Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

The American as Mono No Aware in Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Cellists”

Year 2021, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 328 - 337, 29.12.2021

Abstract

This paper sets out to study Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Cellists” by shedding light on the Japanese concept of Mono No Aware and its textual implications for Tibor who is the main character of the short story. Being a traditional notion in Japanese traditional literary criticism Mono No Aware serves as a transience that has a potential of producing lifelong implications. In “Cellists” the primary agent to mediate this transience is the American character Eloise who through symbolizing certain stereotypes leads one to reflect on the dilemma of talent versus hard work. Furthermore, Ishiguro brilliantly touches upon the orphanhood of man when it comes to finding functional mentorship and emotional guidance in life. Thus, in his short story Kazuo Ishiguro underscores the importance of acting on one’s talent by constructing characters who use music as a form of art to communicate and self-reflect in a background of Mono No Aware.

References

  • Huang, Yu-min. (2013). Musicians' Enigma in Kazuo Ishiguro's Nocturnes. The Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy 2013, Osaka, Japan.
  • Ishiguro, Kazuo. (2010). Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall. Vintage International.
  • Kazuo Ishiguro. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved January 10, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo_Ishiguro
  • Mathews, Peter. (2012). English Literature Today. English Literature Today, englishliteraturetoday..com/page/3/. Accessed 7 Jan. 2017.
  • Matthews, Sean & Groes, Sebastian. (2010). Kazuo Ishiguro: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
  • Parkes, G. (2005, December 12). Japanese Aesthetics. Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/japanese-aesthetics/
  • Pratt, Carroll C. (1948). Music as a Language of Emotion. Jstor: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological Society, (11-12-13), 67-68. www.jstor.org/stable/829298
  • Rennison, Nick. (2004). Contemporary British Novelists. Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Shaffer, Brian & Ishiguro, K. (2001). An Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro. Contemporary Literature, 42(1), 1-14. doi:10.2307/1209082
  • Shaffer, Brian W. (1998). Understanding Kazuo Ishiguro. University of South Carolina Press.
  • Shimoda, T. (2015, October 19). Oh! A Mystery of “Mono No Aware.” Ohthenovel. https://ohthenovel.wordpress.com/mononoaware/
  • Teo, Yugin. (2014). Kazuo Ishiguro and Memory. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • What are examples of “mono no aware” in The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu? (2015, January 10). Enotes.Com. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-examples-mono-no-aware-tale-genji-shikibu-525046.
  • Wolff, C. (1972). A Mirror for Men: Stereotypes of Women in Literature. The Massachusetts Review, 13(1/2), 205-218. Retrieved February 17, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25088222.
  • Yoda, Tomiko. (1999). Fractured Dialogues: Mono no aware and Poetic Communication in The Tale of Genji. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 59(2), 523-557. doi:10.2307/2652721
Year 2021, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 328 - 337, 29.12.2021

Abstract

References

  • Huang, Yu-min. (2013). Musicians' Enigma in Kazuo Ishiguro's Nocturnes. The Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy 2013, Osaka, Japan.
  • Ishiguro, Kazuo. (2010). Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall. Vintage International.
  • Kazuo Ishiguro. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved January 10, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo_Ishiguro
  • Mathews, Peter. (2012). English Literature Today. English Literature Today, englishliteraturetoday..com/page/3/. Accessed 7 Jan. 2017.
  • Matthews, Sean & Groes, Sebastian. (2010). Kazuo Ishiguro: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
  • Parkes, G. (2005, December 12). Japanese Aesthetics. Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/japanese-aesthetics/
  • Pratt, Carroll C. (1948). Music as a Language of Emotion. Jstor: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological Society, (11-12-13), 67-68. www.jstor.org/stable/829298
  • Rennison, Nick. (2004). Contemporary British Novelists. Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Shaffer, Brian & Ishiguro, K. (2001). An Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro. Contemporary Literature, 42(1), 1-14. doi:10.2307/1209082
  • Shaffer, Brian W. (1998). Understanding Kazuo Ishiguro. University of South Carolina Press.
  • Shimoda, T. (2015, October 19). Oh! A Mystery of “Mono No Aware.” Ohthenovel. https://ohthenovel.wordpress.com/mononoaware/
  • Teo, Yugin. (2014). Kazuo Ishiguro and Memory. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • What are examples of “mono no aware” in The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu? (2015, January 10). Enotes.Com. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-examples-mono-no-aware-tale-genji-shikibu-525046.
  • Wolff, C. (1972). A Mirror for Men: Stereotypes of Women in Literature. The Massachusetts Review, 13(1/2), 205-218. Retrieved February 17, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25088222.
  • Yoda, Tomiko. (1999). Fractured Dialogues: Mono no aware and Poetic Communication in The Tale of Genji. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 59(2), 523-557. doi:10.2307/2652721
There are 15 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Ferhan Öztürk 0000-0002-4287-123X

Publication Date December 29, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Volume: 3 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Öztürk, F. (2021). The American as Mono No Aware in Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Cellists”. Eurasian Journal of English Language and Literature, 3(2), 328-337.