted to “Eyes to the Horizon” which became very famous at the time. - Ono recalls when he showed Shintaro “Complacency” and how he wasn’t appalled by the political message it sent, moreso the artmaking practices of bold calligraphy and outlines; which Mori-san taught his students to reject. - Mori-san confiscates Ono’s latest politically-driven paintings, just like his father once did when he was younger. - Ono reflects on when he found out Kuroda was being arrested and his paintings were burnt. This is because he reported him to the Committee of Unpatriotic Activities but thought the officers would give him a stern talking to, not what has happened now. - Ono and Taro have a conversation about how the Americans have influenced Japanese society and Ono says the younger generation has a bright future. - Taro has a conversation to Setsuko about his concern for Ono when Ono was drawing a comparison between himself as Yukio Naguchi, a singer who committed suicide. Setsuko brings this up with Ono in which he replies he’s not thinking about suicide. Setsuko says that she understands that Naguchi’s songs were very influential, so it made sense that he wanted to show some responsibility for the direction of the war. But, she goes on saying that Ono shouldn’t worry about that because his work wasn’t significant anyway (“just a painter”). Key Themes - Tradition and progress (generational divide) - Guilt and significance - Role of the artist - Truth and memory Key Quotes - “It was, as I have said, nothing less than the attempt of one man to stamp his mark forever on the character of the city.” (pg 133 – Ono talking about Sugimura’s attempt to build in Kawabe Park) - “For indeed, a man who aspires to rise above the mediocre, to be something more than ordinary, surely deserves admiration, even if in the end he fails and loses a fortune on account of his ambitions.” (pg 134 – Ono) - “If one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is a consolation – indeed, a deep satisfaction – to be gained from this observation when looking back over one’s life.” (pg 134 – Ono) - “…entailed spending much time exploring the city’s ‘floating world’ – the nighttime world of pleasure, entertainment and drink which formed the backdrop for all our paintings.” (pg 145 – Ono) - “fatally flawed” (repeated 5 times from pg 148-149 – Mori-san talking about Ono’s political paintings) - “The best things, he always used to say, are put together of a night and vanish with the morning. What people call the floating world, Ono” (pg 150 – Mori-san to Ono about what Gisaburo said) - “The finest, most fragile beauty an artist can hope to capture drifts within those pleasure houses after dark… But as for those pictures up there [Ono’s paintings], they don’t even hint at these transitory, illusory qualities.” (pg 150 – Mori-san to Ono) - “But most of the newly-built apartment blocks… Taro and Noriko’s apartment, for instance, is a small two-room affair on the third floor: the ceilings are low, sounds come in from neighbouring apartments and the view from the window is principally of the opposite blocks and its windows… I began to find the place claustrophobic.” (pg 156 – Ono) - “…most groups of peers would have their ‘Tortoise’, even if the name itself is not always used. Amongst my own pupils, for instance, it was Shintaro who fulfilled such a role. This is not to deny Shintaro’s basic incompetence; but when placed alongside the likes of Kuroda, it was as though his talent lacked an entire dimension... they will never accomplish anything above the mediocre.” (pg 159 – Ono) - “…for it did receive much praise at the time for its vigorous brush technique and, particularly, its powerful use of colour.” (pg 169 – Ono talking about his painting ‘Eyes to the Horizon’) - “I am not one of those who are afraid to admit to the shortcomings of past achievements.” (pg 169 – Ono) - “…abandoned had been the school’s collective endeavour to capture the fragile lantern light of the pleasure world; bold calligraphy had been introduced to complement the visual impact” (pg 174 – Ono) - “Kuroda, the most gifted of my pupils.” (pg 175 – Ono) - “… artists must learn to value something more tangible than those pleasurable things that disappear with the morning light… I cannot remain forever an artist of the floating world.” (pg 180 – Ono to Mori-san) - …the Americans have an immense amount to teach us. Just in these few years, for instance, we Japanese have already come a long way in understanding such things as democracy and individual rights. - “As you say, no doubt your generation has a splendid future. And you are all so confident. I can only wish you the best.” (pg 186 – Ono to Setsuko and Taro) - “Why can’t Oji stay here too?” “There’s not enough room here, Ichiro.” (pg 188 – Ichiro and Ono) - “But I’m hardly the sort to allow my own daughter to suffer simply because I’m too proud to face up to things.” (pg 191 – Ono to Setsuko) - “Father was simply a painter.” (pg 193 – Setsuko to Ono) June 1950 (Summer) Key Events - Ono reflects on a walk he took over the Bridge of Hesitation in