Post by Justin Yu on Sept 10, 2015 13:53:21 GMT
"The transient seasons/weather and the young fire that breathes new life from the old. "
That is the feeling I felt from Kunikida Doppo's "The Bonfire".
"The Bonfire" starts out with a melancholy description of a coastline along the Sagami Bay, just miles south from present-day Yokohama. The coastline is still with little life, save for the lonely traveler. And even then, the cold, winter night creeping over the twilight has dampened any life from the passersbys. Even the spirited boatman "only looks, says not a word... this man, this fisherman or farmer who plies his oars in loneliness," during the transition from harvest season to the biting, winter night (Doppo, p31). The bay was dead... until the arrival of the boys.
The boys, excited with the prospect of building a bonfire, gathered driftwood. Some of the wood was not simply fallen logs swept into the ocean but old, used items such as the mirror frame, which was described by the other boys to burn "the best of all" (Doppo, p32). To add to their excitement, were fires set by Izu farmers to burn leftover foliage from the harvest season. These two items: the mirror frame and old crops being burned both highlight the idea of "new life from the old". The old mirror frame, which had lost its mirror and was worn from the ocean waves, was given new life as kindle for the fire. Likewise, the fires set by the Izu farmers would create a fresh topsoil that would be usable to support new crops after Winter. Each of the old items would be reborn as a young, joyous fire, which would bring new life to the land. As the fires from Izu had brought new life to the land in the form of topsoil, the fires made by the boys gave rise to their joy which reanimated the melancholy coastline.
The fire was the source of the young boy's joy, banter, and thrill. And indeed those young feelings, as well as youth itself, are encompassed by the fire. Even the old wanderer "returned once more to the days when he was a boy" when he sat by the flames during his harsh journey (Doppo, p35). It was through the fire he began to reminisce about more joyful times. Due to his weathered life, these memories brought a degree of sorrow, but the fire was able to forget about those memories as he reminded himself of his boyhood.
What is everyone's thoughts about the tide coming in at the end of the story? I believed it to be the weather/nature bringing a close on life but that might be looking too deep on my part.
That is the feeling I felt from Kunikida Doppo's "The Bonfire".
"The Bonfire" starts out with a melancholy description of a coastline along the Sagami Bay, just miles south from present-day Yokohama. The coastline is still with little life, save for the lonely traveler. And even then, the cold, winter night creeping over the twilight has dampened any life from the passersbys. Even the spirited boatman "only looks, says not a word... this man, this fisherman or farmer who plies his oars in loneliness," during the transition from harvest season to the biting, winter night (Doppo, p31). The bay was dead... until the arrival of the boys.
The boys, excited with the prospect of building a bonfire, gathered driftwood. Some of the wood was not simply fallen logs swept into the ocean but old, used items such as the mirror frame, which was described by the other boys to burn "the best of all" (Doppo, p32). To add to their excitement, were fires set by Izu farmers to burn leftover foliage from the harvest season. These two items: the mirror frame and old crops being burned both highlight the idea of "new life from the old". The old mirror frame, which had lost its mirror and was worn from the ocean waves, was given new life as kindle for the fire. Likewise, the fires set by the Izu farmers would create a fresh topsoil that would be usable to support new crops after Winter. Each of the old items would be reborn as a young, joyous fire, which would bring new life to the land. As the fires from Izu had brought new life to the land in the form of topsoil, the fires made by the boys gave rise to their joy which reanimated the melancholy coastline.
The fire was the source of the young boy's joy, banter, and thrill. And indeed those young feelings, as well as youth itself, are encompassed by the fire. Even the old wanderer "returned once more to the days when he was a boy" when he sat by the flames during his harsh journey (Doppo, p35). It was through the fire he began to reminisce about more joyful times. Due to his weathered life, these memories brought a degree of sorrow, but the fire was able to forget about those memories as he reminded himself of his boyhood.
What is everyone's thoughts about the tide coming in at the end of the story? I believed it to be the weather/nature bringing a close on life but that might be looking too deep on my part.