Within the heart aching memoir of Masaji Ishikwaka, A River of Darkness, the transformation of a Japanese returnee family is written from the perspective of their young son. The son grows into a damaged man during his short time in North Korea. He experiences incredible losses and hardships throughout his life until he finally escapes. Even then he is still in a desperate fight for survival. Throughout the story the main character experiences blemishing blows to the heart and mind. He reaches rock bottom multiple times but pushes through unlike those around him who fall victim to their environment. Everyone has a breaking point, but some are closer than others. In the memoir Masaji Ishikawa portrays himself as an empathetic survivor who undergoes …show more content…
For example ¨Ï just stared at the doorknob which was so polished I could see my reflection in its gleaming surface. Him describing how clean and shiny the doorknob showed that he had not experienced cleanliness since moving to North Korea. This quote allowed readers to fully understand the low point of the character's life. Ishiwawa uses sensory imagery to describe what he wants but ultimately cannot have. ¨The sweet smell of candy permeated the air¨. In this quote the character describes the sweet smell of candy in a desiring way knowing he can not have it. He allows the reader to understand how restrictive his life is from a simple …show more content…
This simple sentence holds immense emotion. The metaphor used explains that Ishiwawa is struggling as a father to take care of his son, this being his greatest hardship. Another example is when he states, ¨sadness and gladness follow each other¨(58). The author wrote this to explain his philosophy of life from a North Korean perspective. The reader can infer that every good time the character experienced a bad time soon followed. The use of simile is also evident in the text: ¨he picked it up and ate it like a pigeon¨ (129), The he mentioned was a starving boy who picked some leftover food from the floor and ate it. This simile shows the animalistic ways humans turned to in the desperation to stay alive. It also shows the effects of the poor decisions made by the North Korean Government that leaves country people overworked and