“Slavery is known to be a condition where one has a full authority and absolute power over another person (Merriam Webster Dictionary).” Slavery has been present in the life of Sayuri even at the start of the story in the novel. Sayuri, the main protagonist of the story unraveled a long journey before she reaches the most successful point of her life. Slavery affects the life of Sayuri in different factors, physically and mentally wherein she made adjustments for her to move on and step further to her path that directed the plot of the story. Moreover, she lived a life full of trials and misfortune. She experienced various experiences such as tragedy and romance that shapes and defines her personality and character. In the novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden, the main character experiences tragedy at her early stage of life. The social issue on slavery is very evident at the start of the story in which the main character experiences tragedy and her life have been ruined at such a young age. Beside from experiencing poverty while living at the countryside, her father, left with no other choice but to sell his daughters, the main character was unwillingly sold by her father to the Nitta Okiya. This situation in the plot proves that slavery is still common not only in the ancient times but also during the 1900s since the settings of the story is during the 1930s. She has been coerced to be enslaved and become a servant. Consequently, with her being bounded to the Nitta Okiya which is a Geisha house, she was exposed to the foreign and explicit world of Gion specifically its culture and tradition.
Because of this, Chiyo dreamt of becoming a Geisha and immerses herself in training; however, it is not easy because she is being constantly antagonized by Hatsumomo by using her authority to dominate and oppress Chiyo as to enslaving her. However these instances didn’t make her to fall and hit the rock bottom as to be hopeless, but instead she moves on and accepts her destiny and so she continued to live on filled with hopes and dreams that pushes her to strive higher than anything else. “The life of every individual is really always a tragedy, but gone through in detail, it has the character of a comedy (Arthur Schopenhauer).” It means that in life there are always obstacles that will hinder you, in other words, life is not easy. Psychologically speaking, if you view it in a good way, it is more than what you think it is, but in that obstacle is where you will grow and learn. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).” This implies that every person should not live in accordance on what is custom, instead a person should act with accordance to his beliefs regardless of what condition he is in. Thus, the personality of the main character is continuously being shaped and defined by the continuous experiences that life has to offer and its psychological impairment to the main character that empowers her to withstand all her sufferings caused by slavery. Furthermore, the effects of Sayuri being enslaved have negative effect, but on the contrary, slavery helped develop her perseverance towards achieving her dreams. Mameha, the mentor of Chiyo, define Geisha as an ‘artisan’ that immerses themselves in the field of art, entertaining, music and dancing. However, a Geisha is restricted and denied to experience true freedom including their right to fall in love. How the life of Chiyo directed the plot is largely influenced by the traditions and cultures of her surroundings and profession which is being a Geisha.
As Chiyo experiences slavery in the Nitta Okiya, she also experiences slavery when she became a Geisha though not physically, but then mentally because of cultural customs. The novel Memoirs of a Geisha portrays the life of Chiyo who is then marked by the name of Sayuri after becoming a Geisha. Going back when Sayuri was still young, she met a man called Chairman Ken Iwamura who inspired her to further chase her dreams and become a Geisha. It made her heart flutter and because of it, she made a vow to herself that she will someday meet that man again. As time goes by, there came a time when she met again that man. However, being a Geisha with a traditional belief of being restricted in falling in love, she suppressed her feelings for him and caged herself into devoting her time and efforts to entertaining other people that results for her to become the most successful Geisha in Gion. At first, she thought that the Chairman doesn’t recognize her, so because of it she decided to fully stop her feelings for him. But not until during the time of World War II, there came a time when she wanted to get close to Chairman Ken Iwamura once again but finds impossible to get close because she was being pushed to Nobu who is the most trusted friend of the Chairman. With Nobu’s sincere offer to be Sayuri’s dana, Sayuri didn’t want to accept it but then she didn’t plan on telling it to Nobu because she believed that it might hurt the feelings of Nobu. With the cultural approach, in the novel it shows at that time, Sayuri is wavering whether to follow the beliefs of a Geisha or to follow her heart and as a result, Sayuri plotted something that accidentally created misunderstanding between her and the Chairman because of what her friend Pumpkin did who secretly harbors resentment towards her. This incident shows how culture and tradition can affect the decisions of every person.
