The Genius Image In Dazai Osamu’s Literature--Based on “Seihintan”, ”Chiyojyo” and “Suisen,” the works of Dazai’s middle period
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Liu, Wan-Chi
Abstract
“Genius” a person with extraordinary intellectual or creative power. Dazai Osamu aspired to be a writer since he was a student, and he was managed to stagger on in spite of failures, he became one of the most famous writers in the modern era in Japan. However, does he consider himself talented, even called “a genius”? To find the answer, it’s necessary to study the part of Dazai’s works that involved talented characters. In this thesis, “Seihintan”, ”Chiyojyo” and “Suisen” are chosen to be analyzed which were all written in Dazai’s middle period, and there are characters seen as genius. Toumoto Saburou of “Seihintan,” Kazuko of ”Chiyojyo,” and Kusada Shizuko of “Suisen” all have great talent in their fields. Although they have differences in sexes, living ages, abilities and so on, there are some similarities in their life. They have good education and a period of well-off life. Most of the times they live with families. Because of some reasons, their life had changed, and changes lead to unfortunate endings. They also have many similarities in their features. They don’t have strong desires for money. They act like self-centeredly and without principles, but at the same time, they care very much about others’ opinions. They get along with their families, but sometimes don’t put the families in the first position. They are lonely because they have no friends who really understand them. In addition, Saburou and Shizuko are obstinate, but Kazuko is not. To all of them, talent is very important. Saburou is confident of his talent, but not Kazuko and Shizuko, they are uncertain with their talent and so they are easily affected by others’ opinions. If they have been denied by others, they’ll start to doubt themselves and think negatively. In Dazai’s literature, not only genius could have these distinguish features but also others. However, it is certain that these genius characters have such personalities. Does Dazai himself resemble the genius characters he had creacted? The answer is not entirely negative. There are some similarities among them. They don’t believe in people or themselves. If they have any worries, they don’t share with others and only kept it to themselves. These negative thoughts might finally resulted in their self-destruction or even worse of all -- suicide. However, Dazai Osamu does not always think so destructively. He acts or writes positively sometimes. The analysis of the genius characters help find what genius images are in Dazai’s eyes, and as a writer, how Dazai thinks about his talent.
Subjects
genius
talent
creation
the other
unbelief
self-centered
SDGs
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