the motivation of shizuka kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life

Transcription

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
THE MOTIVATION OF SHIZUKA KANAI
FOR SUSTAINING HIS NORMAL SEXUAL LIFE
UNDER THE PRESSURE OF HIS SURROUNDINGS
AS REFLECTED IN MORI’S VITA SEXUALIS
A THESIS
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Febri Floreta Patiung
Student Number: 021214102
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
Determine to like your work,
then it will become a pleasure nor drudgery.
Perhaps you don’t need to change your job.
Change yourself and your work will seem different.
-Norman V. Peale-
This thesis is dedicated to my family,
to my friends, and to myself.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank those who have supported me with their affection,
patience, guidance, and criticism in working on my thesis. First and foremost, I
would like to bestow my deepest gratitude to Jesus Christ for His plentiful love
and never ending blessings in my life. His guidance has strengthened me to finish
my thesis.
My gratitude and respect go to my beloved parents, Papa Jan and Mama
Maya, who have encouraged me in composing my thesis and given me their
endless affection and prayers. I thank them for always asking on the progress of
my thesis patiently. I also would like to thank my brother and sister, Yosua and
Agitha, for sharing laughter with me everyday. Their care and support mean a lot
to me.
My greatest appreciation goes to my major sponsor, Drs. L. Bambang
Hendarto Y., M.Hum, who has guided me in composing the thesis. I really thank
him for the willingness to give his time, ideas, and suggestions. I would also like
to thank all the lecturers of PBI for the knowledge and experiences I have gained
during the years I passed as the student of PBI. My thanks are extended to Mbak
Dani and Mbak Tari for helping me in finishing every administration
requirement and problem.
I sincerely express my big gratitude to Mawar, Sasha, Vivi, Itha, my best
friends who always stay with me in every up and down along these years. They
have made my life so colorful. I wish we will always have a beautiful friendship.
vii
My thanks go to my other companions, Ook, Udjo, Galih, Deddy, Lissa, Metty,
Emen, Miko, Jantri, Krisna, Rendy, Seto, and all the members of PBI 2002
for those unforgettable stories and moments we have shared. I also thank them for
the attention, advices, and support during the completion of my thesis. To all my
friends in Jakarta and other places, Widhi, Vero, Erika, Vicky, Rene, Mila,
Debby, Ertina, Bran, Babam, Agung, I am very happy to know them. I thank
them for all of the time we have spent together.
Last but not least, my gratitude goes to those who have helped me go
through my life path in any way that I cannot mention one by one. I really thank
them for everything that has been given to me.
Yogyakarta, 18 December 2008
Febri Floreta Patiung
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ...................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGES .......................................................................................... ii
DEDICATION PAGE......................................................................................... iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ................................................... v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI.................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................ xii
ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................ xiii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.................................................................... 1
1.1. Background of the Study.................................................................. 1
1.2. Problem Formulation........................................................................ 4
1.3. Objectives of the Study .................................................................... 5
1.4. Benefits of the Study ........................................................................ 5
1.5. Definition of Terms .......................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE............................. 8
2.1. Review of Related Theories ............................................................. 8
2.1.1. Character ................................................................................ 9
2.1.1.1. Definitions of Character ............................................ 9
ix
2.1.1.2. Types of Character..................................................... 10
2.1.2. Characterization ..................................................................... 11
2.1.2.1. Definitions of Characterization.................................. 12
2.1.2.2. Methods of Characterization...................................... 12
2.1.3. Critical Approaches................................................................ 13
2.1.4. Sexuality................................................................................. 14
2.1.4.1. Characteristics of People with Normal Sexuality...... 15
2.1.4.2. Characteristics of People with Abnormal Sexuality.. 15
2.1.4.3. Causes of Abnormal Sexuality .................................. 17
2.1.5. Motivation .............................................................................. 18
2.1.6. Hierarchy of Needs................................................................. 19
2.1.7. Goals in Life........................................................................... 20
2.2. Criticism ........................................................................................... 21
2.3. Theoretical Framework .................................................................... 22
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY................................................................... 24
3.1. Subject Matter .................................................................................. 24
3.2. Approach of the Study...................................................................... 25
3.3. Method of the Study......................................................................... 25
