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Post by Caden Hong on Oct 7, 2015 4:42:58 GMT
In both “Aguri” and “Portrait of An Old Geisha,” it is very clear that the older characters take on a role as caregivers for the younger characters. The dynamic between Kosono and Yuki, and Okada and Aguri are very similar in the ways that money is being traded for, in a general sense, youth and company. Okada, who is getting noticeably worse every day, spends his time and money to buy material goods for Aguri despite his unknown illness. Perhaps the progression of Okada’s illness represents his growing concerns in regards to the rate at which Aguri is learning to be more independent from him since she is growing up to be a young adult while he is slowly dying. I suspect this only because Okada expresses concerns of Aguri and her indifference towards him during his hallucinations and daydream visions (66-67). Or, this can also be a commentary on how invasive the Western forces are to the Japanese culture. This is expressed mainly through clothing: How suffocating it is for Okada to be in an outfit that does not match his identity on page 67 and 68, and how different and foreign Aguri looks when she finally tries on the custom made outfit. The progression of his illness seems to correspond to the slow erasure of the Japanese culture by Western influence.
We can see a codependent relationship that was present in “Aguri” between Kosono and Yuki. Kosono, an old geisha, offers to help Yuki become the inventor that he always wanted to be by providing him with a place to live, food to eat, and money to spend. She does not ask much from Yuki, just for him to “figure out what it is [he] really want from life — love, money… [and] aim for it and strike when the time’s right” (92). Though it seems like all the luxuries are being provided to Yuki for his creative and intellectual growth, Yuki realizes that the environment Kosono provides for him is rather toxic and suffocating. Yuki gets into the habit of running away from Kosono, and Kosono realizes that every time he runs away, it is as if Kosono is being robbed of something important in her life. Just like in “Aguri,” the relationship between the two characters turns out to be something of a different, and rather a disappointing substance than what was originally expected and desired for by the older character.
1. “Aguri”: Who is T.? And what do you make of the characters, Teruko (4 year old girl) and Osaki?
2. “Portrait of An Old Geisha”: How do you interpret Kosono’s poem at the end of the story?
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Post by Caden Hong on Oct 7, 2015 4:47:53 GMT
Sorry for the formatting issue. I don't know why half of the post is crossed out! Here's the second half of my comment without the line across it:
We can see a codependent relationship that was present in “Aguri” between Kosono and Yuki. Kosono, an old geisha, offers to help Yuki become the inventor that he always wanted to be by providing him with a place to live, food to eat, and money to spend. She does not ask much from Yuki, just for him to “figure out what it is [he] really want from life - love, money… [and] aim for it and strike when the time’s right” (92). Though it seems like all the luxuries are being provided to Yuki for his creative and intellectual growth, Yuki realizes that the environment Kosono provides for him is rather toxic and suffocating. Yuki gets into the habit of running away from Kosono, and Kosono realizes that every time he runs away, it is as if Kosono is being robbed of something important in her life. Just like in “Aguri,” the relationship between the two characters turns out to be something of a different, and rather a disappointing substance than what was originally expected and desired for by the older character.
1. “Aguri”: Who is T.? And what do you make of the characters, Teruko (4 year old girl) and Osaki?
2. “Portrait of An Old Geisha”: How do you interpret Kosono’s poem at the end of the story?
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Post by Airy Yeh on Oct 7, 2015 22:35:04 GMT
Good question, I think Teruko and Osaki might be his former wife and child. It is not clear who they are in the story, but from the sad mood and the way he seems to not want to talk too much about them, I think they are his separated family. In the story, they play the role of contrast from Aguri. Aguri is represented as fleeting, superficial, temporary pleasure. Teruko and Osaki, from the little things he says about them, give off a serious, dark, and sad mood perhaps because their relationship to each other were serious and meant to last. I don't think Okada expects his relationship with Aguri to last even a bit; he knows that it will end once he stops spending on her.
My first impression of Kosono's poem at the end of the story was how well it revealed how selfish she was. She invested all of her money and will on the youth and potential of Yuki, yet he thanklessly ran away from her. In her eyes, it was Yuki who was selfish. However, she is so absorbed and focused in fulfilling her need to leave a legacy behind before her death that she cannot understand what Yuki might be going through internally. She is unaware that what she is really doing to him is unhealthy. She manipulates and controls him but she doesn't understand that those are the things that she is doing to him. I thing the poem is well-placed in the story because their relationship was unidirectional from the beginning, and it ended that way with the poem clarifying the nature of the relationship. However, in another point of view, the poem reveals that we all have human needs and different ones during our developmental age. In youths like that of Yuki, we want to be independent and create meaningful, intimate relationships. In an older age like that of Kosono, we wish to contribute to the world and feel that we did something meaningful to leave behind. Kosono felt sorrowful because of what she had learned and experienced in her life.
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Post by Hiba Rashid on Oct 8, 2015 2:55:14 GMT
In "Aguri," I honestly did not even bother to think about who T. could be. I believe that since T. does not have a significant impact on the plot, he could represent anyone in society who may be judgmental of Okada for his relationship with Aguri. Therefore, he is not even given a full name - just an initial. As for Teruko and Osaki (let's also not forget the Mother that was mentioned), like Airy Yeh, I believe they are his family members from the past before Aguri. They could have either passed away or have somehow separated themselves from Okada. His pain and loneliness from the loss of this former family may have been what led him to his materialistic relationship and infatuation with Aguri. Of course, there is not enough evidence to prove this, but it is just my suspicion.
In "Portrait of an Old Geisha," the poem that Kosono writes towards the end symbolizes her emotions about Yuki and youth, in general. She was never able to accomplish her dreams when she was young. So, I believe she feels as if she has been deprived of that part of her life and attempted to relive it through Yuki. But, with that failed attempt, she realizes that she cannot simply expect others to fulfill her lost dreams. She accepts that Yuki has run away because he is young and deserves to live out his youth in his own desired way.
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