present time. - Matsuda’s death. - Ono reveals that Noriko and pregnant with her first child and Setsuko is expecting her second. - Ono reflects on the last conversation he had with Matsuda, telling him he has started painting flowers in watercolour to pass the time. Matsuda is pleased with this and reminisces about their time painting together, saying they were just “ordinary men”. They then have a conversation about the smell of burning. Ono remarks that it reminds him of the bombings during the war, and Matsuda says that these days smoke usually means a neighbour is cleaning his garden. - Ono shifts to a proud moment in his life when he wins the Shigeta Foundation Award and attempts to visit Mori-san to show him this achievement. However when he arrives at the villa, the closest he goes to it is the hill that looks over it. - In present time, Ono walks across the Bridge of Hesitation to the area that used to be the pleasure district and sits down at a bench. He watches the new young office workers and recognises the same good-hearted spirit that used to consume the pleasure district back in Ono’s day and wishes them well. Key Themes - Identity - Guilt and significance - Tradition and progress - Role of the artist Key Quotes - “After all that worry, things have gone as well as I could ever have hoped for Noriko.” (pg 198 – Ono to Matsuda) - “A few watercolours to pass the time. Plants and flowers mostly, just for my own amusement.” (pg 199 – Ono to Matsuda) - “Ordinary men” (repeated 3 times on pg 200 – Matsuda to Ono) - “The smell of burning still makes me uneasy,” I remarked. “It’s not so long ago that it meant bombings and fire.” “These days, a smell of burning usually means a neighbour is clearing his garden.” (pg 200 – Ono and Matsuda) - “Ono, our contribution was always marginal. No one cares now what the likes of you and me once did.” (pg 201 – Matsuda to Ono) - “…the likes of him and me, we have the satisfaction of knowing that whatever we did, we did at the time in the best of faith.” (pg 202 – Ono) - “It was a profound sense of happiness deriving from the conviction that one’s efforts have been justified; that the hard work undertaken, the doubts overcome, have all been worthwhile; that one has achieved something of real value and distinction.” (pg 204 – Ono) - “But then I for one never saw things too clearly” - “…after standing on the Bridge of Hesitation… I walked onto where our pleasure district used to be. The area has now been rebuilt and has become quite unrecognisable.” (pg 205 – Ono) - “Where Mrs Kawakami’s stood, there is now a glass-fronted office building, four storeys high. Neighbouring it are more such large buildings, and during the day, one can see office workers, delivery men, messengers, all moving busily in and out of them.” (pg 205 – Ono) - “…here and there, one may recognise a piece of fencing or else a tree, left over from the old days, looking oddly incongruous in its new settings.” (pg 205 – Ono) - “I was struck by how full of optimism and enthusiasm these young people were.” (pg 205-206 – Ono) - “I feel a certain nostalgia for the past and the district as it used to be. But to see how our city has been rebuilt, how things have recovered so rapidly over these years, fills me with genuine gladness. Our nation, it seems, whatever mistakes it may have made in the past, has now another chance to make a better go of things. One can only wish these young people well.” (pg 206 – Ono) Key Themes IDENTITY Concept Statement Ishiguro explores how individual and national identity changes during a time of “social and political upheaval” (Tellini), revealed through the cohesive motif of the floating world and use of flashbacks in order for Ono to revise the past and shape the future. Uncertainty around individual and national identity - Who is Ono? Who is Japan post WW2? Individual: What is Ono’s significance? - His role in his family? > “domesticated”, “when you were a tyrant” - His role as an artist? > constantly shifting in his search for permanence (commercial, aesthetic, political), Ono is “an” artist - His role as a teacher/elder? > had proteges, now deserted by all (Shintaro incident: pathetic fallacy, abstractions/analepsis, gaps/silences) - Ono’s role has shifted: “auction of prestige”, “utmost delicacy” Demonstrated through voice: First person voice but unreliable narrator Manipulates “you” to be empathetic and biased Arbitrary dates lead us through Ono’s eventual confession – resignation? Floating world motif: Identity for Ono is constantly “floating” Ideologically reflects a world of relative truth and revision of past to preserve credibility and significance In attempting to maintain identity, Ono treats the past as a fluid and shifting reality National: Americanisation - e.g. Popeye, cowboys, Suichi & Taro, Nippon Electronics - What is the “new world”? Revision of identity - Draws on post-modern views of the past; we can rewrite or redefine through a new lens - His role has shifted - Ono becomes representative of the post-war generation and the confusion of cultural and generational redefinitions