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS................................................................................ 27
4.1. The Reasons of Shizuka Kanai for Sustaining His Normal
Sexual Life .........................................................................................27
x
4.1.1. Getting Higher Education.........................................................28
4.1.2. Getting More Friends ...............................................................33
4.1.3. Having a Normal Life ..............................................................35
4.2. The Effects of Shizuka Kanai’s Action on His Life Achievement ....36
4.2.1. On His Study ............................................................................36
4.2.2. On His Social Relationship ......................................................40
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .................................45
5.1. Conclusions ........................................................................................45
5.2. Suggestions.........................................................................................47
5.2.1. Suggestion for Future Researchers...........................................47
5.2.2. Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activities ..........................48
REFERENCES....................................................................................................50
APPENDICES .....................................................................................................52
Summary of Vita Sexualis ....................................................................................52
Ogai Mori’s Biography .........................................................................................55
Lesson Plan for Teaching Extensive Reading I ....................................................60
Material for Teaching Extensive Reading I ..........................................................62
Ogai Mori’s Works ...............................................................................................64
Chronology of Ogai Mori’s Life ...........................................................................66
xi
ABSTRACT
Patiung, Febri Floreta. 2008. The Motivation of Shizuka Kanai for
Sustaining His Normal Sexual Life Under the Pressure of His Surroundings
as Reflected in Mori’s Vita Sexualis. Yogyakarta: English Language Education
Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers
Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This study is conducted to reveal the motivation of Shizuka Kanai's action
for sustaining his normal sexual life and the effect of his action on his life
achievement in Mori’s Vita Sexualis. Vita Sexualis is categorized as a social
novel, since it is a novel which mostly tells about the relationship between people
in a society. Through the social novel, the readers are able to see not only a certain
society’s life and shape but also the conflicts that exist within it. This study is
composed based on the thought that through characters’ eyes, the readers may see
the situation of the society or even the world.
There are two main questions discussed in this study, namely (1) why
Shizuka Kanai wants to sustain his normal sexual life under the pressure of his
surroundings, and (2) how the action of sustaining his normal sexual life affects
his achievement in life.
The method of data gathering used was library research. The data was
collected from the novel Vita Sexualis itself as the primary source and from
related theories, criticisms, and other sources as the secondary data. This study
used the psychological approach. The theory of character, characterization,
motivation, and hierarchy of needs were employed in order to answer the first
question. These theories were used to find out the motivation of Shizuka Kanai as
the main character in sustaining his normal sexual life. To answer the second
question, the theory of sexuality and goals in life were utilized.
The result of the analysis shows that Shizuka Kanai wants to sustain his
normal sexual life inspite of the bad surroundings because he has the motivation
to get higher education, to get more friends, and to have a normal life. He realizes
that getting involved in an improper sexual life may mislead him and scatter the
focus of his life. Based on the action that he does, Kanai gains the positive effect
on his study. He gets the government’s scholarship to study abroad in Germany.
However, he does not make it well socially since his introvert and unconfident
characteristics keep him from building a relationship, especially with women, due
to his lack of experience in socializing.
xii
ABSTRAK
Patiung, Febri Floreta. 2008. The Motivation of Shizuka Kanai for
Sustaining His Normal Sexual Life Under the Pressure of His Surroundings
as Reflected in Mori’s Vita Sexualis. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan
Bahasa Inggris. Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni. Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu
Pendidikan. Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Studi ini disusun untuk mengungkap motivasi dari tindakan Shizuka Kanai
mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang normal dan pengaruh dari tindakan
Kanai tersebut pada pencapaian hidupnya dalam novel Vita Sexualis karya Mori.
Vita Sexualis termasuk dalam kategori novel sosial, karena merupakan novel yang
kebanyakan menceritakan tentang hubungan antar orang dalam suatu masyarakat.
Melalui novel sosial, para pembaca tidak hanya dapat melihat kehidupan dan
bentuk dari masyarakat tertentu tetapi juga konflik-konflik yang terjadi
didalamnya. Studi ini disusun berdasarkan pemikiran bahwa melalui mata para
tokoh, pembaca bisa melihat situasi masyarakat atau bahkan dunia.
Ada dua permasalahan mendasar yang dibahas dalam studi ini, yaitu (1)
mengapa Shizuka Kanai ingin mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang
normal dibawah tekanan lingkungan sekitarnya, dan (2) bagaimana tindakannya
untuk mempertahankan kehidupan seksual yang normal mempengaruhi
pencapaian cita-cita hidupnya.
