On The Idealized Image and Japanese Moral Narratives: A Case Study of an Artist of the Floating World

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On The Idealized Image and Japanese Moral Narratives: A Case Study of an Artist of the Floating World

Journal Title: International Journal of Social Science And Human Research - Year 2022, Vol 5, Issue 06

Abstract

An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro is set at the end of World War II. It reveals the psychological trauma caused by the war, the self-help method adopted by the characters to heal themselves, concerning “idealized images” and Japanese moral narratives, which are consistent with the narrative ways adopted by the contemporary Japanese government to deal with the negative effects of war. The novel creates a “positive image” by means of morality and memory interweaving, half true and half false, avoiding the serious and taking the light to demonstrate the “mainstream memory” which is more acceptable to himself and the public. In dealing with the moral conflicts of war trauma, the protagonist of An Artist of the Floating World creates idealized image through using Japanese moral narratives to shape and strengthen it.When his moral conflict, his idealized image, and his real self can not be reconciled, the house and pub provide him a stage to escape from reality, to hypnotize himself through his own achievement, to ignore his own impact on the war, to reshape his heroic image with Japanese heroic narrative. For the reader, through the repetition and emphasis of the prosperous and the modified description of the house and Kawakami’s Pub, Ono’s career and contribution are also enhanced, his own achievements are exaggerated, and militarism behaviors are blurred so as to make the effect of diverting the reader’s attention from Ono’s sins that urge war outbreak, add fuel to the destruction caused by the war which is highly s similar to the application of the Yasukuni Shrine in current Japanese political strategy. On the basis of examining the contents mentioned above, which reflect the nation’s way of coping with the war trauma from the perspective of individuals, this study attempts to help people better understand the continuity and complexity of the negative effects of war. Meanwhile, it hopes that the Japanese government can transmit the negative information of war more objectively so as to have a clearer and more reasonable identity.

Authors and Affiliations

Dan Huang, Jingdong Zhong

Keywords

EP ID EP705040
DOI 10.47191/ijsshr/v5-i6-48
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