"The Setting Sun"

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that Osamu Dazai's masterpiece "The Setting Sun" was written in 1947 and is a remarkable story about the decline of a Japanese aristocratic family. The writer points out that, in his work, Dazai approaches many social issues and presents how Japanese values, sustained by aristocratic families, interact with the changes in society and culture. The writer relates that "The Setting Sun" illustrates in detail the Japanese society in the postwar period and the struggle between traditional society and modernism. The writer concludes that the period in which the novel's action takes place is a period of transition for the characters as well as for Japan.

From the Paper:

"If Kazuko is realistic about the changes that take place in the Japanese society, her mother refuses to abandon her aristocratic way of life and holds on to the traditional values she cherishes. As described by her son, Naoji, the mother is considered to be the last genuine aristocrat. Taking into consideration the social conditions at the time the action takes place, this is not necessarily a compliment."
"Naoji returns from the war and is faced with the changes that take place in his family. He represents the greatest hope for his mother and sister, but he returns from war as a drug addict and he has to face the failure of his own life and the failure of his world as he knew it, this eventually leads him to suicide."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dazai, Osamu, The setting sun, translated by Donald Keene, New Directions Publishing Corporation, revised edition, June 1968;
• Institutions and symbols, Volume X, No. 43, October 23, 1957, available at http://www.manasjournal.org/pdf_library/VolumeX_1957/X-43.pdf;
• Osamu Dazai, 2002, available at http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/dazai.htm;
• The Setting Sun, November 2006, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Setting_Sun;

More papers on "The Setting Sun":

• Analytical Essay # 90553 : "Sun Yat Sen and the Reorganization of the Kuomintang"
• Analytical Essay # 15974 : "A Raisin in the Sun"
• Analytical Essay # 26978 : "The Sun Rising"

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