Metode pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka. Data
dikumpulkan dari novel Vita Sexualis itu sendiri sebagai sumber utama dan dari
teori-teori, kritik, dan sumber-sumber lainnya yang berhubungan dengan studi
sebagai data tambahan. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologis. Teori
karakter, karakteristik, motivasi, dan hirarki kebutuhan dipakai untuk menjawab
pertanyaan pertama. Teori-teori ini digunakan untuk mengetahui motivasi Shizuka
Kanai sebagai tokoh utama dalam mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang
normal. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua, teori seksualitas dan cita-cita hidup
yang digunakan.
Hasil dari analisis menunjukkan bahwa Shizuka Kanai ingin
mempertahankan kehidupan seksualnya yang normal meskipun lingkungan
sekitarnya membawa beberapa pengaruh buruk karena ia memiliki motivasi untuk
mendapatkan pendidikan yang lebih tinggi, mendapatkan lebih banyak teman, dan
memiliki hidup normal. Ia menyadari bahwa terlibat dengan kehidupan seksual
yang salah bisa menyesatkan dan membuyarkan fokus hidupnya. Berdasarkan
tindakan yang ia lakukan, Kanai memperoleh pengaruh positif pada studinya. Ia
mendapatkan beasiswa pemerintah untuk melanjutkan studi ke Jerman. Namun, ia
tidak berhasil dengan baik dalam hubungan sosial karena sifat sulit bergaul dan
tidak percaya diri menghalanginya untuk membangun hubungan, khususnya
dengan wanita, disebabkan ia kurang pengalaman dalam bersosialisasi.
xiii
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of five main parts, namely background of the study,
problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition
of terms. The background of the study states the description of the topic in this
study. The problem formulation contains two basic questions which describe the
problems that will be analyzed in this study. The objectives of the study state the
purpose of writing the study. The benefits of the study provide the explanation of
those who can obtain the benefits from the study. The last part is the definition of
terms. In this section, some explanations about several terms that are related to the
study are explained to avoid any misunderstanding about them.
1.1 Background of the Study
Sexuality can be divided into two, normal and abnormal. Normal sexuality
is what people usually know as the common relationship between man and
woman. While abnormal sexuality can be divided into some parts. Two of them
are homosexuality and bisexuality. Homosexuality is the condition of a person
who has a feeling of loving another person within the same gender. Bisexuality is
always the middle ground between sexes, genders, and sexualities, rather than
being a sexuality, or indeed a gender or sex, in itself, because it is the “middle”
sexuality where a person not only likes to have a relationship with his opposite
gender but also with the same gender (Hemmings 2).
1
2
The sexuality matters can be portrayed in works of literature, such as what
we find in novels. A novel can widely reflect the society and its various life
within, characters of people, laws, norms, religions, or even science. According to
Henkle, we come to literature to learn about other people. In literature, we can
find so many aspects of life: values, emotions, the power of love, and so on. The
works of literature are close to what people think, see, feel, and do in daily
experiences (6).
One of many novels which talk about similar realities connecting to
sexuality is Vita Sexualis. This novel can be said not only as the best novel but
also the most controversial novel by the author Ogai Mori. The novel attempts to
wrestle with issues of sexual desire, sex education, and the proper place of
sensuality. The author seems to tell his own journey into sexual awareness,
spanning fifteen years, from the age of six when he first sees erotic woodcuts, to
his first physical response to a woman, and also the moment he meets a
professional courtesan.
The setting of the novel is in Meiji era. During that time, pornographic
works were secretly published, for the law of censorship was very strict. Many
books were banned for describing the love affair of a brother and sister or born of
the eta class and parents of a child, also an intercourse between the young wife of
a high school principal and a dentist. Hence, this era was very controversial since
the country regulations and the reality seen from the citizen’s life were
contradictive. Sexual life was a daily life for them at the time, but they did it
unpublishly. Mori explains that from the time where pornographic books were
written exclusively by hand and passed around, a few unusual examples of
pornography appearing and jumping into the time where all those things were
3
widely circulated, of course that very significant change gave shocking value
deviation to the Japanese culture and made Japan tighten the codes (9-11).
Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis shares a story about the life journey of a man,
especially his experiences in discovering things connected to sexual life. The story
starts with the main character, Shizuka Kanai, who is playing around and finally
comes to a widow’s house, his neighbor. Six year-old Kanai is an innocent boy
that runs out quickly of the house of the widow because of her showing him erotic
pictures and he knows that there is something strange and disagreeable with the
pictures, even though he does not know for sure what it is. Four years later he
finds out that his parents also have those kinds of pictures.
When he is eleven, he sees geishas for the first time and feels they are not
people whom he wants to interact with. He feels that even though he has a longing
for love and affection, he does not feel, as others feel, any real sexual drive.
Actually he does not suffer from any sexual disorientation. He is a normal man
with an introvert characteristic, especially in his sexual life. Up to the age of
sixteen, he knows only him and his friend, Kojima, who are still virgins to
graduate from the English Academy. He is still innocent up to the time he
graduates from the university when he is nineteen. But when he is twenty, misled
by some accidental and silly inducement, he experiences his first sexual
relationship with a prostitute. His sexual desire paralyzes his mind that even
though he knows it is wrong, he cannot resist doing it. At the age of twenty one,
he feels another sexual relationship with a geisha. Those experiences leave
4
uneasiness to him that he does not want to do it again. He finally leaves Japan
after receiving the government order allowing him to study abroad. He remains
unmarried until the time he goes to Germany.
This topic is very interesting to discuss since Shizuka Kanai is a unique
character. It is described in the novel that during Meiji era where prostitutions
spread and most people are involved in it, he is one of very few people who are
not willing to join that kind of life along his study. He knows that it is not the
right thing to do and he restricts himself not to ruin his own life and concentrates
on achieving his goal, especially in education. Furthermore, this novel shows us
the struggle of Shizuka Kanai to survive in the society which is unfriendly to the
person like him who is considered strange and unusual only because of his
physical appearance and his straight-thinking thought.
Based on the facts that have been mentioned above, this study is going to
underline the motivation of Shizuka Kanai who sustains his normal sexual life and
the positive effects he gains as the results of his action. Hopefully, Kanai’s
experiences can bring a reflection to the readers of the novel.
1.2 Problem Formulation
Based on the background, there are two problems that will be discussed in
the study:
1.2.1. Why does Shizuka Kanai want to sustain his normal sexual life
under the pressure of his surroundings?
5
1.2.2. How does the action of sustaining his normal sexual life affect his
achievement in life?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The aims of the study are to find out why Shizuka Kanai wants to sustain
his normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings and how this action
affects his achievement in life as mentioned in the problem formulation above.
Based on those problems, this study intends to reveal Kanai’s motivation and the
positive effects of the action to his achievement in life. Moreover, the result of
this study wants to enlarge the readers’ knowledge about Meiji era.
1.4 Benefits of the Study
From the study of the novel Vita Sexualis, there is an analysis about the
motivation of the main character of the novel, Shizuka Kanai for sustaining his
normal sexual life under the pressure of his surroundings and the results of this
action to his future life. Hopefully, it will give the readers some benefits that are
described as follows.
First, the study of the novel Vita Sexualis presents important life values to
the readers for their reference of further steps of life. Shizuka Kanai can be a good
role model since he applies many life values which finally bring him to a success.
Second, the study is expected to help anyone who wants to study more about
literary works by having this as a reference which may enlarge their literature
6
knowledge, especially about Vita Sexualis by Ogai Mori. It brings some
additional information in understanding Vita Sexualis which may be useful to
analyze the main character based on the psychological point of view.
Finally, the study includes the suggestions of how to use the novel as a
source in order to add the variety of language teaching methodology. Some parts
of the novel can be used by the lecturer to teach Extensive Reading.
1.5 Definition of Terms
In this section, there are further discussions on several terms. These terms
need to be explained in order to give better understanding of the study.
The first word is motivation. Motivation is the reason for doing
something; it will influence someone to behave in a specific way. White, Wofford,
and Gordon say that motivation refers to “the reasons that cause a character to act
as he does” (734). It leads a person to achieve his goals or needs.
The second word is sustain. Sustain has the essence of the situation “if
you sustain something, you continue it or maintain it for a period of time” (Collins
Cobuild English Dictionary for Adult Learners 1574). Sustaining makes someone
keep up a certain thing in order to stay the same or if possible, develop to be a
better person.
