Paulina Salinas and Noboru Kuroda: A Comparative Analysis - Coursework Example

Paulina Salinas and Noboru Kuroda: A Comparative Analysis Submitted by: Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in [Subject] 1.0 Introduction The most interesting stories are those that not only appeal to the senses but also those which strike a chord in the hearts and minds of the audience. Fancy stories made for entertainment will be discussed but compositions involving human nature such as but not confined to political and social aspects will always be remembered and cherished. Characters that portray real life stories, no matter undesirable and provocative it may be, induce a state of mixed sentimentalities that make the story a classic. It is very important then for a writer to develop his characters in way that could realize the full value of his composition. Sometimes, however, writers can be similar in developing their characters. Yukio Mishima’s novel, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, and Ariel Dorfman’s Death And The Maiden are two powerful and provocative stories that makes the audience contemplate on the meaning of being human with focus on the workings of the mind. These two stories evoke mixed feelings regarding the morality of an act and the application of justice achieve thru the portrayal of deeds committed and philosophical reasoning of its characters. However, one will notice that there are similarities between Paulina Salas of Dorfman and Noburo Kuroda of Mishima’s story. The interest of this aim of this paper is to analyze not only the perceived similarities but also the differences in the way Mishima and Dorfman introduces and develops the characters that I have just mentioned. To achieve this, I will first provide a background regarding the life of the writers followed by a summary of the two stories. I shall then proceed in delineating the similarities of the two characters followed by their differences and try to relate it with the similarity in the life experiences of the two authors. In the end, I will provide a conclusion addressing the degree of similarity of the two writers in developing their characters. 2.0 Background 2.1 The Life of the Writers Yukio Mishima was a Japanese author and playwright whose works include Confessions of a Mask, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, The Sound of Waves and The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea. Mishima’s life is rather controversial because of his social and political inclinations. Besides from being a writer, Mishima was also engaged in homosexual activities, martial arts, bodybuilding and the fascist militarism of Japans past. He founded a kind of private Bushido-based army which tried to inspire a national uprising by taking over a military complex.  When he failed to inspire the soldiers and was jeered at instead, he committed seppuku- an ancient tradition of ritual suicide undertaken by the Japanese to maintain their integrity and honor. (Scott-Stokes, 1995) Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman worked in the administration of president Salvador Allende but was forced to exile following the Chilean military coup of General Pinochet’s army in 1973. His works include Death and the Maiden, The Late Song of Manuel Sendero and My House is on Fire. The unique story in the Death and the Maiden was the result of Dorfman’s fascination of the process of the Rettig Commission, a commission established by the democratically elected president Patricio Aylwin to investigate the crimes of the dictatorship that had ended in death or the presumption of death. This setting was the necessary ingredient for his story about a stranger entering the life of a husband and wife and becoming kidnapped by the wife. (Ariel Dorfman Online, 2007) 2.2 Synopsis of the Stories In the novel entitled The Sailor who fell from the Grace with the Sea, we come to know of the sailor Ryuji who meets and falls in love with a woman. The woman’s name was Fusako and was the mother of 13 year old Noburo Koruda. The boy, which is the focus of our discussion, is depicted to be a member of a band of savage boys whose beliefs in objectivity fuels their animosity of the adult world which they consider as illusionary, hypocritical and sentimental. The band’s delusions and psychotic tendencies are evidenced by their killing and skinning of a cat. Besides from the acts committed by the band, Noburo is also engaged in voyeurism as he hides himself in a closet to watch her mother and Ryuji in sexual contact. After having known the wedding plans of his mother and Ryuji and being caught in his peeping tom activity but not being punished, Noburo drew up a list of charges against Ryuji and decided to execute him. The charge against Ryuji was that he had become a ‘father’ by not punishing voyeuristic activity. Aside from losing his mother to another man, Noburo’s animosity towards Ryuji stemmed from his resent of having a father especially that of a man with unfulfilled dreams. This is due to his belief that they stand in the way of their progress. They were a bunch of cowards who were afraid to realize their potential. Death and the Maiden tells the story of Paulina Salas who was detained and tortured during the dictatorial era of her country. Paulina survived that ordeal but the resulting trauma kept her in the shadows. After fifteen years of hidden resentment, she comes into contact again with the man who tortured and raped her. She recognized the man introduced by her husband Gerardo to be the man who had debased her. She decides to exact revenge on the stranger by kidnapping him and forcing him to confess his crimes against her. The resulting events saw a trial with Paulina as judge, her husband Gerardo as the man’s lawyer and the man named Dr. Roberto as the defendant. Gerardo desperately pleads her wife to let the man go for the sake of the principles the whole country is trying to pursue and for her to forget the past. Paulina first settles for a signed confession then decided in the end that Dr. Miranda must pay for his crimes. 