Patriotism

Seppuku is a Japanese ritual in which a person commits suicide. It is often performed to escape conflicts such as capture. This ritual is to performed to show the courage of a samurai even when faced with defeat. In "Patriotism" by Yukio Mishima, lieutenant Takeyama Shinji is a member of the Japanese army. Recently, many soldiers and officers started a mutiny and attacked many homes of the Japanese Prime Minister and conquered parts of Tokyo. Takeyama Shinji was called to deal with these rebels on an early morning. Takeyama has recently gotten married to his wife, Reiko.Reiko understands the risks and events that could occur as a wife of a lieutenant in the Japanese army. She understands that at any moment she could become a widow. When Takeyama Shinji returns from his call to duty, Reiko was relieved to see him alive. Takeyama returns with a dreadful decision to make. He tells his wife that he found out that some of the traitors were his friends, young officers, and members of his unit who used to visit him in his home. Tomorrow morning, he will be the commander of a unit ordered to kill them. Takeyama Shinji wanted to stay loyal to his country but that was a difficult order to follow because he also wanted to stay loyal to his unit. At that moment Takeyama Shinji knew he had to undergo Seppuku. Reiku, loving her husband so much asked him if she could join him in this ritual.

In Japan, suicide is not seen as a bad thing. Suicide is honorable in Japanese culture. Japanese culture also does not have Christian laws prohibiting suicide. This made me think and realize how different cultures all around the world are. Takeyama Shinji did not hesitate and waiver on the idea of suicide. He knew he had to do it and he did not feel bad about it. I asked myself, "isn't he abandoning his king by doing this?" But then i realized that this was the only way Takeyama Shinji was going to escape this conflict. In the long run, I think he took the only option he had and that was to kill himself.

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Connie is a typical teenage girl. She enjoys music, cares way too much about her appearance, believes she is mature, and is rebellious to her parents. You can even say she is two faced. At home she has one persona but away from home she has an entirely different personality.at home, her true personality disappears. When she was asked out by Eddie, I don’t think she was happy that it was Eddie but because she was accepted by society based on her looks. I also believe that even though she wasn't showing it, she was happy when Arnold "claimed" her as his own because she saw it as a complement. But when Arnold appears at her house this feeling completely changes. What’s weird is Arnold knew everything about her when he encounters her the second time. He knows where she lives, her name, her best friend’s name, and where her parents are at that time. I think that Arnold was trying to attract Connie by showing her that he knew all these facts but instead it had the opposite effect. At first Connie is kind of flattered at Arnold but when he starts saying these facts about her, she becomes worried and realizes he is a possible threat. What adds to threat is how calm he is while talking to Connie and how he lets her be in control. You can see that her two very different personas collide when he comes to her house and because of this she doesn't know what to do. In the end Arnold is able to "pin" her down and get her to enter his car. She felt that she had no other option but to submit to this maniac and go with him to where ever he was going to take her. I think that this Arnold figure is just in Connie’s imagination. While I was reading the story, I realized that Connie only saw him when she was listening to music. I thought this short story was disturbing but very enjoyable. It had me on the edge my seat almost the entire way through.

In the end of this book, the governess is having dinner with Miles without Flora and Mrs. Grose. The governess asks Miles if he took her letter then she notices Peter Quint outside. The sight startles her but then asks Miles if the man is indeed who she thinks it is. When Miles looks, he screams and dies into her arms. Personally, I did not like the end of this book. It ended quite abruptly and I think could have been better. The ending was certainly unpredictable but sudden. On the plus side, I enjoyed the book very much. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story.

An important quote in this book would be in the final chapter when the governess is talking to Miles at dinner. She is telling Miles that Peter Quint is at the window and she wants Miles to confirm that it is him. The governess says "it’s he." then Miles says "Whom do you mean by 'he'?" The final quote the governess says to Miles is "Peter Quint-you devil!" This is an important quote because this is what causes Miles to die. We do not know if the governess is referring Miles or Peter Quint as the devil or if Miles is referring to the governess as the devil. The governess sees miles as haunted so she aims to be rid of the demon, Peter Quint by forcing Miles to confess that he has seen Peter Quint in the past. In a way, she does accomplish this when Miles dies. He no longer is being haunted by Peter Quint since he has died. Miles may be calling the governess a devil because she turned out to be harsh when she changes her attitude.

*The Turn of the Screw is meant to be a horror story, so naturally this book has very frightening and surprising events. One event that really startled and confused me was in chapter four; a man was seen by the governess looking through the dining room window. The governess then goes outside to confront this man but when she gets to the window the mystery man has disappeared. I thought this was so creepy. He surely was not supposed to be there. I started to wonder why he was there, who was he, and what did he want or even who did he want? I guess I’ll have to keep reading to find out. Throughout the book, I notice a recurring theme of vision or sight. We do not know if the governess is actually seeing ghosts or just imagining them. There was an idea that things are not always as they appear.

A distinct chapter that stands out in my mind would be chapter five. This chapter is taken place after the governess sees the mysterious man in the window. During this chapter, the governess is talking to Mrs. Grose about the incident. The governess describes the mystery man as a red haired man with a pale face, tall stature, and does not wear a hat. Mrs. Grose quickly identifies the man as Peter Quint. The governess seems to find Peter Quint frightening but attractive at the same time. This is a significant chapter because the governess finds out who the man is. She first saw Peter Quint on top of a house tower. They both exchange a stare that seems to never break while the governess is taking a walk.