Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro

Few sweets d ar to touch the inner vulnerability of humankind. It is Sosekis Kokoro that captures the essence of friendship and l aceliness, truth and betrayal, and life and death. The novel is, after all, soaked human nature. Any one reading this powerful work will quickly relate to the characters who go through tremendous strife, personal changes and much reflection. maculation Kokoro was written in Japan many years ago, it may be valuable to a lecturer even in contemporary society as its attributes may be embraced today, despite its age and cultural focus.Natsume Sosekis Kokoro explores a great deal of subject matter. Several themes are woven into the pages of this older novel. It is join to say, at least based on a personal experience, that one might have a tendency to discount the credibility of the work or deem much of the information irrelevant due to ages age and cultural differentiation. However, it will be sh let that Kokoro is a novel that, like so many others, brea ks the barriers of time. Soseki successfully creates deep characters that permeate the weak boundaries of the human character.We recognize that this novel shares a sense of timelessness supporting the entire foundation the themes we see explored here are quite applicable to the lives we live today. Naturally, the Japanese component of the work is what makes the clear distinction between Japanese culture and Western mentality. plainly all the same, the ethics in Kokoro seem to be fundamental enforcing great personal reflection upon the reader. As the reader progresses through the novel, contemplating themes and depicting the characters, specifically the adjudgeman and Sensei, he begins to bump the notion that indeed the characters possess a sense of timelessness.They could have been born in the twentieth century and experienced the same sort of friendship and turmoil. However, the descent between the cardinal men is out of the realm of ordinary fiction. It is unique and somethi ng that this causality explores quite candidly. The fact that the two are in a close friendship and that the adolescent student explores new territory is in some way allowing the older character to live up to his title of teacher, or Sensai. Yet, in exploring the issue of timelessness, and applicability to other situations, the particular point about the friendship between the two is omething that could have taken place anywhere and anytime. turn other portions of the work are pertinent to Japanese culture, the exploration of such a friendship is something that is truly universal. The reader might note perhaps the unusual person of their kindred, though, con billetring the ages of the men. Yet, such friendships do form between old and young youthful intellectuals might find greater knowledge in those older individuals who experienced floor than what is written in a book. Clearly, their relationship differs from that of the bonds between grandparents and grandchildren though.Th ey are peers, respectful and yet colloquial in their manners. In the case of Kokoro, the relationship begins between two strangers but the friendship formed becomes intense very quickly. There are yet more ways to explore relationships between men in the novel. It mustiness be emphasized that these relationships all too often go unnoticed and unexplored by fiction. Soseki looks at not only the students relationship with Sensei but also with his dying father. Here we have a young man, his father on his death-bed and his mentor stating to have ended his life.What was the student to do, where was he to go, who would he want to be with during those mens last minutes of life? Quite a lot of pressure for any individual. He was caught up in the times, the evolution of modernization and the uncertainty as to remain in the handed-down realm of Japanese culture and stay by his fathers side or perhaps continue to pursue his education and knowledge, returning to Sensai to demonstrate his gra titude, devotion, and friendship. Ironically, it is Sensei who commits self-annihilation The emotions that well up in the young man, however, are truly universal.A sense of betrayal and sadness permeate the work and create a void. After all, things were going quite well in the world of friendship and virile bonding until the young students mentor of sorts would commit this ultimate act. This story is about one mans journey through self-fulfillment and the revelations he makes after befriending a man. In one way, it is more about a personal journey than about a relationship. What is most troubling, and lends the work a somber tone, is the main characters loneliness, yet another theme illustrated in this novel. In some way, Sensei helps to break through that barrier.After Ks suicide, he realized the atrocities of his actions and the heinous development of his character from diligent student to human betrayer. After much time of personal torment, K confided in him of his drive in fo r Ojasan. Why Sensai seemed surprised as to the context of the confession somewhat confuses the reader as clearly anyone could have seen that K was also in love with her, in fact, surely Sensai knew, but he reclined to a state of denial. He states, I matt-up as if I had been turned into stone by a magicians wand. I could not even move my lips as K had done (205).As Sensai came to understand it was he who was responsible for the death of this man, he matte up he had no choice but to cease all human actions and remain an outcast in society, secluding