3.0 Relating Paulina with Noburo 3.1 Experience and Psyche The most striking resemblance in the way Dorfman and Mishima introduce their character was portraying their life as having experiences that are known to result into a twisted kind of thinking. Paulina was a victim of rape and torture while the young Noburo was a member of a band of psychologically disturbed individuals and a voyeur. Both have had moments in their life that would forever influence their philosophies and behaviour. Both characters have developed a twisted line of reasoning. Noburo came to believe that one can only achieve peace and order thru the imposition of fear among the hearts of every person External punishment was necessary and relying on moral internalizations achieve nothing but complacency. While they recognize that punishment should be applied and that the law must pervade the land, they believed that they must at least enjoy their freedom which they can achieve by committing savage acts while they are young (i.e. juveniles and cannot be brought to court). Their sense of justice and freedom resulted to the decision that they must commit murder now while they are still young. This also guided Noboru’s decision in the punishment of Ryuji who threatened to undermine his beliefs in external punishments. Paulina was originally rational but the desire to exact revenge from the one who had made her life miserable proved to be too powerful. Her torture took something from her that she wants to take back and in full payment. Paulina’s already fragile emotional state is thrown into turmoil by her husband’s appointment. Her kidnapping and torture will not be investigated because they are not considered to be among the “most serious” crimes committed during the dictatorship. For all official purposes, her pain and humiliation did not happen. The political process, she now discovers, promises only that her silence must continue. The new government, the government in whose cause she refused to give over names, including Gerardo’s, will not take retribution for her. The result was acquiring justice with her own hands and mimicking a court where she is both the plaintiff and the judge. 3.2 Perceived Injustices Paulina and Nobura both believed that a grave injustice has been committed against them. In the case of Paulina, not only was she raped and tortured, she was also denied of justice under the democratic system because only those cases which resulted to death were punished. Furthermore, she was also being prevented from extracting justice herself when her husband pleaded to her to forget the past. Noburo’s resentment stemmed from the idea that someone was taking her mother away from him and that this someone was a man who was unable to fulfill his aspirations. He was also angry at Ryuji because he did not punish him from peeping. Ryuji was acting like a father – a concept that he relates to as being an obstacle to his development and a source of enmity from his band. 3.3 Method of Extracting Justice In both stories, we see Paulina and Noburo acting as the judge for the crime committed against them. Paulina even staged a court complete with her as a judge, her husband as the defendant’s lawyer and Dr. Roberto as a defendant. Paulina even staged a settlement by extracting a confession but changed her mind later and convicted the man. Noburo drew up a list of charges, convicted Ryuji and decided that he must be executed. 3.4 Preserving their Beliefs Although we recognize the aberrations in the psyche of the two characters, we also recognize that it was the result of the desire to preserve their belief systems. It was a defensive mechanism to maintain their principles which have guided them all their life. Paulina’s life was dedicated into achieving justice for all the people wronged by the dictatorial regime. Noboru was dedicated in preserving his ideas of freedom and punishment that his juvenile mind has come to comprehend. Although one can say that Noboru’s behaviour can be attributed to the influence of his band, one can also attribute his anger in the idea of a father to the absence of one. They tried to preserve those beliefs even if it means resorting to inappropriate methods. 4.0 Differentiating Paulina and Noburo Despite the many similarities between Paulina and Noburo, they still differ in the form of injustice committed against them. Although something wrong was committed against their person, Paulina’s state and behaviour emanated from grave circumstances committed against her by another person. Noburo’s claim was a self-construct. In as much as the word traumatic was concerned, Noburo’s perceived injustice was nothing of the sort. It was just a selfish deed, one that truly depicts a twisted mind. 5.0 Conclusion In so much as the two characters are concerned, Mishima and Dorfman are similar in portraying their character having a set of beliefs formed by what they have experienced in their lives. Both characters perceived that they were wronged but the circumstances to which they have been wronged differ. While Paulina had a troubled past- one which haunts her for the past fifteen years- Noburo had a troubled mind brought about by his associations with his band. Nevertheless, the strong associations between the two lead to conclude that the characters are very much alike. References: Ariel Dorfman Online (2007). Biography of Ariel Dorfman. Retrieved October 11,2007 from http://www.adorfman.duke.edu/ Scott Stokes, Henry (1995). The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima. Millington Press: U.S. Read More