The Blending of Prose and Poetry in Janice Mirikitani's Spoils of War
The experiences of being a Japanese-American woman serve as an important inspiration for author and poet Janice Mirikitani in her story "Spoils of War." Through the weaving together of poetry and prose, she details the struggles for self-understanding that often come with being both a descendant of an Asian culture and a female. "I write about these things," Mirikitani says of her style, "because I think it is healthy to express these thoughts or these feelings of violence and rage in words . . ." (Carabí 70). She conveys her strain against stereotypes of race and gender, as well as her difficulty grappling with her past, through the autobiographical figure Hatsuko. The majority of the story consists of prose, with the incorporation of poetry occurring only at the climax of her character's development. In "Spoils of War," prose is used to tell the story of Hatsuko and the family that shaped her, whereas the use of poetry reveals Hatsuko's thoughts, doubts, fears, and ultimately her strengths as a woman of Japanese descent attempting to break free of the labels of sex and origin.
Although Mirikitani uses prose to tell the greater part of Hatsuko's narrative, her treatment of this genre easily allows for the incorporation of poetry. The transition between these literary styles is not at all surprising or abrupt to the reader, but rather makes sense given the experiences of the character. By switching between Hatsuko's past recollections and her present search for self-actualization, Mirikitani's prose creates a broken and almost schizophrenic effect in her tale. She often uses short, fragmented sentences and switches frequently between stories. The additi...
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...-68). Knowing that Mirikitani experienced exactly what she writes about makes Hatsuko's struggle very real. Through her varied use of poetry and prose, Janice Mirikitani inspires the readers of "Spoils of War" with the strength that one woman can gain for herself through examining and following the desires of her heart.
Works Cited
Carabí, Angels. "Janice Mirikitani." Truthtellers of the Times: Interviews with Contemporary Women Poets. Ed. Janet Palmer Mullaney. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1998. 66-74.
Leitner-Rudolph, Miryam. Janice Mirikitani and Her Work. Austrian Studies in English 88. Wien: Braumüller, 2001.
Mirikitani, Janice. "Prisons of Silence." Shedding Silence. Berkeley: Celestrial Arts, 1987. 5-9.
Mirikitani, Janice. "Spoils of War." Asian American Literature. Ed. Shawn Wong. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1996. 186-201.
The character, Miss Sasaki, who was left trapped, disabled and severely injured, by the dropping of the bomb suffered more in the long haul, from the emotional impact than just the physical destruction alone. Not only was she physically disabled, but also emotionally disabled, as the overwhelming feeling of being hopeless is a permanent psychological scar on the brain. Being unable to walk properly for the remainder of her life, Miss Sasaki, knew that she would no longer be able to provide for her family anymore; in Japanese cultural the honor of their family is of utmost importance, similar in nature to radical religious groups. Also of Japanese cultural priorities, were that of marriage. In Japan, women who were married were looked upon with higher statue and class. Miss Sasaki knew that her chances of getting married now had been reduced and for a woman of this time, that realization, also leaves damaged emotional baggage within herself. All of the aforementioned, left Miss Sasaki depressed for years to come and ultimately left her a permanent emotional scar affecting the rest of her life. By including the accounts of Miss Sasaki, in this book, John Hersey, exposes to the readers, that atomic warfare not only affects the human body physically for years to come but also
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Translated by Samuel B. Griffith. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963.
Kelman, Herbert C., Hamilton, V. Lee. “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience”. Writing & Reading for ACP Composition. Ed. Thomas E. Leahey and Christine R. Farris. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. 266-277. Print.
Chang, Iris. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. New York: BasicBooks, 1997. Print.
John Dower's "Embracing Defeat" truly conveys the Japanese experience of American occupation from within by focusing on the social, cultural, and philosophical aspects of a country devastated by World War II. His capturing of the Japanese peoples' voice let us, as readers, empathize with those who had to start over in a "new nation."
Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, is a story based on her own childhood in Iran. The story consists of the struggles her family and friends are forced to deal with, changing Marji’s view of Iranian life and its people. The book starts during a revolution, the Iranian people are trying to overthrow the emperor and when they finally do, war breaks out between Iraq and Iran. During the war thousands of people’s lives were taken, women, children and men of all ages. During this Marji’s parents forced her to leave Iran because they know it is too dangerous for a child of her age to live in the middle of a war so severe and life threatening. During the time Marji did live in Iran, she heard many tales about the umpteen conflicts and struggles that lower class people were faced with. Marji saw her maid whom she loved and cared for, not being able to date her love, their neighbor, because she was embedded in a different social class. She experienced the harsh realities of divergence between men and women. Women were compelled to wear a veil in order to not “distract” men with their hair. Younger boys in the lower end of the class system were given a “golden” key to take to war, which was actually plastic; this key meant that if they were killed fighting for what they believed in, it would guarantee their entrance to heaven. In Iran, there were a variety of ways in which the people of Iran can be distinguished between social classes. Your social class affected you in every way there was during this horrible time in Iran.
Juxtaposition is the art of contrast and authors often use juxtaposition as a tool of both subtlety and boldness. Whether it is to illustrate the character’s ideals or emphasize conflict, authors utilize juxtaposition to provide a better understanding for the readers. Haruki Murakami’s “Family Affair” and Karen Russell’s “Reeling for the Empire” both invite the readers to understand the character by continuously collocating the character’s personality and action in the form of symbols and descriptions.
Cao, Lan, and Himilce Novas. Everything you need to know about Asian American history. New York: Plume, 1996. Print.
The suicides of Romeo and Juliet reflect their hasty and impulsive decisions as well as the dishonesty of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse. Romeo’s haste in drinking the venomous poison, Friar’s cowardice in handling the consequences as well as the Nurse’s choice of standing against the relationship of Romeo and Juliet contribute equally to their fatal end. Therefore, dishonesty and haste can result in undesirable circumstances to any individual.
The choices Romeo and Juliet make are poor, and eventually resulted in their death. Getting married, killing Tybalt, and thinking with hastyness were all poor choices that lead to both of their deaths. Once in a while making bad choices doesn’t affect someone as much, but making then many times regularly does affect one’s life. This teaches people that we must think our actions through before committing them.
“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is a play about two lovers from different families that have an internal feud between them. It ends in both lovers, Romeo and Juliet, committing suicide as they could not openly live with each other. An important idea in this play is that of the impetuosity of youth and the rash decisions that young people may make. This idea is continuously brought up throughout the play and is explored through the concepts of overreacting and being blinded by anger, desperation in forbidden love and taking your life for love.
...ile the war is still happening. The lack of freedom and human rights can cause people to have a sad life. Their identity, personality, and dignity will be vanish after their freedom and human right are taking away. This is a action which shows America’s inhuman ideas. It is understandable that war prison should be put into jail and take away their rights; but Japanese-American citizen have nothing to do with the war. American chooses to treat Jap-American citizen as a war prisoner, then it is not fair to them because they have rights to stay whatever side they choose and they can choose what ever region they want. Therefore, Otasuka’s novel telling the readers a lesson of how important it is for people to have their rights and freedom with them. People should cherish these two things; if not, they will going to regret it.
YORK, LORRAINE. "Wars, The (1977)." Oxford Companion To Canadian Literature (1997): 1168. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
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