On Natsume Soseki And I Am A Cat

As one of the most outstanding writers in modern Japanese literature history, Natsume Soseki had been influencing Japanese modern literature and thoughts profoundly. Therefore, researches of his works and himself have very important meaning for our understanding of modern Japanese spirit.This thesis introduces relationship between Natsume Soseki and oriental literature first. Natsume Soseki, born in a small government official's family in Edo(now Tokyo), was greatly influenced by Edo Literature, which was mainly expressed in his writing of HaiKu. Moreover, he read a lot of Chinese books in his early times. As a result, his literature creation was influenced by Sinology of China, which can be seen in his poetry.Based on the research towards the writer, this thesis analyzes I am a Cat from many aspects, such as creative background, creative intention, possibility of influencing by other foreign writers, satire and absurdity in the works. I am a Cat has a very special writing background, in which Natsume Soseki criticized Megi Time through describing a cat. It was his original creation to make a cat as his hero in a novel. I am a Cat is a marvelous satiric novel, filled with hyperbole, strange metaphor, irony and other rhetoric methods. In the novle, RaKugo influences its farce and Chinese culture influences its satiric spirit.Based on the research above, the author elaborates the relationship between I am a Cat and Natsume Soseki's other novels from three aspects, heroes in the novel, criticism of modern civilization and portrait of human being's selfness. Together with Sanshiro and Heart, we can find that intellectuals are always the heroes in Natsume Soseki's novel, which are full of criticism towards modern civilization and description of human being's selfness. Natsume Soseki himself witnessed the contradictions in the process of promoting westernization in Japanese society, and also the miserable condition of intellectuals who did not have the strength to struggle. By writing I am a Cat, he pointed out various problems existing in the society, in the meanwhile, indicating the further research of the problems. From this, we can know that I am a Cat is the origin of Natsume Soseki's writing career.