The Umbrella by Yasunari Kawabata - Essay Example

A ive Criticism of “The Umbrella” by Yasunari Kawabata The Umbrella is a nice and appealing short story of budding love between two teenagers, broadly referred to us "the boy" and "the girl." With the use of short and simple words, as well as a plain language and such common inanimate objects as the umbrella and rain, the author has managed to come up with a moving story whose culmination, though not directly expressed, is the romantic unification of the two protagonists-the boy and the girl. The two “love birds” are visiting the local photographer for a parting photo after the transfer of the boy’s father to another job location. It is clear that the two are in love but since they are still teenagers, they have to hide their emotions, as the society does not allow them to display their affections. The theme of love and teenage relationships are explored in this story. In most societies, the feelings of teenage boys and girls are suppressed under the guise of morality. Most people do not realize that young people have feeling just as any other human being. Some people may argue that such edgy feelings such as sexual arousals are a result of the environment under which a teenage boy or girl finds herself. I do not think such a supposition is correct. This is not a result of environmental compulsion or culture, but their bodily formations. The challenge has always been to make these young boys and girls to express these feelings in a way that maintains decency and decorum in the society. Ironically, suppressing these feelings has always led most teenagers to behave in a wayward fashion. This is what I found when I read the story "The Umbrella." The story by Yasunari Kawabata explores deep romantic feelings among teenage boys and girls. The story reminds us of the feelings of teenage boys and girls that societies have turned a blind eye to. The story more and more spoke to me; it unwriggled my feelings of yore that I always wished would remain locked away from the public. Now as I read the story I realized that I had been exposed. My admiration for that young next-door neighbor became too apparent. Then I realized that almost everyone has at one time been involved in some kind of teenage love. Love, as told in this story, is does not need a mature mind to blossom. I liked the way the author shows that even such simplistic mind of a teenage boy and girl can conceive what has been seen as a complex concept-love. The author shows that love can be expressed in various ways, by simply seeing someone, by being shy, by hesitating to touch, and by covering your companion with an umbrella and treating it (the umbrella) as though it belonged to both of you. Sometimes love can be expressed by merely being silent. It is as though lovers speak rather telepathically. Love is so strong, it leaves one imagining things as though they were real even when they are not. The story revolves around the object umbrella. In the first instance, the boy is holding the umbrella, apparently shielding himself from the strokes of the rain. The author, from this instance, paints a picture of two young people, who are strongly attracted towards each other but have no ingenious ways of expressing these mutual feeling of attraction. Thus the umbrella is symbolic of the protection the boy is supposed to over. However, it is ironical since instead of using the umbrella as a symbol of outward protection for the girl in this case it is symbolic of inward protection as the boy uses it to hide his shyness. This is understandable since the teenagers are still afraid of what the society comments in relation to their union. For example, in the opening graph, when the girl comes out of the house and sees the boy with the umbrella, she shouts, "is it raining?” as though she cannot see that it is raining. The point being given is that she was keen on igniting a conversation, by first getting under the umbrella besides the boy. The boy on the other hand, though evidently attracted to the girl, remains silent and covers himself more with the umbrella, not to cover himself from the downpour but from betraying his shame. This is how kids express their love, through such simple and plain acts of shame and hesitation. When the girl gets under the umbrella, the boy was too ashamed to stick the whole of his body in the umbrella. The boy was afraid of getting too close, and for that, he let himself to be beaten up by the rain. The same feelings run through the girl’s body and mind. She really wants to get close to the boy by getting hold of the handle of the umbrella, but she could not bring herself to that point. Instead she looked as though she was about to run away. It is as though the boy does not really ache for the girl. Nevertheless, far from it, the boy is burning with a strong sensational feeling. However, the feeling is always there and so deep. As the story goes by, so does the author reveal this suppressed magnetic feeling between the boy and the girl. At the photographer, the boy chose not to sit with the girl and take the photograph together. Nevertheless, he stood behind her touching her cloak, and imagining themselves together. He imagined their bodies touching. This is a realistic approach to the erotic feelings young people share. The author ends up the story by showing that the girl was finally able to express her love for the boy by holding the umbrella as though it belonged to both of them; as though it connected them. It was as though they had become one. True, this story may not rank very highly among some of the highly persuasive love stories ever written, but it strikes one for its candidness. The simplicity with which it was written was just incredible. Some people may also find the story too brusque and immoral. It is not normal to suggest that young boys and girls should go about falling in love, let alone imagining erotic experience with each other. However, the fact of the matter is that young people just as the elder ones have feelings, and this includes the feelings of wanting to love and to be loved. Young people would like to express this love but they are, in more cases such as in such conservative cultures as the Asian culture to which the author belongs to, they are denied this opportunity. That young people do fall in love and imagine erotic feelings is as real as the writer puts it. It is important that the young people be allowed a change to express themselves since this will not necessarily make them immoral. Denying a chance to fall in love makes them be tempted to experiment with their bodies and this eventually leads to immorality and other vices. Rather than denying them this chance to love and express themselves, they should be allowed to love and be counseled in a very positive manner and this will ensure that they are responsible. In most societies, the feelings of young people are not acknowledged. Yet thee feelings, be they romantic or simply erotic, are real. We can also get to learn a lot of stuff from the romantic relationships that young boys and girls engage in: That love develops out of such simple events and things as taking a photograph and shading together under an umbrella on a rainy. Failure by societies to acknowledge the love feelings of young boys and boys has seen an unprecedented escalation of such vices as early pregnancies and contraction of sexually transmitted diseases. The societies need to understand the changes occurring to the young people and know how to address them. After reading the umbrella, I have developed a different perception of love. Love is a universal feeling-it can develop in any one irrespective of age, gender, or class. Love is also simply expressed and does not need complex minds to capture it. This is what “The Umbrella” is all about. Love is a simple act of give and take that can be manifested through such simple acts as simply touching an umbrella together. This is what “The Umbrella” explores. Yet more than anything else, what come out of this story are the unacknowledged feelings of teenage romance. Young people, according to this story, have deep love feelings towards each. These feelings should be encouraged to be expressed with care. Discussion My friends and I have discussed the story and we have observed that the story may be reflective of the impact of HIV and AIDS and how to control it. The umbrella according to our discussion could be symbolic of the use of condoms in preventing the spread of the virus. Thus, when the ‘girl’ is surprised to see the ‘boy’ with the umbrella it could be reflective of the fact that the boy wants to make love to the girl but is shy to say so. Read More