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Post by Caden Hong on Oct 21, 2015 4:55:13 GMT
Kati Motojiro’s “Lemon” is basically about an ill and melancholic narrator who finds a different way of viewing the world and understanding things around him when he purchases a lemon. One thing I found interesting was not only the extensive description of the lemon, but the short mentioning of the origin of the lemon. When the narrator brings the fruit up to his nose, he states that “its scent [reminded him of] an image of California” (152). I found this scene of him imagining and fantasizing about California via a lemon to be interesting because he states a view of resistance toward foreign goods later on. Before his illness, the narrator used to enjoy shopping at department stores like Maruzen. But as his illness began to get worse, he lost interest in going on extravagant shopping trips and eventually gave up on going to the store altogether. His expression of disgust and disapproval was not only at the store, but the products they carried and how pretentious their shelves were, “filled with imported goods” (150). When I read this story, my first thought was that it was a criticism of how dependent people were, and still are, on happiness and joy based on materialism (and specifically western goods in the context of this story?). It was only after the narrator became ill with tuberculosis that he began to really start taking things for their real values. His entire attitude and behavior changes when he buys a lemon. He was able to fully appreciate both its physical and intangible aspects, which he did not give much thought to before being diagnosed with TB. Because of this extreme shift in this character’s personality, I believe that the lemon was used as an important tool that was meant to embody ideals of simplicity, appreciation, gratitude, and humbleness (i.e. giving up on one’s greed and unnecessary desires) in a single object. The descriptions of its vibrant color, “coolness, texture, fragrance, and shape” helped me as a reader to visualize the lemon and to an extent experience his lemon the way the narrator did (152).
1. If the lemon helped him feel and function better, why do you think the narrator made an active decision to leave the lemon inside Maruzen (besides the fact that he wanted to leave it as a “bomb”)? Would you want to carry the lemon around if it makes you feel better?
2. When he used to shop at Maruzen, the narrator enjoyed buying expensive items from the store. What do you think he meant when the narrator described Maruzen as an “oppressive place” at the end of the story (153)?
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Post by Hiba Rashid on Oct 22, 2015 4:34:24 GMT
I believe the narrator purposely left the lemon inside Maruzen because the lemon gave him a feeling of health and liveliness. He had hoped that the lemon would have the same positive effect on the "oppressive, stifling place." He hoped that it would somehow transform the department store and its atmosphere. Even if the lemon made me feel better, I would not want to continue carrying it. For me, it would be a short lived happiness. If I were to keep the lemon, it would soon become bruised, flawed and spoiled. It would be better if I only saw the lemon in its perfectly ripened beauty. The case may be different for the narrator for he finds beauty in the impoverished. But, he contradicts himself -- he claims he appreciates impoverished beauty, but he was drawn to the lemon for its perfection and lack of flaws.
The narrator now sees Maruzen as being oppressive because he can no longer afford the luxuries of the department store. He has a "bone-chilling debt" (probably from hospital bills) and can't indulge in those extravagant material things, like before. His inability to purchase those items makes the place oppressive. The store could also remind him of a time when he was healthy and had the privilege of buying things from there. But now, he feels more connected to impoverished places that illustrate his deteriorating health.
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Post by Pedro J. Paez on Oct 22, 2015 4:54:51 GMT
I think there was no ulterior motive it seemed to me at least that the narrator thought about what if he would do this with lemon. Wouldn't it be exciting if you had a special object not an important object one that cause you to imagine a bomb, a harmless bomb filled with harmless excitement. I also think that this small fruit is just a fruit which is disposable so eventually it will rot and fade away so why not have some fun.
I'm not completely sure what he specifically meant by oppressive place I assume when he said the books, the students and cashiers those things now as time changes becomes less meaningful or uninterested. This could be one reason he ultimately decides to place the small joyful bomb.
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Post by Mina Kaneko on Oct 23, 2015 3:30:50 GMT
It's true that the narrator starts off the story listing a few basic things about his situation: he has tuberculosis, he's been drinking for days, and he has a bone-chilling debt. All of these, while he says his depressive state isn't due to any one of them, have an effect on the way he moves about the world. The things that bring him pleasure are often things that are run-down-- right away, he describes being attracted to the decrepit neighborhoods with their "impoverished beauty." When we look at the things that do bring him joy now, they're small things: cheap fireworks, marbles, a lemon. He says, "the fact that these small things could touch my heart, however slightly, made their purchase a necessary luxury" (150). The objects that attract him are often very simple objects and very colorful--the fireworks are garish, the marbles are bright, the lemon itself is perfect in shape and a luminous yellow. He appreciates grey gloomy buildings, but often he also notes color as being extremely appealing to him. On the other side of things, he describes Maruzen as having less simple, more luxurious products: imported goods, tobacco, perfume. Things of excess that he enjoyed when he was living a more comfortable life. Now, the luxury lies not in the expensive and superfluous things, but in the most simple, most colorful everyday objects.
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Post by Wan X. Wu on Oct 23, 2015 4:41:25 GMT
I don't think the lemon helped the narrator feel "better", I think he feels more alive. He described the lemon highly detailed and each description stimulated a certain sense of the 5 senses. So I think being tormented by sickness made him feel dead or worn out, but the stimulation he got from the lemon made him feel alive and I think he wanted to share that stimulation from the lemon, so he left it inside Maruzen. If it was me, I wouldn't keep the lemon, the sensation the lemon gave me would be inscribed in my mind so I wouldn't need the actual lemon. I'd rather leave it at Maruzen and maybe it would give somebody else a spark of life.
Going with what Hiba said, Maruzen carried lots of imported luxuries that he once was able to purchase. After being sick, he health slowly degraded and so did his wealth, he's no longer able to afford these luxuries and he's seen how materialistic things are compared to how precious life is.
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