Yukio Mishima develops the themes of
Existentialism and Nihilism through the
characters Noboru and Ryuji
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Outline existential schools of thought
Distinguish between existentialism and
nihilism
Concisely present examples of existentialism
and nihilism in The Sailor Who Fell From
Grace With the Sea
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Speculate about Mishima’s stance on
existentialism
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A chiefly 20th-century philosophical
movement prevalent in Europe assuming that
people are entirely free and thus responsible
for what they make of themselves
Existentialism is the philosophy that deals
with the subjective existence of an individual.
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Friedrich Nietzsche
Søren Kierkegaard
Blaise Pascal
Jean-Paul Sartre
Franz Kafka
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Albert Camus
Paul Tillich
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Focuses on concrete existence
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Existence precedes essence
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Angst
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Freedom
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Facticity
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Authenticity/Inauthenticity
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Despair
“Values determined by ones own existence”
vs.
“Values do not exist but rather are falsely
invented”
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Existentialists believe that one can create
value and meaning, whilst nihilists will deny
this.
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Yukio Mishima followed many samurai
teachings that coincide with views resembling
typical European existentialism
◦ Authentication
◦ Life is meaningless
◦ Lack of forward-thinking/retrospective ideas
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If I were an amoeba, he thought, with an
infinitesimal body, I could defeat ugliness. A
man isn’t tiny or giant enough to defeat
anything.
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If I were an amoeba, he thought, with an
infinitesimal body, I could defeat ugliness. A
man isn’t tiny or giant enough to defeat
anything.
Seeking authentication
The cry of despair: “There
is no purpose.”
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But as the years passed, he grew indifferent
to the lure of exotic lands. He found himself
in the same predicament all sailors share:
essentially he belonged neither to the land
nor the sea.
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But as the years passed, he grew indifferent
to the lure of exotic lands. He found himself
in the same predicament all sailors share:
essentially he belonged neither to the land
nor the sea.
Apathy
Attempt to separate
self from society
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But life aboard ship taught him only the
regularity of natural law and the dynamic
stability of the wobbling world.
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But life aboard ship taught him only the
regularity of natural law and the dynamic
stability of the wobbling world.
Separation from society
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There must be a special destiny in store for
me; a glittering special-order kind no
ordinary man would be permitted.
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There must be a special destiny in store for
me; a glittering special-order kind no
ordinary man would be permitted.
Self-importance
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... And his favorite one was called “I can’t Give
Up The Sailor’s Life.”
The Whistle wails and streamers tear,
Our ship slips away from the pier.
Now, the sea’s my home, I decided that
But even I must shed a tear
As I wave, boys, I wave so sad
At the harbor town where my heart was glad.
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... And his favorite one was called “I Can’t
Give Up The Sailor’s Life.”
The Whistle wails and streamers tear,
Our ship slips away from the pier.
Now, the sea’s my home, I decided that
But even I must shed a tear
As I wave, boys, I wave so sad
At the harbor town where by heart was glad.
Despair-driven diction
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Exaltation swelled in Ryuji’s voice when he
touched on the misery of his life, and while
he was recalling the total in his bankbook, he
couldn’t help digressing from the sea’s power
to and benevolence, which was the story he
had longed to tell, in order to boast about his
own prowess like a very ordinary man indeed.
It was just another particular aspect of his
vanity.
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Exaltation swelled in Ryuji’s voice when he
touched on the misery of his life, and while
he was recalling the total in his bankbook, he
couldn’t help digressing from the sea’s power
to and benevolence, which was the story he
had longed to tell, in order to boast about his
own prowess like a very ordinary man indeed.
It was just another particular aspect of his
vanity.
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“And that’s your hero?” the chief said and
when he had finished. His thin red upper lip
had a tendency to curl when he spoke. “Don’t
you realize there is no such thing as a hero in
the world?”
“But he’s different. He’s really going to do
something... terrific.”
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“And that’s your hero?” the chief said and
when he had finished. His thin red upper lip
had a tendency to curl when he spoke. “Don’t
you realize there is no such thing as a hero in
the world?”
“But he’s different. He’s really going to do
something... terrific.”
