Patriotism Yukio Mishima

894 Words2 Pages

“Patriotism” by Yukio Mishima is a story about a man who is faced with a moral dilemma only he has the decision of making. Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama is faced with an unappeasable decision, Shinji can go with his fellow comrades to dethrone his emperor, or go against his emperor who he is very loyal to. What would you do? This leads to the central idea that when you are loyal to both your fellow comrades, but as well as your emperor what do you do, now Shinji is forced to make a deadly course of direction and die an honorable death widely known as “seppuku” in Japan. Also he just recently married a woman named Reiko who he was profoundly in love with. In the story, Shinji was not clear what to do exactly, should he join his fellow close collogues overthrow their emperor, or kill his close collogues by the command of his emperor. Shinji knew what was going to happen, "There may be imperial ordinance sent down tomorrow. They'll be posted as rebels, I imagine", to answer that it was a defiant no. It was immensely clear that he was for the emperor, and that he wouldn’t disobey the emperor “Long Live the Imperial Forces” he stated moments before his committed seppuku. What was he morally going to do he had no choice but to take his own life rather than disobey his leader, and not have to kill his colleagues. Most people …show more content…

It is identifiable when he says “There might be an imperial ordinance set down tomorrow. They’ll be posted as rebels, I imagine” so Shinji knows what is going to take place but he also knows what he is going to have to do “I shall be in command of a unit with orders to attack them…. I can’t do it’s impossible to do a thing like that”. So if he can’t join the rebels, or attack them what is he left to do? He is going to commit an honorable death; he sees this as his one way ticket out of making this immoral

Show More
Related

  • The Samurai's Garden Quotes

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    Men must face hardships. Men must face disease. Men must face each other [Parallel]. Men constantly pressure one another into perfection. Some men, however, crumble under the burden looming over their heads [FoS]. When some men cannot face themselves or those around them any longer, they choose a dangerous and deadly escape. They would rather commit suicide than face their hardships. In the japanese culture, society encouraged seppuku to end a life before a man brought dishonor to his family. In a world full of yearning for honor, young men learned that they must express courage through suicide to fulfill their honorable ancestors’ wishes. Gail Tsukiyama uses her novel The Samurai’s Garden to prove that only

    Read More

  • Incomplete Story Lines in Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    could not take it any more and kill him self or they killed him. If they thought that he had

    Read More

  • The Making Of A Patriot Sparknotes

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.

    Read More

  • Book Exploration of State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan by Thomas Donald Conlan

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Book Exploration State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan by Thomas Donald Conlan tracks the events in Japan between 1336 and 1392. Conlan provides his wisdom on how state and society operated in the Nanbokucho period through various source documents portraying the warriors not by their romanticized “knights of the round table” ideal, but rather showing that while there were alliances of connivence, they could be broken just as easily as they were made, revealing that pragmatism was paramount above all else. The State of War comprises eight chapters. It begins with a characterization of a common warrior, Nomoto Tomoyuki, who pledged allegiance to Ashikaga Takauji. Extracting from a detailed petition for reward (gunchujo), Conlan recounts Tomoyuki’s conduct in battle and his death.

    Read More

  • Nationalism In The Era Of Good Feelings

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Nationalism(n.) - loyalty or devotion to a nation, especially an attitude, feeling, or belief characterize by a sense of national consciousness” (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). Nationalism was a crucial part of America’s success during the War of 1812; nationalism was reflected in the post-war period through increased national pride, emphasis on national issues, increase in power and scope of the national government, and a growing sense of American identity (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). The first to arise which was the driving force behind American victories against the British was nationalism. This nationalism was expressed in four ways; patriotism, political, economical and cultural. American patriotism

    Read More

  • Patriotism In 'The Red Badge Of Courage'

    391 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Red Badge of Courage, the protagonist Henry, is a young boy who yearns to be a Great War hero, even though he has never experienced war himself. Anxious for battle, Henry wonders if he truly is courageous, and stories of soldiers running make him uncomfortable. He struggles with his fantasies of courage and glory, and the truth that he is about to experience. He ends up running away in his second battle.