However, Pumpkin eventually revealed the true plan of Sayuri why she did it. But then because of what had transpired, there comes an opportunity for the two of them to talk sincerely and there they fixed their misunderstanding. Sayuri then finally freed herself from the chains of being a Geisha as she makes herself available for falling in love or having a one true love which consequently leads the Chairman to confess his true feelings to Sayuri saying that he wasn’t able to confess earlier because he believed that it is disrespectful to take away the loved ones of a friend. However, it is not until she decided to follow her heart and desires that truly frees her from depriving herself of true love and there she was able to pursue her own destiny. Choosing whether to be enslaved or not is what the cornerstone of the development of the love story between the two. Their decisions made the story complex as if their destiny is like fated by a thread which connects the two of them that made them together at the end. At the latter part of the story, the Chairman became the dana of Sayuri, though they didn’t officially married each other. But then they had an illegitimate child and Sayuri foreseeing the inheritance of Iwamura Electric, she relocates in New York and there she opens a small tea house for entertaining Japanese men. In the story, the main character proves how vital one’s decision in affecting one’s life by how Sayuri’s life was changed due to her decision whether to continue to enslave herself or to free herself from the cultural customs of a Geisha in which her decision played a big role in the outcome of her life at the ending of the story. A life of a person is like water in a river flowing down a hill, in where it has a junction that goes more or less in one direction, until the water splash into an obstacle that forces the water to find a new path (Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha p. 105). Through psychological approach, it implies that in every choice there is a corresponding consequences; as how the story unfolds it is easily distinguishable that it is on how one’s individual handles every situation that he’s in and that he is responsible for what happens that is caused by how one’s personal actions.
Raul M. Oreo Jr LS 303
Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of the Literary Selection The following is the presentation of the findings to the given research problems including the analyses and interpretation to the selection which highlights the depiction of slavery and how it gravely affects the lives of the people. Slavery and its effects to the lives of the people
The following will give a broader meaning of Slavery and how it greatly affects the lives of the people in relation to its physical, social, and psychological aspect. Through the plot and conflict
The practice of slavery has different effects; in most cases it causes bad effects to a certain person in different aspects; social, physical, and psychological aspect of a person. “Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised (Slavery Convention, 1926).” Involuntary servitude or what we call “slavery” is already existing long way back ago during the ancient times and the 1900s and even until now. The novel Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden shows how the main character suffers from different forms of maltreatment such as discrimination, physical abuses, and inequality caused by slavery. “As a young girl I believed my life would never have been a struggle if Mr. Tanaka hadn’t torn me away from my tipsy house” (Memoirs of a Geisha p. 499). This proves that some people in most cases are a victim of unfathomable situation wherein they have no control over their fate. Moreover, it implies that slavery only causes sufferings and injustices to the lives of the people. The effect of slavery threatens the life of Sayuri wherein she experiences inequality for she is being treated only as a property by Mother Nitta. This situation explains why it gravely affects a person, sociologically speaking, it causes inequality among the people, thus, in terms of psychological aspect, being enslaved causes to lower an individual’s self esteem and may even cause inferiority complex and also, in terms of spiritual aspect, it causes the destruction of the dignity of human person. But then, the effect of slavery to a person depends on how the person responds to it and how he handles the situation that he is in. In the story, when Sayuri was sold by her father to the Okiya, she already suffered abuses and discrimination caused by enslavement. Moreover, Hatsumomo who keeps on antagonizing Sayuri, felt jealousy to the exquisite beauty that Sayuri possesses specifically her blue-grey eyes which caused Hatsumomo to treat Sayuri cruelly and because of this, Sayuri also experienced the misjudgments by Mother Nitta caused by what Hatsumomo plotted. In addition to this, Sayuri also suffers physical abuses because of misunderstanding and the continuous maltreatment of Hatsumomo to her. T
his proves that slavery is caused by the domination of other people to another person through the use of their own might, power and authority. Moreover, it proves that slavery doesn’t only cause harm physically but also it can affect the minds and the hearts of the enslaved. But in the case of Sayuri, being treated harshly as a servant or slave she on the other hand viewed her condition in a different way and thinks in an optimistic way but rather believed that she can still be successful even in the situation that she is in. With the way she thinks, the main character was able to shape and define her character by enduring all the sufferings that she experiences and was able to overcome problems of inequality and discrimination caused by slavery. Through the psychological, sociological and moral approach, the effects of slavery reflected on the character will be exposed. It shows how tremendous slavery can harm the social status, spiritual, and mental aspect of a person. A person’s mentality is affected by on how slavery affects the inequality of the people which causes the degradation of one’s self. This degradation of one’s self can cause the enslaved person a self destructive behavior and belief of never being equal members of the society. Also, according to the principles of the social teachings of the Church, “Every human being is created in likeness to the divine image of God.” Thus, this implies that this social issue on slavery destroys the God given rights and dignity of every human being. Lastly, in terms of social status, the people experiencing slavery experiences discrimination or the unjust treatment because of the mentality of the people that every slave is the lowest class in the society, thus, should not be treated equally and only be treated comparably to animals.
