Post by Hiba Rashid on Sept 26, 2015 0:11:08 GMT
As a protagonist, Botchan is far from perfect and most of the time, I found his thinking to be childish, rash and even immature. But, he can be pretty hilarious! At the same time, his thinking reflects the importance of morality and justice -- two themes in this story. Throughout the plot, Botchan speaks about how things are not the way they are supposed to be. Take for example, the incident with the dormitory students and the grasshoppers and the staff meeting that follows it. Badger (Principal) and Redshirt (Assistant Principal) take the lead, simply put off the incident as “their fault” and don’t punish the students responsible. Most of the other staff members simply agree and do not doubt or question their authority. Botchan had “assumed that everybody would get together, each of the teachers would present his own opinion, and then the Principal would shape them into some kind of appropriate consensus” (p. 64). But, that was not the case - Porcupine and Botchan’s opinions were shot down with laughter. Since Botchan is from Tokyo, the more modern and westernized part of the country, he finds these morals to be natural. In a town like Matsuyama, however, Japanese traditions and customs were still very much intact with social life -- still value hierarchies and respect for those in power.
Even in the end, Porcupine and Botchan may have beat Redshirt and Hanger, but they were not able to change the hierarchical system. The same system that forced away Botchan’s predecessor, Pale Squash, Porcupine and Botchan himself. Botchan’s experience shows the struggle Japanese people, during the Meiji-era, may have faced to find a balance between western understanding of morality and justice and traditional Japanese values.
I glimpsed at the discussion questions beforehand and kept trying to look for a reason I should feel sympathy towards Redshirt and Hanger, but I couldn’t find one. Redshirt takes advantage of his position as Assistant Principal and scholar and uses his power to get rid of those who oppose him. Hanger follows Redshirt around and constantly sucks up to him because he knows he can benefit from it (in terms of position or salary). Both of them act out of selfish means. Botchan’s life as someone who lost his parents and separated from his brother, at a young age, is one to be sympathetic with. But, Botchan doesn’t seem very affected by it and lives his life the way he wants.
Finally, my favorite observation about life and society that Botchan makes is the following:
“Now that I thought about it, though, I realized that most people actually encourage you to turn bad. They seem to think that if you don’t, you’ll never get anywhere in the world. And then on those rare occasions when they encounter somebody who’s honest and pure-hearted, they look down on him and say he’s nothing but a kid, a Botchan” (pg. 56-57).
I can completely relate to this because I have always been told to be “street-smart” so I won’t be taken advantage of. I once bought the wrong train ticket and the conductor didn’t notice, but I still went on to tell him the truth. He then wrote me a bill. I didn’t tell this story to my family or friends because I was embarrassed they would laugh at me as if I were stupid. If I told them, I would regret being honest. It’s kind of weird how society expects us to be completely honest in some situations and then disregards honesty in other situations because it’s “no big deal.”
Discussion Question: What kind of relationship does Botchan and Porcupine have?
Even in the end, Porcupine and Botchan may have beat Redshirt and Hanger, but they were not able to change the hierarchical system. The same system that forced away Botchan’s predecessor, Pale Squash, Porcupine and Botchan himself. Botchan’s experience shows the struggle Japanese people, during the Meiji-era, may have faced to find a balance between western understanding of morality and justice and traditional Japanese values.
I glimpsed at the discussion questions beforehand and kept trying to look for a reason I should feel sympathy towards Redshirt and Hanger, but I couldn’t find one. Redshirt takes advantage of his position as Assistant Principal and scholar and uses his power to get rid of those who oppose him. Hanger follows Redshirt around and constantly sucks up to him because he knows he can benefit from it (in terms of position or salary). Both of them act out of selfish means. Botchan’s life as someone who lost his parents and separated from his brother, at a young age, is one to be sympathetic with. But, Botchan doesn’t seem very affected by it and lives his life the way he wants.
Finally, my favorite observation about life and society that Botchan makes is the following:
“Now that I thought about it, though, I realized that most people actually encourage you to turn bad. They seem to think that if you don’t, you’ll never get anywhere in the world. And then on those rare occasions when they encounter somebody who’s honest and pure-hearted, they look down on him and say he’s nothing but a kid, a Botchan” (pg. 56-57).
I can completely relate to this because I have always been told to be “street-smart” so I won’t be taken advantage of. I once bought the wrong train ticket and the conductor didn’t notice, but I still went on to tell him the truth. He then wrote me a bill. I didn’t tell this story to my family or friends because I was embarrassed they would laugh at me as if I were stupid. If I told them, I would regret being honest. It’s kind of weird how society expects us to be completely honest in some situations and then disregards honesty in other situations because it’s “no big deal.”
Discussion Question: What kind of relationship does Botchan and Porcupine have?