    Read More

  • Sympathy In Tim O Brien's The Things They Carried

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    He attempts to justify his reasoning by saying, “There were no thoughts about killing. The grenade was to make him go away—just evaporate—and I leaned back and felt my mind go empty and then felt it fill up again. I had already thrown the grenade before telling myself to throw it” (TTTC, 126). Nonetheless, even then, the guilt does not rid itself from his thoughts, and this is the type of realization, ending someone’s life, and witnessing all the gore, is what continually haunts soldier. This is also one of the concepts that overly patriotic people who have never been to war yet indulge themselves in political affairs fail or refuse to

    Read More

  • What They Fought For Summary

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “What They Fought For”. James McPherson engages the reader with the general themes of what motivated the individual soldier to enter to fight in the Civil War. The book is divided into three chapters, giving the insight of many soldiers being divided by the border between the north and south. The lack of censorship at the time allows the reader to clearly see the insight of what these soldiers were trying to display. Although the soldiers are not equally represented by these few letters. There are still a lot of factors that could ultimately affected the overall believes of the soldiers. For example the opinion of the illiterate soldiers were not disclosed because they lacked the ability to write, the unskilled and farmers were also under

    Read More

  • Retired General Colin Powell

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    The General did not excel or apply himself in school. As a teen, he was sent home from summer camp for leaving the camp are and having a beer. He was sent home for the stunt, but was later found out from one of the Priest, that he had owned up to the mistake. He had taken responsibility; this is a leadership trait that he took through his long years of Military life, along with his tenure in the diplomatic world.

    Read More

  • Patriotism as Bad Faith

    343 Words  | 1 Pages

    Simon Keller argues in his essay "Patriotism as Bad Faith" that patriotism is not a virtue but it is actually a vice. Keller begins by splitting the views on this philosophical debate into three different representations. The first being the "communitarian patriot", where patriotism is not only a valued virtue to someone's self but that it is actually an essential virtue. The second representation is a radical contradiction of the first, known as the "hard universalist. The hard Universalist sees patriotism as a vice instead of being any type of positive virtue. They think that everyone should be valued the same, and that there should be no favoritism. The third representation is the idea of the first two combined, to form what is called the "soft universalist." This view is understood as patriotism is allowed, and is not seen as a vice, but also that one has an obligation to the rest of the world, almost to try and treat them as a loyalty that you would have towards your own country. (p.112).

    Read More

  • Brutus Is A Tragic Hero

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    And for my part/I know no personal cause to spurn at him, /But for the general. ”(II.i.10-12) His extreme honorability to Rome had blinded him from the real reasons why the other conspirators wanted him to join.

    Read More

  • Essay On Nationalism And Militarism

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Outline the growth of nationalism and militarism in Japan in the 1930s and how it manifested itself. How significant was this in Japan going to war with USA in 1941?

    Read More

  • Patriotism and The American Flag

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is much controversy surrounding the idea of patriotism and the iconography of the American flag in today’s society. Some believe patriotism is simply the act of supporting the decisions of the leaders of the country. Others say, to be patriotic, people should be outspoken and voice their oppositions to what is going on in the government. Opinions also differ on the idea of what the American flag represents. One opinion of the flags representation is that the flag represents our history, and the formerly mentioned idea of patriotism. Others believe the flag also represents our history as a nation, but these beliefs focus much more heavily on the negative aspects of our history; such as slavery and other injustices carried out by our nation. These people often believe we should find a new iconography for our country’s ideas of patriotism. As Barbara Kingsolver states in “And Our Flag Was Still There,” “Patriotism seems to be falling to whoever claims it loudest, and we’re left struggling to find a definition in a clamor of reaction” (Pg. 1). Therefore, every American’s duty is to define patriotism amongst the clamor of reaction, recapture the American flag’s representation, and create a new icon for the flag.

    Read More

  • Green Willow(Japanese Literature)

    494 Words  | 1 Pages

    Furthermore, this tale manifested a true dilemma that our society goes up against daily. Responsibilities are supposed to come before one's own personal gain. If a person becomes enraptured in their own self-seeking task and overlook their duties, that person will eventually suffer for it. Japan regards honor as something you have to strive for. It must be earned. The main character broke the rules of his the country had already established and paid for it in innumerable ways.

    Read More

  • The Main Themes of Journey's End

    1659 Words  | 4 Pages

    kill the enemy and be a hero), but he didn't know the reality of it

    Read More

More about Patriotism Yukio Mishima

Open Document