TRUTH & MEMORY Concept Statement Ishiguro’s observation that the “self-deception and denial” (Ishiguro) of personal memory can differ from the objective truth is explored through Ono’s unreliable narration and the cohesive motif of lanterns, representing the way he chooses what to reveal and conceal based on how he will be perceived. Fluid reality/memory - In attempting to maintain identity, Ono treats the past as a fluid and shifting reality (1st person voice allows abstractions/avoidance, “I aggress”, “for all I know”, low modality further supports Ono’s transient representations of memory, floating world motif) - The universal idea of truth and memory is conveyed through the character of Ono and is explored through his memory and portrayal of other characters within the novel, and how he revises his perceptions of them. (e.g. Kuroda, Shintaro). Likewise, lanterns in the novel are associated with Mori-san, who constantly employs and attempts to capture lantern light in his paintings, as Ono attempts to capture and manipulate truth in his retelling of events. - Mrs Kawakami: nostalgia/memory Lantern Motif: The shifting shadows represents the ways Ono chooses to reveal/conceal what benefits his own “self-portrait” Replaced by “glass-fronted buildings” (transparency, closure) The prevalence of lanterns, especially in Part 3, represents Ono’s struggle to come to terms with the truth of his position in the art world especially (he is ultimately a follow of Matsuda and Mori-San)He ironically aligns himself with Sugimura: pursuit of “rising above the mediocre” is the ultimate achievement The ability of lanterns to illuminate and cast shadows exemplifies the extent to which Ono is able to deceive himself and the audience through omission of particular aspects of his memory. Ono's manipulation of truth is further highlighted through the order in which he presents his sequence of events in the novel to evoke sympathy from the audience. - Ono’s inability, or unwillingness, to remember reflects his conflict over the “correct” way to explain his past (e.g. Shintaro is described as loyal to begin with, but becomes “cunning” and “underhanded” after distancing himself from Ono) - Non-linear plot serves analepsis in order that serves Ono’s purpose to create empathy in a reader unfamiliar with his role in history (Low modality/2nd voice like “if you”, invites reader to align with Ono originally. - Anachronisms: memory loss, out of context, e.g. Godzilla movie doesn’t fit with time period) Context - Context links to reshaping of 1980s British values and social ideology (Thatcherism) - Ishiguro’s introduction Setting: Ishiguro’s choice of 1948-1950 instantly locates the plot in a time of historical and political flux Ono’s house is an extension of this (“the war damage” is symbolic of Ono’s own upheaval and need to repair what had “crashed down”) Ishiguro chooses a time frame where “social and political upheaval” (Tellini) is most evident Noriko’s apartment embodies the “new” identity, “not enough room for Ono” Pleasure VS Business District - embodiment of new VS old, challenging Ono’s identity through his placement of the Bridge of Hesitation (hesitating to accept the past and move on) The reception room (memory of burning art) Mrs Kawakami’s bar (memory, nostalgia) Miai (confession at Noriko’s marriage negotiations) Kuroda/Mr Enchi (revisiting his past), “I’m simply an old acquaintance of Mr Kuroda’s” (pg 112) Flashback to May 1938 when he won the Shigeta Foundation Award Critical Perspectives - “reminiscing reveals mechanisms of self-deception” (Tellini) - “nostalgia sometimes sweetens the recollections of that time” (Tellini) - “contextualising them in an old world” - “tangential thought associations, or the vagaries of memory seemed to move the novel from one section to the next” (Ishiguro) - “…the many layers of self-deception and denial that shrouded any person’s view of their own self and past” (Ishiguro) Quotes - “I don’t recall what you’re referring to” (pg 102) GUILT & SIGNIFICANCE Concept Statement Ono's persistent revision of the past through flashbacks and digressions reveals Ishiguro's observation that we pursue significance and relevance even when we find 'one had backed a wrong, shameful, even evil cause'. Ono: Insignificant and therefore not guilty VS significant and thereby guilty? Insignificant/Not Guilty - Setsuko: “father was just a painter” (p193). What motivates Setsuko? Concern for her father? - Mr Naguchi as a foil for Ono VS Hirayami boy (naïve and taught patriotism) - End of novel reveal creates uncertainty and highlights unreliability of Ono - Ono ultimately revises Matsuda’s comment that “we are ordinary men” to “achieve something of real value and distinction” (demonstrates sense of selfdeception even to the end of the novel) - Matsuda: “we are ordinary men” (pg 200) - Rehearsal of confession at the miai reveals awareness if perception and need to save Noriko’s marriage Significant/Guilty - Kuroda & Mr Enchi, “traitor” repetition and motif of bulldozers (description of Kuroda as gaunt and destroyed (p77) foreshadows the eventual climax of Ono’s betrayal) - Plot: late revelation in the novel creates suspense and mention of Kuroda’s shoulder injury creates suspicion - Is Ono innocent? Consider title of group – ‘Unpatriotic Activities’. - Motif of burning = grief and loss (loss of art and loss of war are aligned through this motif, what drives Ono to defy his father?) - Wins 1938 Shigeta award – highlights the possibility of Ono’s significance - Sugimura’s house – “action of prestige”, “worthy status”, “they can only find things to our advantage” intentionally deceives the reader - Auction of prestige: occurs before the war, Ono creates a pretence of his humility by deferring to other’s opinion on his significance. - Suichi and Taro reinforce Ono’s sense of guilt and challenge Japanese imperialism through pursuit for employment in American companies and comments like “the American heroes are better models” (pg 36) - Mr Naguchi’s suicide – seen as honourable, acknowledges his past significance and thus his revised guilt as a result of a shift in societal values - Discussion on the Bridge of Hesitation (pg 205), highlights the possibility that he believes he truly was significant Form Revisits and revises memories and people to suit the purpose of preserving status and significance Shintaro from a companion and byal student to a “cunning” and “underhand” (reference to China crisis is obscured/denied by Ono – self-preservation and manipulation through voice) Use of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person pronouns allows Ono to create artificial distance from events/memories that prove too painful and confronting (continues to return to long-past moments of significance Non-linear structure: Ono reorders timeline to create empathy before revealing his own failings (“utmost delicacy” – Matsuda) Critical Perspectives - “reminiscing reveals mechanisms of self-deception” (Tellini) - “nostalgia sometimes sweetens the recollections of that time” (Tellini) Quotes - “It’s just that in the end we turned out to be ordinary men. Ordinary men with no special gifts of insight.” (Matsuda, pg 200) - “With utmost delicacy… That is with regards to the past” (Matsuda, pg 94) - “you see, the present negotiations may be quite delicate in nature” (Ono, pg 94) - “I walked on to where our pleasure district used to be” (Ono, pg 205) - “to risk everything in the endeavour to rise above the mediocre” (Ono, pg 204, Ono’s resignation of himself, he is an anachronism and is now moving into the new world) - “Whatever we did, we did at the time in the best of faith.” - “Just a painter” (pg 193, Setsuko dismisses Ono’s past) - “Ono has achieved something of real value and distinction” (pg 204) - “He had much respect for artists. Indeed he knew of your work” (pg 9) - “I am often surprised when someone reminds me of the rather high esteem in which I am held” (pg 19) ROLE OF THE ARTIST Concept Statement Ono’s desire “to be an acclaimed, significant artist” (The Relevance of the Artist) drives his shifting from one art style to another, however ultimately revealing Ishiguro’s observation that craving permanence in a transient world is unrealistic. He skilfully reflects this through the cohesive motif of the floating world and the nonlinear structure of the text. - Ono’s “desire to rise above the mediocre” drives his shifting from one art style to another, seeking increasing significance: leads to ultimate betrayal and loss both artistically and personally through war (“floating world” motif – irony of propaganda as the final art – his status more “floating” than aesthetics of Ukiyoe) - Return to watercolours potentially symbolises innocence/purity of the world - “An artist” lacks significance and drifts with the dominant form of the time - “Complacency” artwork becomes “Eyes to the Horizon” (manipulates social concern to have a political agenda) Chronological order of art journey: 1. Commercial Art (1913) - Boss: Takeda - Colleagues: Tortoise - Movement: Traditional Japanese art, high demand of work - Setting: Takeda’s firm 2. Aesthetic Art (1920s) - Boss: Mori-San - Colleagues: Sasaki (gets fired) - Movement: 'Ukiyo-e' = floating world - Setting: the Villa - Key Events: Ono gets 'dismissed' from villa after straying from artwork 3. Political Art (1930s) - Boss/Colleague: Matsuda (Okada-Shingen Society) - Students: Kuroda & Shintaro - Movement: Nationalistic and patriotic art - Setting: "Cultural Committee of the Interior Department" (heart of the city: political) - Key Events: Matsuda and Ono visit slums, China crisis posters, Kuroda being arrested for going against their art, Ono receives award Form/Language Features Title: “An Artist”, implies he didn’t hold great significance as he’s not “The Artist” Non-linear plot/analepsis: Follows a story where he lacks significance as an artist with one where he holds great significance (e.g. Matsuda says they're just "ordinary men" and straight after Ono brings up the "Shigeta Foundation Award" (pg 200-202) Repetition: “Ordinary men” (pg 200) “rise above the mediocre” is referenced as justification for shifting