Post by Hiba Rashid on Oct 22, 2015 3:44:19 GMT
The last sentences “Tokyo is still the same. It hasn’t changed a bit” (pg. 231) seem to be relevant to the time period the story is set in -- World War II. Although it does not explicitly state whether it is during war or post-war, Shizueko’s mother’s death in Hiroshima and the reference to an American soldier points to this approximate time period. If this is in fact the setting the author intended, there are few parts that don’t seem aligned with history. First, the mother apparently dies from air raids on Hiroshima -- from my knowledge, there were air raids (firebombings) on Tokyo and then atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Second, the air raids on Tokyo killed more people than the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So, I would expect there to be more than just physical differences in Tokyo, but Kasai claims that there was no change beyond the physical.
Putting history aside and working with just the story, Kasai may see Tokyo as unchanged in comparison to the rest of Japan where many people lost their lives to war, like the mother. He “even feels justified in expecting” a change from war, but the city of Tokyo has gone on moving without those lost lives. It has forgotten the memories of war and preserved the essence of old Tokyo (pre-war). I believe Kasai doesn’t like Tokyo and feels uncomfortable with how it has remained the same. To him, Tokyo is not a reflection of the histories of its country. A city like Tokyo, like other large global cities (NYC), does not stop moving even when tragedies occur. Unlike this foolish city, Kasai is a fool that is cured and changes with the death of Shizueko’s mother. After hearing of the death, he stops foolishly pursuing an imaginary love with Shizueko and his betrayal. Through his meal with Shizueko, he honors her mother and lets go of his childish grudge towards her.
(My interpretation of this story and its relevance to WWII may be completely off, so feel free to share your own interpretations)
Discussion Questions: Why does Kasai badmouth Shizueko’s mother and think of her as selfish, even though she treated him well? Does his mindset change after hearing about her death?
Putting history aside and working with just the story, Kasai may see Tokyo as unchanged in comparison to the rest of Japan where many people lost their lives to war, like the mother. He “even feels justified in expecting” a change from war, but the city of Tokyo has gone on moving without those lost lives. It has forgotten the memories of war and preserved the essence of old Tokyo (pre-war). I believe Kasai doesn’t like Tokyo and feels uncomfortable with how it has remained the same. To him, Tokyo is not a reflection of the histories of its country. A city like Tokyo, like other large global cities (NYC), does not stop moving even when tragedies occur. Unlike this foolish city, Kasai is a fool that is cured and changes with the death of Shizueko’s mother. After hearing of the death, he stops foolishly pursuing an imaginary love with Shizueko and his betrayal. Through his meal with Shizueko, he honors her mother and lets go of his childish grudge towards her.
(My interpretation of this story and its relevance to WWII may be completely off, so feel free to share your own interpretations)
Discussion Questions: Why does Kasai badmouth Shizueko’s mother and think of her as selfish, even though she treated him well? Does his mindset change after hearing about her death?
