Existance in a World Divided
Lurking in the "mystery of the Orient"(Tanizaki 20) lies the images and beauty created by shadows. It is this traditional essence which is being replaced and forgotten as westernized culture and morality sprout their roots in the Japanese society. Tanizaki's specifically examines this idea of clashing cultures in the essay In the Praise of Shadows, and indirectly and symbolically reveals this concept through the characters in Some Prefer Nettles. In Tanizaki's novel Some Prefer Nettles Kaname and his relations with individuals and his surroundings reveal the clashing worlds in which he exists; clashing worlds which persuade individuals to appreciate and value the domestic world or the imported one. Initially Kaname appears to have lost the sight and significance of the shadows that are absent in his life, revealing his intrigue and encouragement for the integration of the Westernized world. As his story reveals a personal confession about the women in his life, it also describes a cultural conflict. Kaname's relationship with Misako is a rather 'modern marriage' in which they stay together out of mere convenience and also out of their own
" (34) that the Osakan merchants personify. Tokyo is the capital of the nation, and Tokyo's shallowness is having its effect on every one of the arts" (xi). This embedded desire for an imported lifestyle is once again revealed through his relations with the 'assumed' American/European, Louise. Kaname wants to follow the example set forth by the old man, and once in the old man's house, Kaname symbolically emerges himself into the traditional clove bath. Tokyo represents the "city of foreign fads and of journalism, and of an intelligentsia created by the two. Symbolically, Kaname's interactions and interpretations of women, and the environment in which he exists, represent the paradoxical relationships between the West and Japan. Kaname's immediate environment and the customs that accompany it also reveal the persuading allure of the Westernized world prevalent in parts of Japan. The roots of his desire and intrigue of foreign women originally stems from the glamorized ".
Common topics in this essay:
Tokyo Kaname,
Initially Kaname,
Divided Lurking,
Tokyo Osaka,
Kaname Louise's,
Kaname Feeling,
American/European Louise,
Nettles Kaname,
Symbolically Kaname's,
Praise Shadows,
clashing worlds,
japanese society,
westernized culture,
traditional essence,
prefer nettles,
westernized world,
|
Acceptance Essays