art movements so often – the chase to be superior, following the trends Critical Perspectives - Ono’s deepest desire is “to be an acclaimed, significant artist.” (The Relevance of the Artist) - His art doesn’t spring from his ideas, but rather from “copying and adapting other people’s ideas” whenever they became the most relevant (The Relevance of the Artist) - Ono has “transitory success by shaping his work to fit the demands of specific times and places, and by copying others who have gained acclaim” (The Relevance of the Artist) - “The floating world comes to refer, in the larger metaphorical sense, to the fact that the values of society are always in flux” (Ishiguro) - At the end “he’s still an artist of the floating world which is what he said he had to stop being. That’s why it’s called An Artist of the Floating World” (Ishiguro) Quotes - Ichiro: "Was Oji a famous artist once?" … Ono: "I suppose you might say that." (pg 32) - "My ability to realise a scene on canvas based only on the briefest of passing glances; it is possible I have my father to thank for this skill, and the inadvertent training he gave my artist's eye during those formative years." (pg 41) - "…the missing paintings are the very ones you're most proud of. Isn't that so?" (pg 43, pg 178) - Ono's dad: "Artists live in squalor and poverty. They inhabit a world which gives them every temptation to become weak-willed and depraved." (pg 46) - "When I said I was ambitious, I meant I wished to rise above such life" (pg 47, Ono pursues art to rise above the mediocre) - "If an artist refuses to sacrifice quality for the sake of speed, then that's something we should all respect." (pg 68) - "It's all very well for the rest of those workhorses to toil under Master Takeda to earn their living. But those of us with serious ambitions must look elsewhere." (pg 71) - "The Takeda experience taught me never to follow the crowd blindly, but to consider carefully the direction in which I was being pushed." (pg 73, except he did follow the crowd blindly lol) - "…the impact lines - resembling streaks of lightning - which the artist had painted in to emphasise the ferocity of the giant lizard." (pg 82, shift in aesthetic art to propaganda) - "It’s no bad thing to mimic one's teacher for a while. One learns a lot that way. But all in good time, you'll develop your own ideas and techniques" (pg 111) - "…these days, though, the management has taken to decorating the rooms in a somewhat vulgar manner - intended, no doubt, to strike the American clientele with whom the place is popular as being charmingly 'Japanese' (pg 116, traditional Japanese art) - "For Mori-san was consciously trying to 'modernise' the Utamaro tradition; in many of his most notable paintings" (pg 140, progress of art) - "[Mori-san's] work was full of European influences… he had long abandoned the use of the traditional dark outline to define his shapes, preferring instead the Western use of blocks of colour, with light and shade to create a 3D appearance." (pg 141) - "…an artist's talent can transcend the limitations of a particular style" (pg 149) - "The finest, most fragile beauty an artist can hope to capture drifts within those pleasure houses after dark." (pg 150) - "It did receive much praise at the time for its vigorous brush technique and, particularly, its powerful use of colour" (pg 169) - "There's a certain kind of artist these days…whose greatest talent lies in hiding away from the real world" (pg 171) - "An artist's concern is to capture beauty wherever he finds it" (pg 172) - "How can we decadent foolish artists help bring about your political revolution?", they wanted to use Matsuda's art "for a restoration. We simply ask that his Imperial Majesty the Emperor be restored to his rightful place as head of our state." (pg 173) - "…[Mori-san's] collective endeavour to capture the fragile lantern light of the pleasure world; bold calligraphy had been introduced to complement the visual impact." (pg 174) - "Kuroda, the most gifted of my pupils" (pg 175) - "…artists must learn to value something more tangible than those pleasurable things that disappear with the morning light. It is not necessary that artists always occupy a decadent and enclosed world." (pg 180) - "A few watercolours to pass the time. Plants and flowers mostly, just for my own amusement" (pg 199, Ono returns to painting what he initially did as a boy) - "How I used to tease you for your narrow artist's perspective. You used to get so angry with me. Well, it seems in the end neither of us had a broad enough view." (pg 199) TRADITION & PROGRESS Concept Statement Ishiguro skilfully explores how generational relationships can convey the shifting values between Ono’s Japanese traditions and his children’s Americanised worldview. Ishiguro demonstrates this through destructive and constructive imagery as well as the non-linear structure of the text, revealing Ono’s hesitation to gradually accept the progress of post-war Japan. - Ono ultimately revises Matsuda’s comment that “we are ordinary men” to “achieve something of real value and