Study On Literature By Kenzaburo Oe

Kenzaburo Oe is known as the standard-bearer of Japanese postwar literature, whose works lead the development direction of Japanese literature. He won the1994Nobel Prize in literature, which brought him great reputation. However, domestic interpretation of Oe literature is far from sufficient. Oe, fond of talking about himself, says that his literary creation keeps changing while maintaining continuity, declaring that his literature is always based on periphery, and embarks from periphery. This indicates that research on his periphery position is the key to the study of Oe literature and co-existence is the logical development of his periphery ideas. Current domestic studies on periphery focused on the peripheral culture presented in his works at the second stage and after of his literary career while research on co-existence concentrated mainly on the co-existence with his handicapped child, paying no attention to the continuity of his literary creation. The treatise, based on his view of periphery and his pursuit of co-existence, tries to find the changes in the continuity of his literary creation by interpreting the whole of his works roughly in the temporal order, using related literary theories such as trace theory, abnormal psychology theory, influence theory, and cultural anthropology theory.The treatise consists of five chapters.Chapter1, entitled "Original Experience in the Peripheral Mountain Village" analyzes the formation of his periphery view and the reasons for his pursuit of co-existence. Oe’s original experience in the valley village surrounded by the forest is the origin of his literature and it lays a foundation for his literary world. First of all, given that Oe is a man extremely sensitive to words, we hold the view that the existence of the peripheral parts of the village makes him speculate about "existence" in philosophy, helps him to accept the theory of peripheral culture and deepens his understanding of the multilayer feature of the "center-periphery" relation as well. The peasant uprising in the village has been an important subject in his literary creation, which indicates that he stands on the side of the peasants. This is related to the fact that his grandmother’s name and the writing brush used for recording history are homophones in Japanese, and the same is true for his mother’s name and the stone used to defeat the vassal soldiers. His concern for belief in soul and the legend of Doji first heard in stories told by his grandmother, in addition to belief in Kodama in forest culture, is probably due to the fact that the pronunciation of the Japanese word for "forest" is the same as that of the Latin word for "death"(mori). The forest has become a place of destiny. Secondly, using the disease trace theory, analyses are made of the influence of his stammer on his roundabout style and thinking mode, and the strabismus on his way of understanding things from multiple perspectives, pointing out the significance of his diseases to his creation and special interest in the curing function of literature. Finally, factors such as his birth order, family background, sickness and sufferings from violence are dwelled on, stating that these factors lead to his inferiority complex, which, on the one hand, makes him incompletely socialized and keeping pure, on the other hand, enables him to indulge in reading and formed his profound thinking. His inferiority complex also accounts for his attention to the weak, resistance against power, and pursuit of co-existence in his works.Chapter2, with the title of "Peripheral People in’Imprisonment’" deals with the loss of joint sense in the "imprisonment" of society. First, on the basis of Oe’s dislocation of cognition, it presents that although the thought of "imprisonment" is an echo to the unenlightenedness embodied in Sartre literature and Takuboku Ishikawa’s era, it results more from the humiliation of U.S. army stationed in Japan, which is enlarged by his inferiority complex and discomfort of the city life after he fled from the mountain village. He describes the era as in "imprisonment", which is manifested by the alienation of the characters and the injuries they do to each other. Second, using the influence method in comparative study of literature, we discover that Oe’s creation of The Wonderful Job and Lavish are the Dead is inspired by Sartre and Lu Xun, the latter insisting on seeking hope from desperation in his creation. In these two novels, Oe, in attempt to break through the absurdity of people, creates women characters who cherish hope, but end up with disappointment. This shows that Sartre’s influence on Oe outdid that of Lu Xun. He is also influenced by Norman Mailer, whose fugitive theme encouraged him to portray youth characters who are longing for escape. Their inability to act denotes their desperation for society. Finally, under the influence of Mailer as well as Sartre, Oe introduced the theme of sex into his creation, intending to surpass the post-war literature. This is related to his character and his youth as well. He took "sex" as his subject in order to insinuate the politics. Using "sex" as a breakthrough point, he lets his character find his identity and experience his real existence through sexual adventures. The destructive ending of the sexual adventurer is the inevitable result of people who have lost the joint sense in "imprisonment".Chapter3presents "the co-existence in the nuclear age". First, studying Oe’s saying and doing before his marriage, we find that the reasons for his not having children lie not only in his desperation for the age, but also in his fear of marriage and having sexual intercourse resulted from his inferiority complex. Being sensitive to dangers conforms to his incompletely socialized