Fluent Essays

This short story has enough symbols that if they were eggs, the floor would be a slippery mess. (I do try to make these prompts sound alive.) Why are they there?  Because this is feminist literature from a country that has a culture of placing women in subservient roles.  Having said that, there are always exceptions.  This story is not one of them. It has nuance and intensity of experience. It has a clear story line and shows the machinations of some marriages. It has lying to protect revelation.  It has the come from behind kid making good. It has a jealous husband. It has a poor sense of self being negated. Look at the 16 symbols: elevator, stairs, storm, Spring, water, audition, Natsuo (means Summer life), acting, Yusuke (means easeful support), Spring Storm (means revelation), rain, metaphor with the Rosalinis and Bergmans, script writer, director, changes as in smoking, musical play.  Take all of these symbols and make a crossword puzzle. Use a related clue in terms specific to this story (interpretation). The idea is to have fun and yet see the relationships and how the story “works.” There are Internet sites that can set up the pile of words for you. These may or may not be of value to you.  These are a start to finding a site to suit that does not charge. EX: https://crosswordhobbyist.com/ EX: https://www.education.com/worksheet-generator/reading/crossword-puzzle/ EX: https://wordmint.com/puzzles Spring Storm Mori Yoko (Japan) Pronounce; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSZpoX3G8Mc A Student Analysis https://prezi.com/ofcfmi-ztnm2/analysis-of-quotspring-stormquot-and-quotwork-and-freedomquot/ Letter From Tokyo By Kunio Francis Tanabe September 5, 1993 Yoko Mori, who died of cancer on July 6 at age 52, was a popular writer of trendy romances set in the fancier parts of Tokyo or in Mediterranean resorts; she was also the translator of Alexandra Ripleys Scarlett, the 1991 sequel to Gone With the Wind, which briefly made it to the top of the bestseller list here in January. Through her essays and novels, which her reading public consumed voraciously, Mori cultivated a taste for Western culture and sensibility. To me, an ideal woman is someone like Carmen or Scarlett OHara, she wrote in one of her essays. She exhorted her readers to be more audacious in matters of love, to follow passion to the hilt -- something that not many Japanese women, or men, are prone to do. Since her first novel, The Affair, appeared 14 years ago, her popularity, especially among middle-aged urban women, was assured. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1993/09/05/letter-from-tokyo/dcac3df3-4eca-45fe-b5e3-4433b5610b69/?utm_term=.0a0896c4fdc5 There is a nod to feminism in this story when the woman accepts self-effacement in order for her male counterpart to remain. Of course, her action is not feminist, but her self-denial illustrates such a need. The story shows a young woman beginning a potentially superior career in the acting. In a male -dominating society, she sublimates herself by lying to her husband. But she has already started to change so this behavior is not expected to continue. Her acting is a tool for releasing her inner self which she doubts. Ultimately, with success, she has the capacity to reach self-actualization…but without her husband. Obviously, the storm outside symbolizes the storm inside between man and wife. It is Spring – a time of new beginnings and growth. Notice the image of stair and elevator. One is slower and steady; the other is straight up. She must take the more demanding of the two, in the rain without covering. SPRING STORM REFLECTION  So, what is a weed?  A misplaced plant?  A spring storm is such a refreshment and it can be torrential. And like manure, it encourages young things to grow. (Thank you, Dolly Levi.*) It is the backdrop of Natsuo growing because she has outgrown her husband whom she should never have chosen in the beginning.  They are mismatched. He cannot celebrate her achievement, an achievement which even surprises her.  He will not be “second fiddle” to his wife and possibly will never achieve greatness on his own.  It cleans the old. It brings in the new. It feeds her future and drowns his – at least with Natsuo.  * Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. Its not worth a thing unless its spread around, encouraging young things to grow.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcbw0GETjZw Spring Storm By Mori Yoko Synopsis In Spring Storm, it tells the story of how Midori Natsuo received an acclaimed role as an actress and the thoughts as it is eventually revealed to her husband. Due to this tensions rise in their relationship, leaving a desire of separation from the husband. Dominance Japan, which is where the story is set, is a mostly male dominant country. Meaning that traditional roles of males were to money providers as well as securing the family in general, Female roles were that of taking care for the household and the family within. They were seen as the internal provider and were not treated as an equal of that of their husband because of the set society roles. West meets East Japan, once a country of isolation, opened up after the United States forced the to open up in the 1850s. Japan’s culture became predominantly mixed with the West after World War II when they were under United States sanction. In this story, Western culture comes in the form of having the leads in the entertainment industry as well as having the main character Natsuo be ties to cigarettes. There are also other references such as “You were trembling like a drenched cat, but your face was lit up like a Christmas tree.” (Yoko, 342) Natsuo “Can’t a husband be happy for his wife’s success?” (Yoko, 341) The main character, her conflicted emotions are exposed as she struggles with her happiness between this new founded success and the relationship with the husband. She understood that her husband would not be on the same level of excitement of proudness as she avoided telling him at first. She knew that there will be something to regret if she did, but she didn’t know what it was until after his little comparison. Proof of her avoidance can also be evident of her husbands current position as a screenwriter. Yusuke “Our situation would be even worse.” (Yoko, 341) The second character of the story, the male lead. He can be the cause of the tension as he is the one bringing up the comparison of his and Natsuo’s relationship to that of other famous couples. Either in fear or jealousy he calls off their relationship so that she may experience her success. Fear that the love they have may be over as he put his status next to her. Jealous that she found success before he has, The Relationship The relationship is the main conflict in the story. It is the cause of the tension as Natsuo struggles if she wants to keep the relationship that Yusuke wants over if she goes through with the role. This ties back to the characters feelings and motivation as Natsuo isn’t afraid of the change, just the speed that it was coming as she worked hard for it. Yusuke can be afraid of the change as in a way he may be losing his wife to a success/ change that he cannot stop. Similar to that of a spring storm. The meaning of Spring Storm In the story, a storm was present at the beginning. Representing an unexpectedness; harsh but calming, “The words, perhaps romantic, well described the heavy, slanting rain, driven by a wind that had retained the rawness of winter.” (Yoko, 337) This is a metaphor to the relationship between Natsuo and her husband Yusuke. Raw, and heavy; their relationship is crowded in tension of the changes that were going to occur. Though in the end a calming comes and that is when the truth of their love is exposed. The Cigarette “I’ll be experiencing all kinds of new things from now on” (Yoko, 337) This is shown through how she smokes; before her success she would sit down to smoke, now she stands. As if she is a new person, having the opportunity to experience new things. The symbiotic relationship she has to a cigarette is also one of the signs that her husband had noticed a change in her, meaning a change he cannot stop. Cherry Blossoms “When this spring storm is over, I expect the cherry blossoms will suddenly be bursting out” (Yoko, 341) Cherry blossoms can represent a new life. This is more evident as Yusuke ends the relationship in the end and how their husband and wife relationship is related to that of the spring storm. So he is referencing to after the confrontation of the truth of their relationship is revealed as both head into a new life. The Apartment ‘Of, is it for the last time?” (Yoko, 342) The apartment is a symbol of a shared space that both characters share, though mostly belongs to that of Yusuke as this is where he works. For her to see it from the last time can be a consideration that she is ready to leave on for something better. THe same can be said for Yusuke as he can be represented by the apartment. Reference Mori, Yoko. Spring Storm. 337-343.