Sound Of Waves Analysis

The novel “The Sound of Waves” by Yukio Mishima is a portrayal of a love story. In the story Yukio Mishima brings attention to the Westernization of Japan. He believes that the new time is corrupted. Everyone associated with the modernization spreading is corrupted and those who aren’t associated with the westernization of Japan are more pure and aren’t corrupted. Mishima uses many literary elements throughout the book to convey this broader theme, three of them being characterization, foreshadowing, and imagery. Not only does he use the main characters Hatsue and Shinji to aid in the theme, but he uses minor characters like Chiyoko as well in the presence of the main characters and other minor characters. Chiyoko serves as an obstacle to

The quote “This unsociable girl, returning to the island after a long absence, disliked having the islanders greet and speak to her...But she always wore a gloomy expression and in her constantly perverse way, insisted upon thinking of herself as unattractive.” is evident to how Chiyoko is indifferent (Mishima 58). In the quote, it shows that when Chiyoko came back from Japan that she isn’t a happy person. The people on the islands are always happy. If she didn’t go to the modern world she would be as happy as the people who stayed on Uta-Jima their whole life. Chiyoko’s indifference can be recognized here from the apathy she is displaying through her facial expressions. Mishima uses imagery when she describes Chiyoko’s face as “gloomy” which can me interpreted as a person who is pessimistic and unhappy. In addition to that, another quote that portrays Chiyoko’s indifference is “She was always complaining so openly… even if she was in the next room.” (Mishima 58). Completely disregarding her education and Tokyo’s refinements that she learned, Chiyoko’s behavior portrays her as rude and unsociable. She even shows disrespect for her father by blaming him for her ugliness. The quote shows how Chiyoko is indifferent through her actions compared to the islanders. Her social skills or lack thereof is caused by not consistently being around the

Chiyoko’s feelings for Shinji becomes apparent in the novel when Mishima wrote, “We had a letter from Chiyoko in Tokyo. She particularly asked about Shinji-san. I don’t guess there’s much doubt about who Chiyoko likes”(Mishima ). In this quote Mishima uses characterization to show that Chiyoko has a crush for Shinji when she blushes after hearing that. Her feelings for him are no secret to the island since her parents can assume that through only a letter and not Chiyoko’s actual confession. Mishima verifies how strong Chiyoko’s feelings for Shinji are in the quote "Yasuo took Chiyoko's hand and helped her across. Chiyoko thought how different his iron-like hands felt from the hands of men in Tokyo. But in her imagination it was Shinji's hand she was feeling - a hand she had never even so much as shaken” (Mishima ). Despite, knowing that it was Yasuo she was with, Chiyoko couldn’t help but to think of Shinji as the person she was with instead. The fact that she is envisioning Shinji like this reveals just how strong her feelings are. With her feelings being this strong, it can suggest that Chiyoko will get a little jealous. This is foreshadowing that she will be apart of a conflict since she knows Hatsue has feelings for Shinji also. Later on in the novel Chiyoko causes conflict involving Hatsue and Shinji by acting out on her jealousy. The quote that is evident to that fact is