himself to his home and his wife. Surely, no one could understand what he had done or what he had been through, not even his wife as he states, I was saddened by the thought that she, whom I loved and trusted more than anyone else in this world, could not understand me. And the thought that I had not the courage to explain myself to her mad me sadder still. I was very lonely.Indeed, there were times when I felt that I stood completely a lone in this world, cut off from every other living person (240). He began to realize he was no bimestrial innocent like the student who visited him often, the student he had once been, but he became his betraying uncle who robbed him of the only money his parents left him after they died. And even more than this worrisome character, Sensai then evolved into a character such as K, burying himself in books, avoiding people and friendships, bottling up all of his emotions inside and eventually ending his life as a means of escaping loneliness.Certainly another significant theme explored in this novel is the assumption that by losing ones identity, one learns to value it. What is meant by identity is that by rejecting ones own particular understanding of themselves, they are likely to find it once again, a theory that that cannot be ignored as the student learned this by befriending the old man. And he did not do this in the easiest way. His challenge was between the two cultures, th at of a liberal nature and that of a traditional nature. He imply did not know which one to turn to in times of need and in desperation to seek knowledge. In fact, perhaps what makes the novel so powerful is its thought provoking style, allowing the reader to analyze his own life through the main characters journey. The loss of ones identity perhaps creates a blank slate to enable one to find it. We see quite a change in the young man as he learns that Sensai will commit suicide. While it is unenviable to read about suicide and how it affects others, this is a major theme as the construct of suicide is universal.When it is brought up, the ultimate questions must be asked and answered. Sometimes there are no answers. The young man wrestles with a great deal of conflict passim the novel but it is the knowledge of the suicide that perhaps becomes the final straw the young mans loneliness is accentuated. What does he have left? many another(prenominal) people have experienced such tr auma in their lives and may be able to relate to what he felt. There is that sense of betrayal and self-blame, what if I had done or said something differently? Such thoughts are enough to drive any individual to insanity.There are moments when emotions of remorse and guilt are so overwhelming they cloud all better judgment and force the individual into a deep state of depression. The ultimate questions of free will and luck come rushing to consciousness. Sensai even declares that it was his pre-destined fate that his life would conclude this way as he states, Her fate had been pre-ordained no less than mine had been (244). The themes carried through the book are certainly something ingrained in more modern fiction, thus proving that the theme has a sense of timelessness.The novel is further a testimony that suicide does indeed affect more than ones self. Of course, even if suicide is not legal or does not conform to a societys standards, there is energy one can do to punish the person who commits such an act. Speaking of suicide, Sensai states, Some may say that this was a vain sort of thing to do. But who are we to judge the needs of another mans heart? (247). He is already dead. It is those who are living who must bear the brunt of the act and that is what, in a higher place all, this novel shows. With the use of Sensei, the spring is able to tell more about the young student.This technique also creates empathy for the father who additionally served to create conflict inside the reader. Loyalty is sometimes split and there is sometimes a sense of tension in the air. The characters reveal something every reader can use, something perhaps the author was conscious of. The author may not have realized that these characters, and their predicaments, would be so moving as to inspire its audience to examine ones own self. Soseki creates a difficult situation and through the main characters, is able to inspire a number of emotions that the reader likely can u se and identify with.The reason is because although the author uses a certain predicament, the problem can be easily applied to other situations. Thus, it is quite easy to look at Kokoro and think about ones own personal dilemmas that are somewhat related to the problems that torment these characters. The idea that the book permeates time and is applicable to todays world, through use of the characters, has been demonstrated. It would be difficult to argue against it as Sosekis characters certainly live today. Reading Kokoro is like looking in a mirror, sometimes at things no one wants to see.It begs the reader to question his or her own personal relationships and how far they would go for a friend. How far would they go to protect their own honor? What would one do if a friend did kill himself? What would it take for the reader to commit the ultimate act? And yet, time would continue. That it a message that emanates from the pages of this great work and breaks through the boundarie s that time tries to inflict. The concepts inherent in the work are certainly applicable in modern society despite the fact that the author lived so long ago in Japan.