character. He decided to have a child when he came back from China, full of hope. This indicates that he pays close attention to society even from the anger of his personal life. This is why his literature becomes universal even though he writes about specific persons or events. Then, quoting the Hiroshima-born reviewer as saying that he disagree with Oe on the "orthodox" character of Hiroshima people, we hold the view that the "orthodox" interpretation of Hiroshima people is not without generalization and deliberate enhancement. This can be defined as his retrospection on the evil thought that once occurred to him that he would give up the disabled child. The birth of the crippled child and the misfortune of Hiroshima people make Oe establish his two themes of writing, namely, co-existence with crippled children and opposition to nuclear wars in a strong sense of reality, increasing the depth and richness of his literature. The development of his literature from the subject of nuclear explosion to that of anti-nuclear wars is one of his contributions to literature. Finally, through analyses of texts, we point out that his co-existence with the handicapped boy includes not only the description of his upbringing but also his heroic anti-nuclear undertakings. He has found the magic power in the boy and see his "epilepsy" as "transformation", depicting the child as an anti-nuclear hero rescuing the world.Chapter4is concerned with the revolt of the peripheral culture. The failure of the campaign against the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty throws shadows to Oe, who insists on "popular sovereignty" and "renunciation of war", and brings great frustration to the public. The task for Oe is to find a way out for the people who have been deprived of political rights. His trip to Okinawa and America becomes a turning point. First, analyzing the text of Okinawa Notes, we find that Japan’s treatment of Okinawa as a deserted son or a chess piece results from its "Ruku Syobun" guided by its "sinocentrism" with the Japanese style. America-occupied Okinawa makes Oe reflect on the democratic constitution and the system of Divine Emperor while the unique peripheral culture prompts him to rethink about the mainstream culture with the Mikado on the top. Then, we point out that Faulkner’s influence is far more than that of Norman Mailer after sorting out the relationship of Oe with America, American literature, particularly all the reasons for his acceptance of Faulkner’s literature. The trip to America provides him with an opportunity to re-read Faulkner and he was greatly inspired by the "Yoknapatawpha saga". The two trips prompt Oe to re-discover his native place-a mountain village in the south of Japan which retains the peripheral culture. Finally, through analyses of The Silent Cry, we indicate that, the protagonist, when studying his family history, finds out the truth of Japanese history in the one hundred years after Meiji Restoration, attributing the development of history to the efforts of the people and the source of their strength to the peripheral culture. However, we do acquiesce in the strong vitality of the peripheral culture. Instead, we intend to signify that it is weakening, but not to the extent of exhaustion, and it needs activating. On the basis of intensive reading the texts, we hold the view that, by arousing the shame sense of people which has been assimilated by the mainstream culture regain that sense in peripheral culture, leads the power accumulated in people into actual revolt. In addition, through the narration of myths, Oe creates a mode of revolt as "village=country=small universe", which enables the people to keep revolting up to the present, with the view to changing the status quo of Japan which seems open but actually closed to the outside and letting the people live a hopeful life. Chapter5,"Moving from "Religion" to Human Co-existence", expounds human salvation in the era of atheism through analyses of Oe’s "religious" novels. People’s spiritual crisis in the era of material prosperity enables Oe to concern with the problem of "soul", which deepens the theme of his literature of the previous stages, we point out that, as an atheist, Oe’s "religious" literature relies on the salvation imagery of trees (forest), the establishment of the "green tree" church, and the mountain village community-the place where salvation takes place. Through analyses of the proposal made by the "savior" of the "green" church, praying towards "the hole in the center", we think that it is the manifestation of Oe’s atheism and his reflection on the national institutionalization of Shinto in the wartime as well. The two-time self-denial made by the "patron" in Summersault and the atheist conclusion drawn through the "guide" intend to steer the followers to self-salvation. Then, through exposition of the advancing and development of the concept "new man", we state that Oe’s "later work" calls for the emergence of "new man" who will continue with the past and open up the future. In recent years, he is engaged in the creation of works on guard against resurrection of some negative legacy such as militarism in order for Japanese to have true co-existence with the Asian people.From the examinations above, we can find that Kenzaburo Oe, based on the position of periphery, shows great concerns to weak groups, regarding himself as their comrade, and often cherishes fear, watching out for nuclear weapons and the growing environmental pollution which threatens human co-existence, social injustice and the populism which may block up the Japanese future. Meanwhile, he signifies a strong sense of enlightenment, deep awareness of crisis and painful ethical reflection, which means his sincere hopes of human co-existence and his deep humanitarian feelings.