distinction” (demonstrates sense of selfdeception even to the end of the novel) - Ishiguro asks the question: Is forward movement = progress? - Ono: “one can only wish them well” (Perhaps an undertone of scepticism/irony that the world will one day become “tradition”) - Gradual demolition of pleasure district and replacement with business district embodies philosophical shift from aestheticism/hedonism to capitalism/economic rationalism - The generational relationships used as a vehicle to convey shifting foundations of cultural elements (e.g. patriarchy, marriage contracts, behaviour/parenting of Ichiro, “spinach VS sake”) - Generational divide between Ono and his daughters, his students and his grandson - Resolution: anachronism of Ono on the park bench “in the place of the MigiHidari” but surrounded by a new physical, economic, cultural and political reality/ideology Structure Four arbitrary sections show physical/geographical changes to convey gradual acceptance of progress for Ono (most clearly demonstrated in crossing the Bridge of Hesitation in the final scenes) Accompanied by descriptions that move from a focus on “rubble” (pg 26-27) to “glass-fronted buildings” (pg 206) Destruction/Construction Imagery Gradual demolition of pleasure district and replacement with business district “But to see how our city has been rebuilt, how things have recovered so rapidly over these years, fills me with genuine gladness” (pg 206) Embodies philosophical shift from aestheticism to hedonism The reception room: the intensity around its presence is diminished Setting as time goes on. His father described it as “a place to be revered, a place to be unsoiled by everyday trivialities” Pleasure district/business district Noriko’s apartment: “no room for Oji here” DECEPTION & SELF-PERCEPTION Concept Statement “The many layers of self-deception and denial” that Ishiguro skilfully explores through the characterisation of Ono is demonstrated through his use of shifting pronouns, distancing himself from the truth, as well as the cohesive lantern motif, representing one’s ability to reveal and conceal the truth. - Ono's character is laced with self-deception all throughout the novel. He deceives himself in attempts to avoid responsibility for his actions and also to avoid the pain of loss. Ono leads both intentional deception to his audience, and also internalised deception to which the reader sees themself. - Godzilla: Japanese myth of monster to represent Ono’s concealment of his own “demons” (Ichiro under the raincoat as a mirror of this) - Digressions and failed memories: Accurate or a rule to avoid culpability? (“I digress”, “I did not mean to digress”) - Chooses to confess to “guilt” at miai so that Noriko’s future is secured (“a lord must gather his men” – midway through novel, Ono still imagines a return to status and influence) - Sugimura’s park is actually a deserted monument to failure and misplaced ambition (Ono instead admires Sugimura’s pursuit of being “something more than ordinary” - Unreliable narration: deceives the audience and himself (whether that is unintentional, or an intentional mechanism used to avoid the truth that may be either too hurtful) - Gaps in memories and avoidance when involving culpability (Kuroda), but clearly remembers the events that are favourable to him Form/Language Features Pronouns: Jumping pronouns (I, you, it) reveals Ono’s true emotions and his level of comfortability with the topic Personal pronouns of “you” distances himself from the audience and conceals his true emotions. This address to the audience also suggests Ono is acting as though he is explaining events and experiences in his revision of the past with full understanding – façade to the audience and himself Non-linear plot/analepsis: Follows a story where he lacks significance as an artist with one where he holds great significance (e.g. Matsuda says they're just "ordinary men" and straight after Ono brings up the "Shigeta Foundation Award" (pg 200-202) Repetition: “Ordinary men” (pg 200) Lantern Motif Shadows the light shows that some truth is concealed, and some revealed – deception within oneself Critical Perspectives - “Ono’s personal self-deceptions and concealments point to much larger forms of self-deception and concealment at the national level” (Wright) - “people have actually to deceive themselves to a certain extent to preserve their dignity” (Ishiguro) - “…the many layers of self-deception and denial that shrouded any person’s view of their own self and past” (Ishiguro) LOSS & GRIEF Concept Statement Ono’s persistent revision of the past uncovered lots of pain and loss both on an individual and national level, explored through Ishiguro’s cohesive motif of “burning” and continuous flashbacks to memories that remind him of what he once had. - Key plot events: Ono’s dad burning his paintings, Kuroda’s paintings being burnt, the house being bombed with smoke - Settings: the reception room, Ono’s house Motif of burning “there’s a smell of burning around the house” (pg 47) “it meant bombings and fire” “usually means a neighbour is