The third word is normal. Something is defined as normal if it is “regular,
standard, natural” or in “the usual condition, level, or quantity” (Webster’s New
Explorer Dictionary and Thesaurus 356). In this study, a person might be called
sexually normal if he or she has the attraction with the sexually mature member of
7
the opposite gender and does not have any sexual disorientation, as in
homosexuality or bisexuality.
The fourth word is abnormal. It is a certain behavior which depends upon
time, culture, attitudes, and some other factors. Abnormal is labeled to those
emotionally disturbed persons and described as “the unique in terms of the
general” (Stone viii).
The fifth word is surroundings. The term surroundings signifies
“everything that surrounds a place or persons, especially as it influences the
quality of life” (Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture 1336).
Surroundings can affect people to live as what they see from it.
The last is Vita Sexualis. The title Vita Sexualis is taken from Latin
language. According to Moreland and Fleischer, the Latin word Vita means life
(433). Therefore, Vita Sexualis means sexual life. In this study, the discussion is
about the main character, Shizuka Kanai’s journey in sexual life as the main topic.
8
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consists of review of related theories, criticism, and
theoretical framework. The review of related theories covers theory of character,
theory of characterization, theory of critical approaches, theory of sexuality,
theory of motivation, theory of hierarchy of needs, and theory of goals in life.
Criticism contains information about the novel and the author from some sources.
Further, theoretical framework describes some explanations of the reviewed
theories used in employing the answers of the problems on the problem
formulation.
2.1 Review of Related Theories
Theories of related literature consist of seven important parts. The first is
theory of character. The second is theory of characterization. The third part is
theory of critical approaches. The fourth part is theory of sexuality. The fifth part
is theory of motivation. The sixth is theory of hierarchy of needs, and the last part
is the theory of goals in life. The theory of character consists of the definitions of
character and the types of character. The theory of characterization consists of the
definitions of characterization and the methods of characterization. Meanwhile,
the theory of sexuality consists of the characteristics of people with normal
sexuality, the characteristics of people with abnormal sexuality, and the causes of
abnormal sexuality.
8
9
2.1.1 Character
Theory of character contains some crucial parts to understand the
characters in the novel. It is important to find out the answer to the first problem
of this study. Those parts are definitions of character and types of character.
2.1.1.1 Definitions of Character
Character is one of the most important elements in literary works. Abrams
defines character as “a literary genre: a short, and usually witty, sketch in prose of
a distinctive type of person” or “the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative
work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and
dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say--the dialogue--and by
what they do--the action” (20). In other words, characters are the people in the
novel, including their personalities or characteristics. Through the eyes of the
characters, the readers can experience not only the characters’ life but also see
what Henkle says as “a vision of a world” (48). The characters show the picture of
their world in the story and make the readers able to identify the novel’s world.
The character in the novel, as Forster calls as “Homo Fictus” (38), has the
qualities of ordinary human beings. They are named, given sexes, provided with
personalities, including physical and psychological aspects. But, there is a
difference since the characters in the novel can be understood completely because
their inner and outer life can be exposed if the author wants to, something that
cannot be found in real life (Forster 32).
10
Characters have the essence of being stable or changed in the works of
literature. One thing to remember is that characters need consistency. They cannot
act in a way they impossibly do along the beginning up to the end of the works. It
is one of the significant elements that should exist, because they are figures who
make the works have the reason to tell something, which is about the characters
themselves.
2.1.1.2 Types of Character
Character in literary works can be categorized into some types. Forster as
quoted by Abrams divides characters into flat and round. He states a flat character
is a character without many details which is built around “a single idea or quality”
and can be described in a single phrase or sentence. Meanwhile, a round character
is a complex character in temperament and motivation that it is difficult to
describe him with any adequacy as a real person. He also has the capability to
surprise the reader (20-21).
Stanton differentiates character into main or central character and
peripheral character. A main character is the person who is relevant to every event
in the story, and usually the events cause some changes either in him or in the
readers’ attitudes toward him. A main character always appears continuously, so it
seems that he dominates the whole story. On the other hand, a peripheral character
is the person who seems to appear rarely in the story. His presentation is not as
many as the main character and less dominant in changing (17-18).
