A Personal Matter Critique - Essay Example

Module Oë Kenzaburo: A Personal Matter In the novel by Oë Kenzaburo, A Personal Matter, it is evident that Bird has vast escapades in life, but he still needs more time to engage in sexual encounters to fulfill his life. Accordingly, the author notes that Bird’s life has been full of events, friends and a girlfriend who is addicted to sex. Apparently, he tries to escape from the situations by taking a trip to Africa, and he has bought a map to define the places that he desires to visit. However, he is stunned by the news that his wife has given birth to a child that has brain hernia, and this prompts him to take inexplicable action to terminate the life of the offspring. In fact, he notes that this would be a prudent idea because it would terminate the marriage to his wife, and he may not have additional responsibilities in life. Since he has a crumbling association with his wife, he resorts to alcohol consumption in different places, and he meets his girlfriend (Tietze 4). Consequently, he loses his job after vomiting in front of the classroom in Cram school. With the help of his girlfriend, they plot to kill the child but he is unsuccessful as he meets his old friend who advises him not to. Thus, this paper will define interesting issues that are discussed in the novel both in the style of writing and in the analysis of the main character. Accordingly, the author uses recurrent characters to delineate the life of the main character, Bird. Evidently, these characters highlight the various transformations that have been recorded in the life of the main character, and they give a chronology of his interests and behavior. For example, the author introduces Himiko, who was a girl that Bird knew and they had a relationship in the previous period. However, it is explained that Bird had sexual encounter with her, and it could be considered as drunken rape (Tietze 7). In fact, this shows that the main character is an individual that has been consuming alcohol for a long time and this leads him to exploit his sexual desires. Apparently, through the reintroduction of Himiko, the author concentrates on her behavior as a person that is addicted to sex. Oë Kenzaburo reintroduces Kikuhiko as an ex-friend of Bird who runs a bar. Comprehensively, the reader is made to understand that Bird’s friend is a homosexual who is committed to gayism as he runs a bar that is occasioned by gay people. Incidentally, it is noted that the main character has been involved with this kind of social group over the years, but ardently denies the connection with such people. In fact, he often hides from such kind of association and denies their existence in the world. Incidentally, he names his child Kikuhiko, which is ironical. In this chronology, it is evident that the author highlights the main character as a human that lives in denial, although there is proof that he is periodically engaged with such people. In this style of writing, the author focuses on the behavior of the main character as an individual that may seek help from the people that have been disconnected from his life. Notwithstanding, there are more than three incidences that express this analogy. In the first instance, he has to seek help from the girlfriend whom they met long ago but had intercourse after consuming alcohol (Tietze 6). In the second occasion, he has to meet his friend who is a homosexual so that he can help him terminate the life of the infant. Concisely, the main character expresses his displeasure to be associated with such kind of people but he has to because he has a problem that needs to be solved. Lastly, the writer expresses the dissatisfaction the main character gets from his wide especially through the crumbing relationship. However, they have to be reunited after the doctors assert that the child’s condition was misdiagnosed. Thus, the presenter provides events that express Bird’s inconsistency in life, as he has to mend relationships that he may not want. Interestingly, the author expresses Bird as an individual that lives in denial as he does not come to terms with the real life situations. In the first instance, he has saved for a long time to afford a trip to Africa, and he has bought a map to focus on the foreseen trip. Contrastingly, he has other basic needs that should to be achieved before the plans can be executed. For example, he has a wife who should be given ample care especially after the delivery. In his defense, he states that he wants to enjoy life before he can settle down with a family (Tietze 9). In fact, he inexplicably meets with his girlfriend and they have intercourse, which he states that was pleasurable as it made him notice the satisfaction that he has been missing. Although the excursion does not materialize, the chronology of events shows that the man character is displeased with life and attempts to escape so that he can have a peace of mind. Drunken stupor is expressed in the novel and the main character is persistent in the incidences. Firstly, they had their initial intercourse with Himiko when they were drunk, and it is stated that he raped the girlfriend in this incident. Primarily, it shows that he is an individual that has been involved in drunkenness as a way of life, although he denies it. Secondly, he reported to his job while he was drunk, and he vomited in front of his class. Due to this incident, his employment was terminated. Therefore, it is evident that his addiction to consumption of alcohol had costs him his job. Thirdly, he is willing to spend a night with a figure whose gender is not ascertained. In fact, the author states that he was imagining how he was to accompany the figure in his/her arms throughout the night. Additionally, he is involved with a number of characters whose sexuality has not been ascertained (Tietze 9). Thus, he is an individual that does not have a stable stand in life, as he is involved in contradictory encounters. Notwithstanding, he is in denial in that he does not want to be responsible after the birth of his child. Although the youngster has a medical condition, he opts to kill so that he may enjoy life without any distractions. Apparently, he does not explain to his wife about the situation and mentions that the child has complication with an organ. Although he does not succeed to kill the child, he has been living in denial, as he does not want to accept the reality. Conclusively, Oë Kenzaburo uses irony to express the life of bird. Additionally, he notes that the character lives in denial, as he does not accept the reality. For example, he has been involved in numerous occasions of drunken stupor, and he had drunk rape. Subsequently, he vomited in class, which led to his termination at the workplace. In similar token, he denies association with friends, wife and the society as he states that he wants to enjoy his life independently. Thus, it is evident that Bird has prospects to enjoy life but he denies his responsibilities and association with homosexuals. Work Cited Tietze, Christopher. A Personal Matter. Bethesda, Md: Office for Protection from Research Risks (OPRR), National Institutes of Health, 1991. Print. Read More