Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Kawabata Palm of the Hand Stories
Kawabata, the author of Palm of the Hand Stories, seems conflicted in his view of the new Western values that were influencing Japan throughout his lifetime? In some ways he seems to embrace Western modernity (feminism, individualism, etc.) but in other ways he seems to criticize Western modernity (capitalism, industrialization, etc.)? Do you think overall Kawabata EMBRACES Western values/modernity or CRITICIZES Western value/modernity?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think throughout Kawabata's stories, he takes one side and then the other. In the Buddha story, the main character is hailed for dying on the urination station because he was a smart man who knew how to earn money (Western). However in Water, the woman contemplates on her homeland of Japan and its natural, historic self and this story seems to question modern Japan in lines such as "This is the Japan of today" (Traditional). I think Kawabata wrote these stories because he did not really know the answer and could influence and make people think about the future. Short answer: he is neutral.
ReplyDeleteI think that Kawabata embraces Westen modernity but criticizes westen values. Kawabata clearly does not like capitalism. This opinion is shown in many of his stories such as "Lavatory Buddhahood" and "Glass". In these stories capitalism has negative effects on the workers/investors. On the other hand I think Kawabata likes the modernity such as females empowerment, and being an individual instead of blindly following the community.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what was stated above. I think that Kawabata, for the most part, criticizes western modernity, especially capitalism. This, like treazure and nick had stated, is shown in "Lavatory Buddahood". In this story, the main character chooses to sit on a gross and diseased toilet all day so that his more expensive and clean toilet would gain more money. Furthermore, in "glass", it kind of slams Karl Marx and his beliefs because the worker boy (proletariat) winds up loving a bourgeois woman, as opposed to thinking of her as his worst enemy, which is what Karl Marx supported and believed should happen. However, in a story like "the 50 Sen Pieces", I believe that Kawabata supported western modernity, such as individualism. In this story, the main character had thought about buying this little paperweight for ten days, and at the time, it did not mean a whole lot to her or anyone else. Whereas, her mother and other shoppers were desperately trying to find the best umbrella which happened to be made out of rayon (from my understanding rayon is fairly cheap!) When the city had been bombed, of course the umbrella did not last, but she realized that her paperweight wound up being a strong connection to her mom, proving that individualism often times is good. So, in short, I personally believe that Kawabata criticizes values like capitalism more than he embraces other beliefs such as individualism. However, I also believe that perhaps Kawabata meant to write about both sides of this question to leave room for interpretation from the reader.
ReplyDelete