cleaning his garden: IMPERIALISM/DOGMA Concept Statement Ishiguro masterfully explores how individuals conform to national expectations and a dogmatic lifestyle, demonstrated through Ono’s desperation to be produce significant “militaristic propaganda” (Sexton), yet later attempting to disassociate himself from that movement through his unreliable narration and digressions. - Transition from ‘Complacency’ artwork to ‘Beyond the Horizon’ reflects how individuals conform to national expectations - Settings: the reception room, Ono’s house - Ono desperately wants to make a grand contribution and thus pursues in art that will fulfill his self-esteem - The unreliable narration and digressions into selective flashbacks reveal how Ono is attempting to justify his past convictions - The Hirayama Boy metaphor reflects the naivety and compliancy of individuals to patriotic ideas - Imagery of ‘skeletal remains’ and ‘burnt out buildings’ reinforce the dangers and destruction of being lead astray Motifs Bridge of Hesitation: reflects the hesitancy individuals face when they believe to be at the time of best faith Floating world: reflects how ideology and national attitudes are ever-changing and not restricted to binary definitions Quotes “it meant bombings and fire” “usually means a neighbour is cleaning his garden: - “All too often men talk of loyalty and follow blindly. I for one have no wish to lead my life like that” (pg 72) Distinctive Features Form Structure - Loose structure guided by arbitrary dates which is the vehicle for seasonal imagery that characterises Ono’s interactions and key moments. - Fragmentation, non-linear plot, time shifts and plot digressions (wanders whilst telling the story) - Reveals shifts in identity and conflicting narratives that are indicative of Ono's self-deceptive nature. - Compartmentalises Ono’s life, allowing him to exclude or include what he wants to in order to maintain his desired image. Voice - Stilted, unemotive and formal prose (reads like a translation from Japanese to English) - Singular narrative voice which is unreliable (stream of consciousness). Enhances interplay of truth and memory. - Low modality emphasises uncertainty of individual identity. - Second and third person pronouns highlight sensitive subject matter or desire to maintain emotional distance - Literary construction of ambiguity; conflicting narratives (Ono contradicts himself when telling the same story twice but they’re different) - Abstractions and generalisations in narration; avoidance of culpability. Key in highlighting the unreliability of human memory, specifically Ono’s as he attempts to grasp onto the last shreds of his significance. Self-Reflexive Nature of the Text - Integral in the construction of Ono’s shifting identity. Allows reflection and critique on his past actions and political affiliations. - Specifically significant in the assessment of the constantly changing role of art. - Self-reflexivity undermines Ono’s significance as he attempts to gloss over past mistakes or incorrect affiliations, which constructs high levels of unreliability in his narrative voice. - Undermines the reliability in the nature of Ono’s memory and highlights his need to constantly redefine personal truth. Flashbacks and use of Analepsis - Reveal Ono's memories often display altered truth to consolidate his actions in a favourable way. Highlighting the self-deception associated with the human condition as well as the unreliability of memory. - Allow past actions to be evaluated in present contexts, specifically effective due to the changes in Japanese culture and politics. - More digressions and analysis than current events and interactions reveals preoccupation with the past and its influence on the present Overarching Motif from the Title - Frames the reality of Ono’s relative insignificance (indefinite article) and the insubstantial nature of his world and, by extension, post-war Japan - Ono ‘floats’ through the text: In his disconnected state, he adapts by framing identity, memory, and truth in order to best suit his current audience Circular Narrative - Confuses reader in order to recreate Ono’s disorientation - Non-linear plot allows (re)definition of self in light of a range of artists reflects the fluidity of individuals within this context - Conflicting accounts undermines reliability, stream-of-consciousness wanders Language Features Allusions to American Cultural Influences - Typical of the prescribed setting and allows the tension to build between the Old and New Japan. Aggregation of Images - Constructs the aesthetic element of An Artist, displaying the clear dichotomies between what was the Migi-Hidari and the new business district. The previous Migi-Hidari is characterised by lanterns and shadows, whereas the business district is characterised by glass and light. Character Foils and Mirrors - Compares characters like Kuroda and Shintaro, to establish Ono’s view of the perfect student role. Often, they are compared to Ono and help to construct his contradictory views and standards. - Key in constructing the ‘big reveal’ plot device concerning Kuroda, emphasising Ono’s efforts to abstract Kuroda from his story to maintain his moral significance. Extended Metaphor of Destruction and Construction - Reflective of the crumbling of identity and values in the aim to rebuild the New Japan. - Dismantling of personal identity as a response to shifts in cultural and national identity. Literary Construction of Ambiguity (Conflicting Narratives) - Lends itself to the construction and discussion an unreliable narrator, the nature of memory and the constant redefinition of personal truth. Nomenclature - Characterises the setting and allows historical accuracy to permeate the text. Also helps to establish the rich history of Japanese art and how that is contradicted by the Americanisation of Japan. Plot Devices - Kuroda and the ‘big reveal’ is integral in highlighting the truth about Ono’s past actions and affiliations. Lending itself to the construction of self-deception and the manipulation of memory. Displays Ono’s contradictions and hypocritical views of student/teacher relationships. - The marriage proposal allows the exploration of Ono’s identity as a father and how he fits in the ‘New Japan’ – demonstrating his difference in views with his daughter, Noriko. It also highlights the overestimation of his significance in history and the contradictory views he has presented the audience with. Stilted/Unemotive and Formal Prose - Typical of a translation from Japanese to English, helps to characterise Ono’s traditionalist values. Symbols Gardens - Symbolises tranquillity and the uncomplicated, beautiful collaboration between humans and nature. - Ono would turn to a garden when in a hard or upsetting conversation - At the end of the novel, Ono is painting “plants and flowers”, further demonstrating his true connection to gardens Bulldozers - Reconstruction and deconstruction of the old Japan - Crumbling of values and tradition Burning Five Key Motifs in Artist - Sense of loss - Physically, Ono lost his paintings, wife and son - He also lost his significance and relationships - “’The smell of burning still makes me uneasy’, I remarked. ‘It’s not so long ago it meant bombings and fire… ‘These days, a smell of burning usually means a neighbour is clearing his garden.” (pg 200): This motif wraps up on this page and Ono still feels the same towards his losses, however, seems to be more optimistic about the future and renewal in order to bring peace. Lanterns - Truth and memory - Ability to self-deceive - Illuminate certain things while other parts are hidden in the shadows - Conceal/reveal - “Of course, at times, when I remember those brightly-lit bars and all those people gathered beneath the lamps… I feel a certain nostalgia for the past and the district as it used to be.” (pg 206): Destruction VS Construction - Tradition VS Progress, generational divide - Physically destroying old things and building up a new Japan - Crumbling values, redefinition of identity (individually for Ono and nationally as a country) - “The area has now been rebuilt and has become quite unrecognisable.” (pg 205): This motif wraps up on this page as Ono goes through how the pleasure district has been physically destroyed and turned into apartments and offices, however it’s moreso constructive imagery about what new things are in place, rather than destructive about how his tradition has been destroyed, sense of acceptance Bridge of Hesitation - Caught between: generations, truth/reality, guilt/significance - Physically and metaphorically stuck in the middle - Liminality = actually stuck in the doorway, in the middle of two spaces - He describes other men stuck on the bridge as “conscience-troubled men” - Hesitation and apprehension - Stuck in a moment of social and political flux - “Yesterday morning, after standing on the Bridge of Hesitation for some moments thinking about Matsuda, I walked on to where our pleasure district used to be.” (pg 204-205) Floating World - Relativity and revisionism - Representative of transience, shifting values - Historical change/perspective - Cyclical nature of the world and beliefs - “But to see how our city has been rebuilt, how things have recovered so rapidly over these years, fills me with a genuine gladness.” - “Our nation, it seems, whatever mistakes it may have made in the past, has now another change to make a better go of things” (pg 206): Ono alludes to the cyclical nature of generational change and accepts that values and significance has shifted from his time of status to now his children and grandchildren - “It was a profound sense of happiness deriving from the conviction that one’s efforts have been justified; that the hard work undertaken, the doubts overcome, have all been worthwhile; that one has achieved something of real value and distinction… ‘We at least acted on what we believed and did our utmost’.” (pg 204): Revising his past, perhaps still clinging onto his significance and not quite letting go, but still willing to accept moving on. Page 202 aligns with this as well as he revisits the most successful time in his career.
