Analysis Of Memoirs Of A Geisha

1841 Words4 Pages

“Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however we may suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper” (Golden pg.428). The novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden, is about a world where deception is prominent, where the main character Sayuri faces many hardships before she is able to achieve success as a Geisha. This is shown through multiple events in the novel such as, Mr. Tanaka selling Sayuri into slavery, which leads to something better as she finds love and eventually benefits from the betrayal. This is also shown through Hatsumomo, as her constant deception throughout the novel leads to Sayuri becoming the most popular geisha in Gion, eventually rendering Hatsumomo powerless, and through the betrayal …show more content…

From the moment that Sayuri first arrived in the okiya Hatsumomo has been deceptive towards her. In fear of her appearance and the great deal of water in her personality which allows her to find paths out of any situation. Hatsumomo constantly finds ways to manipulate Sayuri putting her in even greater debt and risking her chances of becoming a geisha. For example, when Hatsumomo manipulates Sayuri into vandalizing Mameha’s kimono, and when she manipulates Sayuri into escaping from the okiya. These tactics not only lead to Sayuri’s debt as she must pay Mameha back for her expensive, kimono but also causes her to lose the opportunity of becoming a geisha. Despite this something better comes out of this hardship as the event eventually leads to Mameha becoming Sayuri’s older sister who once again gives her the opportunity to become the greatest geisha in Gion. Hatsumomo is enraged by this new companionship as she now fears that through Mameha’s help Sayuri is sure to surpass her as a geisha. To prevent this Hatsumomo spreads indecent rumours about Sayuri throughout Gion causing disapproval among many of her customers. As stated by Sayuri “Every time a man looked at me strangely, I found myself wondering if he'd heard something unkind about me from her” (Golden pg.331). Because of …show more content…

Pumpkin plays a major role in sayuri’s life as much of Sayuri;s motivation is derived from her, whether it be through her betrayal or her friendship. Such as, when pumpkin brakes off their friendship because of Hatsumomo, Sayuri is motivated to become a great geisha so that she may render Hatsumomo powerless so neither her or Pumpkin can be treated cruelly by her. Also, Pumpkin motivates Sayuri as a friend as she reveals the truth behind the rumours that Hatsumomo has been spreading around to Nobu and Doctor, as this is what causes her to formulate a plan to trick Hatsumomo into her own downfall. Through this one sees that even the loss of a friendship can lead to something better. One of the biggest influence that Pumpkin has on Sayuri’s life is in Amami, when she deceives Sayuri by bring the Chairman to the old theater instead of Nobu. Sayuri and Pumpkin state“I thought you were my friend.” “ You took something from a along time ago, Sayuri. How does it feel now?” ( Golden pg. 406, 407). Pumpkin feels bitter towards Sayuri as she takes away the position as the daughter of the okiya away from her, because of this she betrays Sayuri by taken the Chairman away from her. Despite this Sayuri’s devastation soon disappears as stated by Flannagan “ Curiously, Sayuri gains the Chairman’s love because she fails in her stratagem of getting caught by Nobu in

Open Document