Literary Analysis #2

Literature Analysis #2:

Memoirs of a Geisha
By: Arthur Golden

1. Summary: Memoirs of a Geisha is about a woman named Chiyo Sakamoto, who was made a geisha before and during World War Il. The story begins with Chiyo Sakamoto being sold to an okiya along with her sister named Satsu, which is a geisha training school. Sadly, Satsu wasn’t as beautiful as some of the others girls, so she was forced to become a prostitute against her own will instead of being a part of the okiya. Now, a famous geisha named Hatsumomo begins to hate Chiyo because she is afraid that she will replace her and take over, so she starts to plot against Chiyo to get rid of her entirely.  In the okiya, Chiyo lives with Pumpkin, Granny, Mother, and Auntie a long with Hatsumomo. Later on in the story, Chiyo runs into Hatsumomo having sex with her boyfriend, which was absolutely unacceptable for a geisha since their availability is what makes them so popular to the public. Hatsumomo then changes what happened and gets Chiyo punished, but Hatsumomo ends up paying for her trickery once mother found out the truth by being forced to never speak to her boyfriend ever again. After this chaotic situation, Chiyo tries to escape the okiya, but ends up falling and hurting herself, which causes her to be caught. Due to this incident, Mother tries to get rid of Chiyo since she embarrassed the okiya and the social image of a geisha. Years later, Chiyo desires to become a wonderful geisha and she donates her money to the Yasaka Shrine in order to achieve this goal. Now, at this time, Pumpkin has become a very successful geisha while Chiyo has remained a maid (slave) for mother. Soon, Pumpkin’s name is changed to Hatsumiyo since she has become a geisha after years of training. As the story progresses, Chiyo is taken under the guidance of Mameha, who was a rival of her original okiya. This ends up being a terrible decision and causes Chiyo to never be able to gain a danna to receive her independence, so she is forced to go back to being a slave for Mother.  Chiyo’s name also changes to Sayuri since she was able to become a geisha. Sayuri was arranged to go through a ceremony called mizuage, which is defined as the ceremony in which they become a full-fledged geisha. Now, Hatsumomo tries to mess with this ceremony, but a mentor named Toshikazu Nobu sees through her trickery and ends up paying for her mizuage. This allows Sayuri to pay off each of her debts and become the new heiress for the okiya, which causes Pumpkin to become upset since she was the one who was originally supposed to be the heiress. Due to this event, Pumpkin hates Sayuri just like Hatsumomo and they both end up leaving the okiya later on. Later on, Sayuri teams up with Pumpkin in order to entertain the Nobu in in order to obtain her danna, but the problem is the Sayuri fell in love with the Chairman. Sayuri tries to avoid Nobu since she doesn’t want him to be her danna due to her love for the Chairman. She soon develops a plan to get caught entertaining another man, but Pumpkin ruins the plan due to her resentment towards Sayuri due to the fact that Mother adopted her. This caused Sayuri to agree to Nobu’s offer to be his danna. Eventually, Sayuri ends up giving up on the life of a geisha and accidentally runs into the Chairman. The two characters end up falling in love, having a child together, and opens a small, sweet tea house in New York City. 

2. There are various themes presented in this novel, but the biggest theme is about how things may not be as wonderful or great as they appear.“I didn't say to act dead. I said act helpless.” A geisha is perfect example of how a woman should be and are used as entertainers, but most don’t even realize that under the makeup and clothes, is an average woman trying to survive and are actually forced in this role against their will, which makes them into slaves. “Geisha is always called beautiful even if she is not.”


3. “I've lived my life again just telling it to you.” The tone within this novel changes throughout since it’s told in first person, so it varies within different situations due to her own personal bias. 

4.  Ten Examples:

• “The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains.” This quote is an example of personification, which is defined as something nonhuman being give human characteristics. The heart is personified above to express how humans die and to elicit emotion from his audience. 

• “This is why dreams can be such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes they consume us completely.” This quote is an example of a simile since it compares dreams to fire in order to show how dangerous they truly can be.

• “Can't you see? Every step I have taken, since I was that child on the bridge, has been to bring myself closer to you. ” The quote used above is a immaculate example of a rhetorical question, which influences the readers to foreshadow and think about what is being written.

• “I could no more have stopped myself from feeling that sadness than you could stop yourself from smelling an apple that has been cut open on the table before you.” This quote above is metaphor and allows the reader to make connections with there own lives in order to become emotionally invested in the characters.

• “Those of us with water in our personalities don't pick where we'll flow to. All we can do is flow where the landscape of our lives carries us”.This statement above uses elements of nature to create imagery in hopes to develop a comparison that supports the idea that sometimes we must go with the flow of life instead of always fighting back.

• “We don't become geisha because we want our lives to be happy; we become geisha because we have no choice.” The quote presented above shows a very significant due to the fact that it embodies the theme of the entire novel itself, which is presented in question 2 written above.

• “No one knows the author of memoir so well like himself.” This quote shows the author’s purpose in writing this novel in first person, which was monumental in the impact of this novel.

• “A wounded tiger is a dangerous beast.” The quote above alludes to the idea that the wounded tiger is going to be even more dangerous than it would be if it wasn’t since it feels weak, hopeless, and unprotected, which could lead to more reckless actions.

• “You're eighteen years old, Sayuri," she went on. "Neither you nor I can know your destiny.” This quote presents a common cliche throughout the world about how teenagers aren’t responsible and lack a sense of intelligence.

• “Every step I have taken has been to bring myself closer to you.” This quote elicits pathos from the audience because it uses love to draw the attention and hearts of the audience.

Characterization:

1. Indirect and Direct Characterization Examples:

• "You should have told me sooner what a pretty girl you brought with you. Her eyes...they're the color of a mirror!" This is an example of direct characterization due to the fact that it is describing her appearance through speech and action.

• "...some girls are smart and some are stupid" This is another example of direct characterization because she is being described through speech and action.

• “She paints her face to hide her face. Her eyes are deep water. It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret.”  This show indirect characterization and also expresses the most significant theme within the novel, but also describes the characters as well.

• “A tree may look as beautiful as ever; but when you notice the insects infesting it, and the tips of the branches that are brown from disease, even the trunk seems to lose some of its magnificence. ” This quote above personifies the characterization of a geisha in order to show the true emotions going on underneath the makeup and expensive outfits.
• The author uses these two approaches to show how the character’s feelings from within and how she is appeared to the public. This style is exactly like Chaucer’s in The Canterbury Tales.

2. “A memoir provides a record not so much of the memoirist as of the memoirist's world.”  The author’s diction does really change due to the fact that this book was written in first person, but it does have personal experiences and connections in which changes her point of view and influences the audience to side with her.


3. The protagonist within this story is round because as the reader, you feel as if you know her or even friends with her. She is a dynamic character due to the fact that as the story progresses, the audience sees her highs, her lows, and her challenges, which shaped who she becomes later on in her life.

4. After reading this book, I felt as if I have met her in person before. I became so emotionally invested in the story and in her character. “She paints her face to hide her face. Her eyes are deep water. It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret.” This quote caused me to feel absolutely terrible inside. I felt her pain and her feeling of hopelessness, which caused me to view her differently as a character.