Lois-Ann Yamanaka’s fictional novel Heads by Harry is a remarkably raw and exciting read that dives the reader into the lives of the working class people of Hilo during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Based on the life of Antoinette “Toni” Yagyuu, a Japanese-American girl who grew up in Hilo, Yamanaka’s novel does an exceptionally well job capturing the lives, personalities, and hardships many of these people faced during this time. She creates a ‘secondary world’ that is reflective of the Hilo in the 70’s and 80’s and brings it to life through the geography and experiences she depicts within the novel (Kneale, 2003). As the daughter of a local taxidermist and school teacher, Toni, the protagonist of the novel, finds herself trying to meet the expectations of her father and also finds herself in the shadow of her older extravagant brother Sheldon and her beautiful and smart younger sister Bunny. As the story progresses with its interesting and alluring plot with many references to Hilo’s landscape, readers are introduced to a Hilo that many visitors and new comers to the island may find shocking and unusual. Contrary to the Hawaii that is often depicted in movies and magazines as a paradise with white sandy beaches and friendly welcoming people, Yamanaka’s novel depicts local life with gruesome activities such as hunting for wild animals, partying, drinking, drug use and family quarrels. Yamanaka indeed delivers a compelling story with her novel Heads by Harry where regardless if you are a local or not, one can relate to the ups, downs and experiences of the characters. Toni Yagyuu, the main character of the novel, experiences and overcomes many obstacles while growing up in the shadow of her siblings and failing to meet the expectatio... ... middle of paper ... ...ink or chit chat about everyday life. Nowadays, Hilo has become more advanced with big shopping stores such as Walmart and Target and people no longer live close to one another like before. In conclusion, I found myself captivated by this new and unusual Hilo I had been reading about in Yamanaka’s fictional novel Heads by Harry. It is the Hilo that I have yet to see and witness for myself, yet it is also the Hilo that many locals believe was brought to real life in Yamanaka’s novel. Although the whole culture, pidgin language, and vibrant personalities were a breath of fresh air to me as a newcomer to Hawaii, I was still able to build a connection to the characters’ experiences within the novel. Yamanaka definitely brought the Hilo of the 70’s and 80’s to life by capturing the geography, culture, and obstacles of what real people experience.
Tabrah, Ruth M. Hawaii: A Bicentennial History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1980.
Pain is a certainty in life. Presenting itself in a number of variations, from emotional to psychological to physical, pain and its damaging effects are inescapable. In Ruth Ozeki’s magical realism novel, A Tale For the Time Being, a mysterious lunchbox washes ashore a Canadian island to be found by one of its inhabitants, a struggling author named Ruth. Inside the lunchbox, Ruth discovers an old wind-up watch, a stack of letters written in French, and a diary disguised as Proust’s Á la recherche du temps perdu. The diary is found to trace the painful, intimate thoughts of a sixteen-year-old Japanese girl named Naoko (Nao) Yasutani. Mesmerized by the diary and the accompanying letters, Ruth reads on, slowly unearthing Nao’s steady rise from her depressive and insufferable existence. Through its graphic and raw depiction of three parallel, suicidal lives, that of Nao Yasutani; her deceased great-uncle, Haruki #1; and her father, Haruki #2; A Tale for the Time Being presents a strong case for the necessity of societal pressure, arguing that the pain, suffering, and victimization that arise from nonconformity are essential to the advancement
Although wildly different in subject matter and style, Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness and Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World both show how Japan has been internationalized as well as how it has remained traditional. Kawabata’s novel is traditional and acceptable, much like the haiku poetry he imitates, but has a thread of rebelliousness and modernity running through the web that binds the characters together. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is devastatingly modern, and yet has a similar but opposite undertone of old Japan, or at least a nostalgia for old Japan. In both novels a more international culture has taken root in Japan, and it seems that the characters both embrace and run from the implications of a globalized, hybridized culture.
Kogawa reveals how Obasan’s silence made her struggle is the real world. “I clear my throat and stammer. I lack communication skills,” (Kogawa 269). Through this quote, Kogawa illustrates to the readers how being too silent about their feelings of a traumatic past can be detrimental to someone’s state of mind. Obasan loses her identity as she kept trying to suppress the negative emotions about her past. It should be the best interest for her to try to talk to someone about her feelings. On the flip-side, Naomi reveals the universal truth about dealing with adversity in her life. “Gentle Mother,we were lost in our silences. Our wordlessness was our mutual destruction,” (Kogawa 291). Naomi experiences a huge shift when Kogawa revealed this quote. Naomi at first did not realize that being silent about her horrid childhood experience was not helping her be happy in the present. She learned from her family’s fate and now she is willing to talk about her past. In Shoenut’s article, readers can get an in depth understanding of Joy Kogawa’s novel by exploring the aspects of
In life, there will always be ghastly memories standing in one’s way from achieving eternal happiness. It is up to mankind to determine how individuals should overcome adversity so they can experience the blissfulness that life has to offer. In Joy Kogawa’s novel, Obasan, Naomi’s experience throughout her life reveals the conflict between man versus self. Naomi seeks to find balance between remembering and forgetting her tragic childhood. Kogawa demonstrates how eradicating one’s past, dwelling on previous experiences, experiencing trauma, and shielding another from trauma can lead to one’s corruption.
protagonist can be questioned by some. She is a smart and manipulating woman capable of making the men in the family fall down to her will. Her intentions are for the two young brothers in the family, Gerald, w...
