Post by Alexis Iguina on Sept 16, 2015 21:13:03 GMT
Upon reading the first few lines, I was shocked about the narrator’s description of cherry blossoms as something scary. I was surprised that a few centuries ago people avoided the trees. How could something so delicate and pretty be harmful? Yet as I kept reading, it became clear why the trees were “something to be afraid of.”
For one, underneath the trees is dead silence. As Ango describes, “…there was no wind, no sound of anything…” Furthermore, the bandit traveling through the forest could “feel the life inside him scattering.” This line made me think of the bacteria in our intestines that live within us. If one is in a place as silent as the cherry forest, then one could probably hear his or her bacteria working in the gut.
For another, people lost their minds. The trees can easily hide where north, south, east and west lie; thus without a sense of direction, one can feel trapped. For a person like the bandit, who feels he owns the mountains, sky and trees, losing a sense of direction is like losing a piece of oneself. Additionally, you can’t mark how much you have traveled if you can’t see beyond. Perhaps, for this reason, the bandit ran so he could escape the endlessness.
The woman in the story is a direct metaphor of the forest. She is beautiful and so the bandit was compelled by her. However, her beauty “swallowed him” and “sucked the soul out of him.” Just like the forest, her presence makes him loose his sense of self. He escapes this by avoiding her similar to him avoiding the forest for ten years.
The woman also has endless demands. The demands are very inhumane and cruel but he does it for her nevertheless. Yet she is ungrateful every time he completes something for her. It as though his efforts are in vain. Her demands are the infinitude of the forest and his efforts are like the running away but only seeing petals. It’s very overwhelming.
Question: In the story, before going to the capital, the woman asks the bandit “Why do you have to see about going under the blossoms?” Is there a reason he was fixated on visiting the blossoms again, even after he had a horrible experience?
For one, underneath the trees is dead silence. As Ango describes, “…there was no wind, no sound of anything…” Furthermore, the bandit traveling through the forest could “feel the life inside him scattering.” This line made me think of the bacteria in our intestines that live within us. If one is in a place as silent as the cherry forest, then one could probably hear his or her bacteria working in the gut.
For another, people lost their minds. The trees can easily hide where north, south, east and west lie; thus without a sense of direction, one can feel trapped. For a person like the bandit, who feels he owns the mountains, sky and trees, losing a sense of direction is like losing a piece of oneself. Additionally, you can’t mark how much you have traveled if you can’t see beyond. Perhaps, for this reason, the bandit ran so he could escape the endlessness.
The woman in the story is a direct metaphor of the forest. She is beautiful and so the bandit was compelled by her. However, her beauty “swallowed him” and “sucked the soul out of him.” Just like the forest, her presence makes him loose his sense of self. He escapes this by avoiding her similar to him avoiding the forest for ten years.
The woman also has endless demands. The demands are very inhumane and cruel but he does it for her nevertheless. Yet she is ungrateful every time he completes something for her. It as though his efforts are in vain. Her demands are the infinitude of the forest and his efforts are like the running away but only seeing petals. It’s very overwhelming.
Question: In the story, before going to the capital, the woman asks the bandit “Why do you have to see about going under the blossoms?” Is there a reason he was fixated on visiting the blossoms again, even after he had a horrible experience?
