Role of Flatfish in the novel When I Whistle - Essay Example

Role of Flatfish in the novel ‘When I Whistle’ The novel “When I Whistle” is a beautiful piece of literary work by Shusako Endo. The plot of the novel is about the generation gap between a nostalgic World War II veteran and his ambitious son Eiichi, a doctor by profession. Edno has used his two characters Ozu and Eiichi, to highlight the difference between the pre and post war generations. Flatfish is Ozu’s friend. He along with Ozu and Aiko represent the post war Japan and the values that were associated with that time. He plays a major role in helping the writer develop the contrast between the old and modern Japan. According to Durfee (1989) the sub plot of the novel deals with Flatfish who is a Christ like figure. It deals with the story of a Japanese youth, Flatfish, who is trapped in an unconditional love for someone throughout his life. Flatfish brings love in the life of everyone he knows and ended up bringing something good into his or her life. Flatfish is Endo’s Christ figure and through him he enables the readers to understand the unconditional love that Jesus had for everyone and which is central to Endo’s Christianity as well. Flatfish is a simpleton, smelly and a weak fellow. He is a sorry clown who is by all the worldly standards an undesirable person. We see him suffer for his unconditional love. He ends up giving up his life in an act of duty for the love of his country. An important feature of this Christ like figure, Flatfish, is that he is totally Japanese. Flatfish is involved in all the things that are associated with Japanese. He is a Japanese boy who goes to school; involves himself in fights with boys; has an unfulfilled love; gets a job; and goes to the war where he finally dies an obscure death. These are the things that are familiar to Endo’s generation of Japanese. Flatfish is the first of Endo’s Christ like characters who fits well in the Japanese post war culture. An important theme of the novel is the value of the relationship that was present in Japan before the war. Since Ozu and Flatfish belong to the time of pre war, Endo use them as a metaphor to depict the change in the values. Flatfish is Ozu’s friend. He is a simple, smelly and an undesirable fellow by worldly standards. The condition of his house is pathetic. He lives with his sister in a small house that is filled with smell from the bathrooms, rats and ants. Ozu feels pity at the sight of Flatfish’s house. Still Flatfish makes a memorable impression in Ozu’s life. Ozu remembers him even after Flatfish leaves him and also after his death. His smell remains with Ozu even at the time when his memory is fading. This shows the strength of the bond between them. Flatfish, despite being poor managed to make his way into the heart of his friend. Endo uses Flatfish to describe the unconditional bond of relationship that existed among the people of old Japan. In contrast to this Eiichi’s relationship with his colleagues is based purely on self-interest. He kicks out Tahara and remembers him only when he bumps into him after a long time. Flatfish stands as a foil to Eiichi in many ways. Through Flatfish Endo highlights the quality time the people used to spend in olden days. Ozu remembers the quality time that he has spent with Flatfish. The trivial things that made them happy highlight the significance of their relationship. They come home from school together; end up fighting with boys from the other school and meet the love of their life. All this makes Ozu forget about the condition in which his partner is living. The two friends experience so much in so little time, which make a major part of their relationship. For Eiichi “friends are friends, but in the end the most important thing is yourself”. This is not the case with Flatfish and Ozu. Ozu would always be with Flatfish wherever they go. The emotional bond between the two compelled Ozu to help Flatfish in any way he could. Flatfish helps the reader to understand the nature of friendship in the olden days. Ozu helps Flatfish with Aiko. The death of Flatfish really broke Ozu, which shows how much he cared for his friend. Endo introduces the theme of loyalty through the friendship between Flatfish and Ozu. Flatfish had a magnetic personality that compelled Ozu to do favors for him. He drove Ozu to fulfill all of his special requests. Flatfish serves another purpose of highlighting the theme of selfless and unconditional love found in the pre war Japan. Aiko is the love of Flatfish’s life. The flashback scenes tell us that Flatfish would do anything to impress his ladylove. Flatfish is so determined to reach his ladylove in every sense of what reaching her means such as reaching her level, her love and respect. He knows that he cannot swim well but is determined to reach the buoy that Aiko and her friend have reached. He disregards his own life and well being for the sake of his ladylove. He even joins the Navy to meet the expectations of his love. He ends up laying his life for the love of his country and trying to reach to the expectations of Aiko. An important point reflected through these episodes is that Flatfish does everything not for himself by for his ladylove. In contrast to with stands Eiichi- a representative of the post war Japan. All of his acts are based on achieving success for himself. He mercilessly experiments with the new medicine on Aiko that kills her. His relationship with all the characters of the novel is based on his desire for advancement in life. Flatfish stands as a prominent contrast to Eiichi. Flatfish joins the naval academy for Aiko and Eiichi tries to conquer Dr. Li’s daughter to advance in life. The motive of the two characters is visibly different. Flatfish is selfless and Eiichi along with Dr. Li and Dr. Uchida symbolizes the selfishness of the modern society. Flatfish is the representative of the old Japan where morality and simplicity were valued the most. The simplicity of life in pre war Japan is reflected from the episode where Flatfish’s pen is mentioned. Flatfish values his pen very much. It means the whole world for him. A trivial thing like the pen becomes the symbol of simplicity of life in the past. Both Ozu and Flatfish value and respect the moral standards. At rush hours they keep a distance between themselves and the girls. If the girls slowed down, the boys would also slow down. If they moved fast, the boys would also move fast. Such was the standard of morality in the pre war Japan. Chasing girls during the rush hours was considered wrong. Eiichi once again stands in contrast to Flatfish. He believes that women could be used for some purpose. Such was the basis of his relationship with Yoshiko and Keiku. The writer uses various techniques to highlight the difference between the pre and post war Japan. The war has brought many changes in the life of the people. Ozu is more connected with people such as Flatfish. He remembers him even in his last days when his memory is fading. Eiichi has chosen an ambitious life for himself and has created a solitary world for himself. Where Ozu remembers the smell of Flatfish one begins to wonder if Eiichi would remember any such thing in his last days. Right after we see Eiichi’s strong desire for self-advancement we are presented with Ozu’s strong relationship with Flatfish. Ozu remembers the treasured moments that he has shared with his friend. Eiichi probably would not have any such moments to remember. The role of Flatfish was to serve as a foil to Eiichi. Flatfish represents the pre war life of morality and values in Japan. Eiichi represents a man of the modern materialistic world. Through Flatfish Endo has successfully highlighted the theme of change so much evident through the contrast of the older and modern generation. Reference Durfee, Richard E. Jr. Portrait of an Unknowingly Ordinary Man: Endo Shusako, Christianity And Japanese Historical Consciousness. Journal of Religious Studies. (1989) Pg. 55-56 Read More