Post by Mina Kaneko on Oct 29, 2015 0:27:45 GMT
I enjoyed “Kappa,” by Akutagawa Ryunosuke very much. It is humorous and incredibly clever in its satire; by creating an absurdist world very different from but also similar to our own, Akutagawa allows us to see our existence with irony.
“Kappa” is full of characters and customs that mirror social and political issues, from the artist colony of “Super-Kappas,” led by the free-spirited, long-haired poet Tok to Gael, the director of the glass corporation who represents the capitalist pig, to scenes of riot and political clashes, such as the one addressing music censorship at Krabach’s concert. Some characters and customs mirror ours directly (conversations about the proletariat and capitalism, for example) while other traditions are inverted. One element I find interesting is the portrayal of male and female Kappas. The gender norms appear to be inverted from traditional Japanese gender norms: the Kappa society is matriarchal to some extent. While the he-Kappas are the main "movers and shakers" in the story (all successful Kappas mentioned are male, not to mention most Kappas mentioned in the story at all are male) and the women are peripheral, the she-Kappas are also the pursuers in Kappa courtship. When two Kappas get together to be a couple or to mate, the she-Kappas use aggressive tactics, often physical, to lure in the males. It is the she-Kappa who causes Lap's beak to rot. They are also often the domineering partners in the married Kappa couples- Gael says it’s his wife who ultimately controls the Quorax Cabinet, because she controls Gael himself. In a different instance, the elderly Kappa of The Great Tabernacle also gets tackled by his uncontrollable she-Kappa wife. This overt indication of the power of the female species calls attention to the fact that romantic and sexual pursuits in Japan (human Japan) are very different (males the aggressors, and traditionally very clearly defined roles of masculine/feminine). The approach to the female species in the story is interesting -- I don’t feel like there is a terribly strong critique of gender roles or sexism – women Kappa are not the main characters, nor the influential figures -- but they nonetheless have power. They are not described in a positive light, however, as they seem somewhat out of their minds when they pursue male Kappas.
-Akutagawa presents this story from the perspective of a psychiatric patient – why do you think that is? The writer (meaning, the person who tells us about the patient) isn’t prominent, but we’re told explicitly the patient is in a ward and imagines things that aren’t real (like the black lilies the Kappa brought him as gifts aren’t there in reality). How come?
-On pg. 103, Mag’s Words of the Fool ends: “The fact that Voltaire, who made a god out of reason, ended his life happily means that a human being is not as evolved as a Kappa.” What does he mean? Additionally, there are a few instances that suggest Kappas are more evolved than humans…
“Kappa” is full of characters and customs that mirror social and political issues, from the artist colony of “Super-Kappas,” led by the free-spirited, long-haired poet Tok to Gael, the director of the glass corporation who represents the capitalist pig, to scenes of riot and political clashes, such as the one addressing music censorship at Krabach’s concert. Some characters and customs mirror ours directly (conversations about the proletariat and capitalism, for example) while other traditions are inverted. One element I find interesting is the portrayal of male and female Kappas. The gender norms appear to be inverted from traditional Japanese gender norms: the Kappa society is matriarchal to some extent. While the he-Kappas are the main "movers and shakers" in the story (all successful Kappas mentioned are male, not to mention most Kappas mentioned in the story at all are male) and the women are peripheral, the she-Kappas are also the pursuers in Kappa courtship. When two Kappas get together to be a couple or to mate, the she-Kappas use aggressive tactics, often physical, to lure in the males. It is the she-Kappa who causes Lap's beak to rot. They are also often the domineering partners in the married Kappa couples- Gael says it’s his wife who ultimately controls the Quorax Cabinet, because she controls Gael himself. In a different instance, the elderly Kappa of The Great Tabernacle also gets tackled by his uncontrollable she-Kappa wife. This overt indication of the power of the female species calls attention to the fact that romantic and sexual pursuits in Japan (human Japan) are very different (males the aggressors, and traditionally very clearly defined roles of masculine/feminine). The approach to the female species in the story is interesting -- I don’t feel like there is a terribly strong critique of gender roles or sexism – women Kappa are not the main characters, nor the influential figures -- but they nonetheless have power. They are not described in a positive light, however, as they seem somewhat out of their minds when they pursue male Kappas.
-Akutagawa presents this story from the perspective of a psychiatric patient – why do you think that is? The writer (meaning, the person who tells us about the patient) isn’t prominent, but we’re told explicitly the patient is in a ward and imagines things that aren’t real (like the black lilies the Kappa brought him as gifts aren’t there in reality). How come?
-On pg. 103, Mag’s Words of the Fool ends: “The fact that Voltaire, who made a god out of reason, ended his life happily means that a human being is not as evolved as a Kappa.” What does he mean? Additionally, there are a few instances that suggest Kappas are more evolved than humans…