Agatha Christie’s captivating novella, And Then There Were None, focuses on an oddly mixed group as they step foot on Indian Island and experience profound events that makes them realize they bargained far more than then their time when they agreed to stay. It seems as if the media couldn’t get enough of the island off the coast of Devon, Indian Island, a place of luxury and relaxation, the perfect summer getaway or so it seemed. Ten ordinary individuals left their houses to take a boat ride for a trip to Indian Island, six of them thought they were there for employment and the rest thought they were there to pass time for the duration of the summer; at least that’s what the letters they received told them. Prior to their arrival, nothing is amiss; the island lived up to ...
This book was amazing. It discussed one of the most common problem or disadvantage faced in the present. Each characters is real. They represent those in the world that learn an essential human attritube and have the power to overcome any tough moment in life. We expect the characters to rise above expectations and no one should be disappointed in the end. A real coming-of-age story in which both protagonists learn the value of life.
The journey in a novel can be accomplished physically, mentally or both as a character portrays aspects of their physical travel as well as traveling to seek or fulfill a goal. In Joy Kogawa’s Obasan, Naomi Nakane narrates her experiences with her family as they suffer prejudice of being Japanese Canadians while traveling to different provinces in attempts of getting away from incrimination of those injustices. It is shown how the constant movement from one place to another throughout Naomi’s life adds to the lack of communication and language their family faces presenting the theme of silence.
Drawing on his experience as a past Bali tourist, Tom Hyland examines the way that Bali, also known as the ‘Island of the Gods’, has changed since his last visit. “Doing dumb things to an island we claim to love”, shows that home grown citizens along with tourist don’t respect the island, we so call “love”. Directing his piece towards native members of Bali, along with anyone around the globe looking to visit the island, Tom, tells the damaging effects and ways of life that Bali has come to, since the 1980s. Hyland corroborates that visitors are wiping out the goodness and morality out of Bali, thus resulting into making the island ‘a paradise lost, a sweet place gone sour’. Through his piece he aims to inform people that are in or around Bali,
Life is full of challenges. In the stories, “Breaking Through Uncertainty—Welcoming Adversity” and “Neighbours”, the main characters demonstrate the benefits derived from taking risks. Taking risk can face the challenges of fears, fear is part of life, however, we can face them in some point of our life. In “Breaking Through Uncertainty—Welcoming Adversity” and “Neighbours”, both characters face personal challenges.
The cultural art of Hawaii reflects off of the innate beauty of the land. The meaningful
Discussed and found in this paper, you will find, how I have appreciated you from the time I started staying with you. I have come to an understanding of you, Hawaii. I understand your self pride, physical traits, culture, and history. These keep my memories alive, that have brought back to life what it felt like to experience your underlying qualities first hand. You mysteriously carry messages and feelings around that make you stand out from everywhere else. “Oh Hawaii, how grateful I am to you”.
“Men in suits and bow-ties and smart hats, dark scruffy coats with hand-knitted scarves”. This is a fascinating and emotional quote told by the characters Hortense, a very strong mannered Jamaican woman who arrives in the city of London for the first time to pursue her dream as a teacher. The quote briefly covers most parts of the story in the book Small Island, because it sketches a picture of England between 1948 and de situation before the wars, when the Jamaican immigrants were arriving in England. The unexpected welcoming shows the disparity between the white and black people. This was her first impression of the English people. Moreover, with this quote she describes the differences between their living conditions and income to their own small Island Jamaica. Hortense, was also experiencing a major racial prejudice in Britain. The book gradually ends with how the war changed the British society. This is an emotional and at the same times a fun book that made me smile. Andrea Levy, makes the readers sympathize with the Jamaican characters, because these people who dream of seeing the larger world and relocate to England were counting on a better life, but unfortunately this was too good to be true. The book is quite appealing, because the characters in the book are confronted with various challenges for instance, racial issues, gender issues and colonialism. Furthermore, the book has multiple themes. It is a story about slavery, friendship, loyalty, race, love, displacement and empire. Therefore, Small Island is definitely a novel worth reading.
1997, our journey began as two complete strangers who happened to cross paths in the beautiful beaches of Hawaii. Just like every other adventure enthusiast, I rushed towards the beautiful beach to enjoy the beautiful scenery and the warm waters. The beach smells fresh, almost like a new ocean breeze air freshener. The sand is hot and looks like gold blended in with little white specks; it sparkles like the water running off the swimmers back and feels like walking on coals from a burning grill. The palm trees sway in the air from the gentle wind. From a far distance the ocean is a deep navy blue; waves come in like a bulldozer from all the wind. All you can hear is the waves of the ocean and the light breeze coming