Raul M. Oreo Jr LS 303 Grp. 9
The following is the presentation of the findings to the given research problems including the analysis and interpretation to the selection depicting the social issue on slavery and how it affects the psychological and mental aspects of the character in which this research study aims to clarify.
Slavery and its effect to the lives of the people
Through Plot
Findings
Being a slave is like enduring a death march in which a slave endures a cycle of psychological and physical abuses from their master. Many enslaved male and female does not only experience abuses but also sexual assaults that creates psychological and mental problems such as depression, anxiety, and sexual problems. (Anonymous, Psychological effects of slavery) (Paraphrase) www.blogs.lt.vt.edu/atori10/2013/02/21/psychological-effects-ofslavery/ Analysis
In the novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden, the main character experiences tragedy at her early stage of life. The social issue on slavery is very evident at the start of the story in which the main character experiences tragedy and her life have been ruined at such a young age. Beside from experiencing poverty while living at the countryside, her father, left with no other choice but to sell his daughters, the main character was unwillingly sold by her father to the Nitta Okiya. She has been coerced to be enslaved and become a servant. Consequently, with her
being bounded to the Nitta Okiya which is a Geisha house, she was exposed to the foreign and explicit world of Gion specifically its culture and tradition. Because of this, Chiyo dreamt of becoming a Geisha and immerses herself in training; however, it is not easy because she is being constantly antagonized by Hatsumomo by using her authority to dominate and oppress Chiyo as to enslaving her. However these instances didn’t make her to fall and hit the rock bottom as to be hopeless, but instead she moves on and accepts her destiny and so she continued to live on filled with hopes and dreams that pushes her to strive higher than anything else. Interpretation
“The life of every individual is really always a tragedy, but gone through in detail, it has the character of a comedy (Arthur Schopenhauer).” It means that in life there are always obstacles that will hinder you, in other words, life is not easy. However, if you view it in a good way, it is more than what you think it is, but in that obstacle is where you will grow and learn. A social issue like slavery has different effects; in most cases it causes bad effects to a certain person. Psychologically, being enslaved causes to lower one’s self esteem and may even cause inferiority complex. But in the case of Sayuri, being treated harshly as a servant or slave she on the other hand viewed her condition in a different way and thinks in an optimistic way but rather believed that she can still be successful even in the situation that she is in. With the way she thinks, the main character was able to shape and define her character by enduring all the sufferings that she experiences and was able to overcome problems of inequality and discrimination caused by slavery. 2. How does the main character face the hardships and challenges in her life? (Through Plot)
Findings
During the early years of Sayuri, she already experienced slavery at such a young age of nine. She is then subjected into becoming a slave of a Geisha and experienced cruel treatment from her peers. Her exquisite beauty lit the jealousy of Hatsumomo which eventually led her to experience a more cruel treatment than she had experienced before. However, after being under Mameha’s mentorship of training, she then became a reputable Geisha and entered the world of entertaining powerful persons with her artistic and social skills. Moreover, she met a man called Chairman Iwamura whom she fell in love with, however, as a Geisha she couldn’t love because of the traditional custom a Geisha has. Until World War II erupted that forever destroyed the explicit world of Geisha that she lives in. (Anonymous) (Paraphrase) www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/plotsummary
Analysis
