Paragraph 65 – Literary Term
He folded his hands beneath his head and gazed at the dark boards of the ceiling in the dimness beyond the range of the standard lamp. Was it death he was now waiting for? Or a wild ecstasy of the senses? The two seemed to overlap, almost as if the object of this bodily desire […]
Annotation Paragraph 101
With their respective notes in their hands—the lieutenant’s sword strapped to his side, Reiko’s small dagger thrust into the sash of her white kimono—the two of them stood before the god shelf and silently prayed. Then they put out all the downstairs lights. As he mounted the stairs the lieutenant turned his head and gazed […]
Paragraph 5 and 16 Annotation
Paragraph 5 “After the suicide, people would take out this photograph and examine it, and sadly reflect that too often there was a curse on these seemingly flawless unions. Perhaps it was no more than imagination, but looking at the picture after the tragedy it almost seemed as if the two young people before the […]
Paragraph 23 Annotation
“Reiko bowed deeply, but her husband made no response. As he had already unfastened his sword and was about to remove his greatcoat, Reiko moved around behind to assist. The coat, which was cold and damp and had lost the odor of horse dung it normally exuded when exposed to the sun, weighed heavily upon […]
Simultaneity (Paragraph 122)
“The moment the lieutenant thrust the sword into his left side and she saw the deathly pallor fall across his face, like an abruptly lowered curtain, Reiko had to struggle to prevent herself from rushing to his side. Whatever happened, she must watch. She must be a witness. That was the duty her husband had […]
Paragraph 36 Annotation
““I am ready,” she said. “I ask permission to accompany you.” This line stood out to me because it shows the imbalance of power in the relationship between Reiko and her husband. She must ask permission in order to do something she wants to do. “Good We’ll go together. But I want you as a […]
Paragraph 12 Annotation (Morris Khafif)
“Their lives were lived beneath the solemn protection of the gods and were filled with an intense happiness which set every fiber in their bodies trembling.” Here the love between the lieutenant and his wife is being portrayed with the literary concept of sublime, with their love and passion envoking the strongest emotions
Paragraph 9 Annotation (Morris Khafif)
” the lieutenant had pushed his wife to the floor almost as soon as he had entered the house. Reiko was equally ardent in her response.” Here Mishima describes the sexual intercourse between the lieutenant and his wife in a way that represents Sadomasochism, or “S&M,” as discussed in class.
Paragraph 125 Annotation – Dave Cen
“Ever since her marriage her husband’s existence had been her own existence, and every breath of his had been a breath drawn by herself.”–The reason why Reiko thinks and acts like this is because, at least partially, she thinks she’s supposed to act in this way. It’s all “in accordance with the Education Rescript’s injunction that ‘husband […]
Paragraph 18 Annotation
Reiko grew comfortable with the thought of her own death through her knowledge of the fact that her husband could potentially die from his position in the military. The fact that she knew her husband could one day experience “anguish” and “distress” allowed her to accept the same for herself as his wife.
Recent Comments in this Document
May 16, 2016 at 11:05 pm
I agree that women in that generations were taught to be submissive and once they marry they are like the husband’s property. It is also sad that they were only married for such a short time and she is willing to die with him.
-Sandy
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May 15, 2016 at 10:32 pm
This moment was very impressive description of Reiko’s feeling and operation. It is difficult thing to help her lover to finish the suicide. Meanwhile, the passage portarys lieutenant’s determination to suicide.
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May 15, 2016 at 10:28 pm
Although this paragraph does show the societal duties of women towards their husband, it also shows the strength and pride that Reiko takes in her position as his wife. Her action of taking the knife shows her dedication to her husband. And the silent understanding afterwords shows the mutual respect and trust between them both. Shinji’s forewarning to his wife about the possibility of suicide also has a caring undertone to it. He wants to give her the chance to be prepared and prove herself; which she does.
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May 15, 2016 at 10:24 pm
Yup, it’s quite pretentious to me that they want to show people that they are patriotic enough to kill themselves. And I feel like the author is over glorifying their suicides.
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May 15, 2016 at 9:37 pm
Sandy, it is amazing how the last thing the Lieutenant, and Reiko did together was to make love to one another. Do you think there is a correlation or a possibly theme associated with love and death in which Mishima is trying to portray?
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May 15, 2016 at 9:06 pm
I like your choice of scene to show simultaneity in the story. There were definitely a lot of conflicting emotions going through the character’s minds, such as the passion and death that you pointed it. The Lieutenant has a lot of thoughts running through his head at once and intertwining together, but the overall theme is that he feels a sense of freedom in both these acts.
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May 15, 2016 at 8:11 pm
I very much agree with this and discussed a similar idea in my most. The simultaneity that exists in the above sentence is clear, and is one of the more interesting sentences in the paper.
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May 15, 2016 at 7:38 pm
I agree with you that Reiko and lieutenant had S&M relationship, because she didn’t want to disobay her husband. It is not clear did she like it or she simply accepted to satisfy him.
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May 15, 2016 at 7:16 pm
I agree that the first part of the sentence, even though short and simple, tells a lot about Reiko. She is your typical traditional wife that is very loyal and obedient to her husband. I didn’t think much about the “coat” when I read through, so I think it is interesting that it could be a reference to Reiko’s feelings.
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