Later in the novel, Ichiro goes out to eat with Ono where we are introduced to another difference in the generation that is caused by the western influence. After Ichiro gobs down some spinach and starts acting like a maniac, Ono tries to figure out what he was doing. He thinks Ichiro is acting like a drunk man after drinking sake but he finds out that he is completely wrong. Ichiro is more interested in the American Popeye the Sailor man and his spinach than the Japanese and their sake. Ichiro asks Ono, "Does sake make you strong?" and Ono replies, "Sake can make you believe you're strong. But in reality, Ichiro, you're no stronger than before you drank it". What's interesting is that Ono admits that spinach can make Ichiro stronger. With spinach acting as a symbol for the American culture and Sake for the Japanese, the author shows that there is a major difference between strengths in both countries. Where the US is concerned, they have real strength, and where Japan is concerned, they only have false strength. The story is set after WWII when Japan is recovering from the defeat of their country. This spinach/sake metaphor directly represents the feeling of the Japanese at the time. Many thought that Japan would come out victorious, but the bravery and strength that Japan had was only imagined. The US had to show its true strength through the war and after, the Japanese were left reflecting upon their weak state.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Sake for Me, Spinach for You...
Masuji Ono's conversations with his grandson, Ichiro, bring up comparisons between the West and East. Our first encounter with Ichiro we get a show of his love for cowboys through his imitation of Lone Ranger and he is fascinated with by a movie called Godzilla which is about a huge monster that destroys a city in Japan. The author Kazuo Ishiguro makes use of Ichiro's fascinations in two ways: First he shows us the difference in culture between generations. With the US now involved in Japan, the newer generation loses much of the older customs that Ono wishes would not be lost. Secondly, there is deeper meaning in each situation that gives light to problems within the old Japanese culture.
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This is very interesting, Copeland. I think it shows how for Ichiro, along with the new Japaneses generation, spinach is better than sake because it best suits their interest, which I believe is an American trait.
ReplyDeleteThis ties back to when Ichiro was drawing for Ono. Once Ichiro finds out that he will be taken to the movies by Ono, he starts messing up his drawing that Ono had previously praised. Ono seems bewildered by this, but the truth is that for Ichiro the painting doesn't matter anymore. It's only Ono's generation that did painting for the pleasure of it, just as Sake is only a "pleasure".
You picked a good topic to discuss about because this is an important scene in the book. Ichiro decides to eat spinach than drink sake because he believes eating spinach will make him stronger. Ichiro believes this because he watches Popeye the Sailor Man, an American character. At this point, we realize that Ichiro is moving far away from the old Japanese customs and towards the American ways. Ono doesn't disagree; instead he tells Ichiro that it eating spinach DOES make people stronger. This shows how Ono is finally starting to accept the role of the American culture in Japan.
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