The novel Memoirs of a Geisha portrays the life of Chiyo who is then marked by the name of Sayuri after becoming a Geisha. Going back when Sayuri was still young, she met a man called Chairman Ken Iwamura who inspired her to further chase her dreams and become a Geisha. It made her heart flutter and because of it, she made a vow to herself that she will someday meet that man again. As time goes by, there came a time when she met again that man. However, being a Geisha with a traditional belief of being restricted of falling in love, she suppressed her feelings for him and caged herself into devoting her time and efforts to entertaining other people that results for her to become the most successful Geisha in Gion. At first, she thought that the Chairman doesn’t recognize her, so because of it she decided to fully stop her feelings for him. But not until during the time of World War II, there came a time when she wanted to get close to Chairman Ken Iwamura once again but finds impossible to get close because she was being pushed to Nobu who is the most trusted friend of the Chairman. With Nobu’s sincere offer to be Sayuri’s dana, Sayuri didn’t want to accept it but then she didn’t plan on telling it to Nobu because she believed that it might hurt the feelings of Nobu. Sayuri plotted something that accidentally created misunderstanding between her and the Chairman because of what her friend Pumpkin did who secretly harbors resentment towards her. However, Pumpkin eventually revealed the true plan of Sayuri why she did it.
But then because of what had transpired, there comes an opportunity for the two of them to talk sincerely and there they fixed their misunderstanding. Sayuri then finally freed herself from the chains of being a Geisha as she makes herself available for falling in love or having a one true love which consequently leads the Chairman to confess his true feelings to Sayuri saying that he wasn’t able to confess earlier because he believed that it is disrespectful to take away the loved ones of a friend. However, it is not until she decided to follow her heart and desires that truly frees her from depriving herself of true love and there she was able to pursue her own destiny. Choosing whether to be enslaved or not is what the cornerstone of the development of the love story between the two. Their decisions made the story complex as if their destiny is like fated by a thread which connects the two of them that made them together at the end. At the latter part of the story, the Chairman became the dana of Sayuri, though they didn’t officially married each other. But then they had an illegitimate child and Sayuri foreseeing the inheritance of Iwamura Electric, she relocates in New York and there she opens a small tea house for entertaining Japanese men. In the story, the main character proves how vital one’s decision in affecting one’s life by how Sayuri’s life was changed due to her decision whether to continue to enslave herself or to free herself from the cultural customs of a Geisha in which her decision played a big role in the outcome of her life at the ending of the story. Interpretation
A life of a person is like water in a river flowing down a hill, in where it has a junction that goes more or less in one direction, until the water splash into an obstacle that forces the water to find a new path (Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha p. 105). It implies that in every choice there is a corresponding consequences; as how the story unfolds it is easily distinguishable that it is on how one’s individual handles every situation that he’s in and that he is responsible for what happens that is caused by how one’s personal actions.
1. How is revenge depicted to the story?
Through literary technique
The accounts below are the elements of the short story depicting the theme on revenge.
Findings
The novel uses figurative language specifically irony in showing revenge (Angeles, et al, Book page 108).
Analysis
The following are a dialogue sample that implies revenge.
1. “My dear Fortunato you are luckily met”
2. “Your health is precious, come go back.”
3. “Here is Medoc…betray…sharing…”
Revenge is very evident in those dialog uttered by Montressor as inspired to lure and execute his plan of sweet revenge to Fortunato. The first 2nd dialog used the word your luckily met and your health is precious, these are uttered by Monstressor as to not Fortunato suspect the very bad plan of Montressor. Moreover on the third dialog, the wines mentioned are acts of pretentious accommodation to make him drunk also to avoid suspicion.
Interpretation
A person who vows poor vengeance needs to be careful of how he should communicate towards another person so that the expected outcome will further be materialized. The psychological impairment that manifest in the mind of the character had let to his careful planning of how to avenge through the sweet words or accommodation he had spoken of.
