Thematic Study On Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature

Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature is a general term of the works that focus on the atomic bombs launched to Hiroshima and Nagasaki from America at the end of World War Ⅱ.With a history of over 70 years,Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature covering the novel,poetry,drama,essay,prose,review and so on,threads itself through the whole post-war literature history and becomes a key component of Japanese contemporary literature.Through teasing out Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature’s forming context and development process,and taking specific texts into consideration,this dissertation will sketch the outline of its procedural features and dissect the thematic meaning and ideology of the Atomic Bomb Literature from three aspects of "destruction","trauma" and "reflection",which contrives to examine the Atomic Bomb Literature both longitudinally and laterally.To put it shortly,longitudinal study is diachronic.Under the post-war social context,the Atomic Bomb Literature displays different procedural features and textual connotation.The three themes mentioned above echo with the development of history and the era,which contains a inherently bridging and coordinating logic.While the lateral study investigates the similarities and differences in thematic realization of texts according to their era through detailed reading,interpretation,explanation and contrast and comparison.Nuclear cognition will be the main line to dig out the inherent thematic meaning and textual value of JNL.The specification will be carried out from the following five parts.The introduction part defines Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature’s in first place and combs its historical background and development.Based on relevant domestic and overseas research actuality,the necessity and feasibility of the current research is pointed out.At last,it also concludes the research approach and significance.The first chapter is "destruction theme:the recurrence of hell on earth".It regards Tamiki Hara’s trilogy of Summer Flowers,Yoko Ota’s City of Corpses and so forth as the objects of text analysis.Theory of narratology will be utilized to analyze how the destructiveness of atomic bombs is presented in the Atomic Bomb Literature works from three layers of "the prelude of destruction","the moment of destruction" and "the tragic sight of the destruction".Being victims,Tamiki Hara,Yoko Ota and so on bear the responsibility of writing.Through their words of memory and the testimony of history,their works picture Hiroshima and Nagasaki residents’ messy and miserable life before and during the bombing,as well as the scenes of hopeless and struggling people after the bombing.The second chapter is "trauma theme:crying and consoling".This part treats the works by Yoko Ota,Kyoko Hayashi,Ibuse Masuji and so on as the objects to analyze the traumatic memories and historiography of Atomic Bomb Literature.Three levels of "the symptom of the trauma","the spread and intensification of the trauma" and "the relief and recovery of the trauma" will be the focus to expound on the physical and mental trauma atomic bombs had left on the victims,especially the mental trauma of the females from discrimination.Beyond recording,these works concentrate on the victims’ physical and mental damages,focus on their living situation,meditate on the value of life,and grill on how the victims could live on with dignity,all of which displays the tragic history of the bomb-stricken people.These works encourage the victims to persist on,express heartfelt condolence and endless missing and accuse of the social contradiction and the inequality,discrimination and so on between individuals.The third chapter "reflection theme:recalling the past pains" takes Mitsuharu Inoue’s House of Brotherhood and Chi No Mure,Yoshie Hotta’s The Trial,Makoto Ota’s Hiroshima and Kenzaburo Oe’s relevant works as the objects to explore and excavate the reflective spirit of the Atomic Bombing Literature.Breaking through the routinized angles of narrow nationalism or venting out of personal experiences,these works,rooting in global perspective,speculate and reflect on the essence of the atomic bomb.The interweaving of the manifold themes and transcending of nationalism,as well as the common wish of global peace from the experiences of Hiroshima are the fruition of the authors’ recalling.If one considers that Mitsuharu Inoue’s works are from a domestic view criticizing the social problem of discrimination towards the bomb-stricken people and the Buraku people,then Yoshie Hotta’s The Trial,and Makoto Oda’s Hiroshima are from a macro-level global perspective probing into problems of the relativity between victimization and infliction as well as the borderless of the nuclear explosion aftermath,and touching upon the core of morality.At the mean time,Kenzaburo Oe’s series of works hit on the vein of the era,nationalize the Hiroshima experiences and realize the goal of globalizing the "disgrace" through attaching it a universal value.These works forcefully call for eliminating nuclear weapons to gain global peace and raise the major issue of how to face the nuclear era.The conclusion partgeneralizes and comments on the main features of Atomic Bomb Literature from literature characteristics and practical significance.First of all,in Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature’s narrative strategy,the discursive practices focus differently on documentation and imagination,each compensates for and frames another.Early Atomic Bomb Literature stresses on personal feelings and historical documentation expressing strong realistic nature.Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature after the 1960s demonstrates literary tension as well as authors’ imagination.Between the documentation and fiction,and life and art,Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature reached a perfect balance,met with its intention of recording the history and reflecting the spiritual values.Besides,Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature not only achieved its formal transition in accordance with the time but also presented its obvious characteristic on nuclear cognition.From the nationalism of being victims to the sincere reflection of being sinners and from the narrow national hatred to broad eternal peace of humankind,it can be said without exaggeration that such an evolution is the most valuable manifestation of Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature.All in all,Japanese Atomic Bomb Literature insert all its emotions and rational reflection into texts,which sets an example for recording the disasters,satisfies the needs of emotional outburst while presenting the theme,and realizes its function of psychological therapy and warning the following generations.Its authenticity and historical rationality lecture people deeply and provide itself with the traits and meaning of the contemporary literature.