Downplay of admiration
Justification for admiration
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There isn’t any fear in existence itself, or any
uncertainty, but living creates it. And society
is basically meaningless, a Roman mixed
bath. And school, school is just society in
miniature: that’s why we’re always being
ordered around. A bunch of blind men tell us
what to do, tear our unlimited ability to
shreds.
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There isn’t any fear in existence itself, or any
uncertainty, but living creates it. And society
is basically meaningless, a Roman mixed
bath. And school, school is just society in
miniature: that’s why we’re always being
ordered around. A bunch of blind men tell us
what to do, tear our unlimited ability to
shreds.
Self-justification/authentication
Downplay of society’s traits
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“...murder would fill those gaping caves in
much the same way that a crack along its face
will fill a mirror. Then they would achieve real
power over existence."
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“...murder would fill those gaping caves in
much the same way that a crack along its face
will fill a mirror. Then they would achieve real
power over
over existence."
existence
Emptiness
Self-justification
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The death had transfigured the kitten into a
perfect, autonomous world.
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The death had transfigured the kitten into a
perfect, autonomous world.
Search for beauty in
abnormal places
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Noboru, as he affected childishness, was
standing guard over the perfection of the
adults, the moment. His was the sentinel’s
role. The less time they h ad, the better. The
shorter this meeting was, the less perfection
would be marred. For the moment, as a man,
leaving a woman behind to voyage around
the world, as a sailor and as a Second Mate,
Ryuji was perfect.
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Noboru, as he affected childishness, was
standing guard over the perfection of the
adults, the moment. His was the sentinel’s
role. The less time they had, the better. The
shorter this meeting was, the less perfection
perfection
would be marred. For the moment, as a man,
leaving a woman behind to voyage around
the world, as a sailor and as a Second Mate,
Ryuji was perfect.
Quest for perfection
Attempt to preserve what
little freedom/happiness
exists
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It was time to abandon the dream he had
cherished too long. Time to realize that no
specially tailored glory was waiting for him"
(110).
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It was time to abandon the dream he had
cherished too long. Time to realize that no
specially tailored glory was waiting for him
Despair
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“The only people in this world I really trust
are my fans – even if they do forget you so
fast,” Yoriko mumbled as she lit an imported
women’s cigarette.
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“The only people in this world I really trust
are my fans – even if they do forget you so
fast,” Yoriko mumbled as she lit an imported
women’s cigarette.
Justification of lifestyle
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There is no such thing as a good father because
the role itself is bad. Strict fathers, soft fathers,
nice moderate fathers – one’s as bad as another.
They stand in the way of our progress while they
try to burden us with their inferiority complexes
and their unrealized aspirations and their
resentments, and their ideals, and the
weaknesses they’ve never told anyone about, and
their sins and their sweeter-than-honey dreams,
and the maxims they’ve never had the courage to
live by – they’d like to unload the all that silly
crap on us, all of it!
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There is no such thing as a good father because
the role itself is bad. Strict fathers, soft fathers,
nice moderate fathers – one’s as bad as another.
They stand in the way of our progress while they
try to burden us with their inferiority complexes
and their unrealized aspirations and their
resentments, and their ideals, and the
weaknesses they’ve never told anyone about, and
their sins and their sweeter-than-honey dreams,
and the maxims they’ve never had the courage to
live by – they’d like to unload the all that silly
crap on us, all of it!
Angst
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"All six of us are geniuses. And the world, as
you know, is empty”
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“All six of us are geniuses. And the world, as
you know, is empty.”
Authentication/inauthentication
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Right, he knew, in terms of a father’s moral
obligation. Most books and magazines would
agree.
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Right, he knew, in terms of a father’s moral
obligation. Most books and magazines would
agree.
Justification
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Gradually, as he talked to the boys, Ryuji had
come to understand himself as Noboru
imagined him… Now perilous death had
rejected him. And glory, no doubt of that…
“Want some tea?”… Still immersed in his
dream, he drank down the tepid tea.
Favours Existentialism
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Existentialist characters
are depicted as wiser
Honourable similarities
coincide with traditional
Japanese values
Uses the novel as a
vehicle of
authentication
Values depicted as
subjective
Opposes Existentialism
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Existential characters
suffer despair and
angst
Desperate situations
seem to lead to
“irrational” actions
Characters have
difficulty conforming
to society’s norms
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He stares at death with passionate attention
and this fascination liberates him.