11
Character also can be divided into protagonist and antagonist. Rohrberger
and Woods, Jr. say that the most important character in a story, the one to whom
all the events in the story have relevance is called protagonist. Usually, it is easy
for the readers to identify him and give sympathy. When a protagonist is involved
in conflict with another character, the other is called the antagonist. Antagonist is
the character who opposes the protagonist and usually the readers do not admire
this kind of character (20).
Finally, character has other types based on the development or changes.
Perrine states two types of character, static and dynamic character. A static
character is the same sort person at the end of the story as he was at the beginning.
It means that the character does not change. While a dynamic character is the
person who is capable to change in some aspects of his character. The change may
be large or small, and may be for better or for worse (71).
A character has its own characterization that is different with other
characters. It may undergo a radical change or even does not change at all. Thus,
it can bring a change in the characterization and opinion.
2.1.2 Characterization
Theory of characterization consists of some important parts to assist in
answering the first problem of this study. Those parts are definitions of
characterization and methods of characterization.
12
2.1.2.1 Definitions of Characterization
Abcarian and Klotz define characterization as “the process by which the
characters are rendered to make them seem real to the reader” (6). From the
definition, characterization means the way of the author in describing the
characters so that the readers are able to differentiate a character from the others
and figure out the ideas, thoughts, and information brought by each character.
However, the more we think about characterization, we come to the fact that it
cannot be separated from the other elements of fiction: tone, plot, theme, setting,
and so on. Rohrberger and Woods, Jr. present characterization as “the process by
which the author creates character, the device by which he makes us believe a
character is the particular type of person he is” (20). It shows that the author has to
introduce a certain character and create situations, so that the character can bring
his role to life in the story.
2.1.2.2 Methods of Characterization
Murphy states that there are nine ways he attempts “to make the characters
understandable to, and come alive for, his readers” (161). The first way is by
personal description. The author is able to describe a person’s physical appearance
and clothes in the story (161). The second is character as seen by another. The
author describes the character through the eyes and opinions of another and
therefore the readers get a reflected image (162). The third is by speech.
Whenever a character speaks or is in conversation with another or puts forward an
opinion, he is giving us some clues to his character (164). The fourth is past life.
13
The author gives a clue to events that have to shape a person by letting the readers
learn something about his character through past life. It is done by some ways like
direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his
conversation, or through the medium of another person (166). Next is by
conversation of others. We can get clues of characters through the conversations
of other people and the things they say about him (167). The sixth is by reaction.
It can be a clue for the readers to know how a character reacts to various situations
and events (168). The seventh way is by direct comment. The author can describe
or comment on a person’s character directly (170). The eighth is by thought. The
author gives direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. He can tell us
about the thoughts of the characters in the story. He wants to show the characters’
personalities in a perspective way by coming into their inmost thoughts (171). The
last way is by mannerism. The readers can get clues of one’s characters by his
mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies (173).
2.1.3 Critical Approaches
According to Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., there are five kinds of critical
approaches which are used as means of understanding the nature function and
positive values of literature. The first approach is the formalist approach. It is
based on the total integrity of the literary piece and concerned with the esthetic
value of the work (6-7). The second is the biographical approach. It is concerned
with the necessity for an appreciation of the ideas and personality of the author in
order to understand the literary object. Biographical material may bring many
14
useful facts that can help the readers to understand as well as appreciate the
literary object (8-9). The third is the social cultural historical approach. It defines
civilization as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people. In literature,
the attitudes and actions take part as its subject matter. Literature is also a
criticism of life that affects human in society, and great literature should express
the values of order, restraint, and human dignity (9-11). The fourth is the
mythopoeic approach. It has the aim of discovering certain universally recurrent
patterns of human thought (11-13). The last approach is the psychological
approach. It involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent
patterns of human beings. The theories of psychology are applied in order to
explain the character’s personality in the story (13-15).
2.1.4 Sexuality
In sexuality, there are two main types to discuss. Those are normal and
abnormal sexuality. People with normal sexuality are those who live their life in a
common way, have an intimate relationship between opposite sexes. This type of
sexuality is what people believe as the right orientation. On the other hand,
abnormal sexuality is the sexuality with disorientation. There are some kinds of
abnormal sexuality, but the most common are homosexuality and bisexuality.
Hemmings defines homosexuality as the condition in which a person is sexually
attracted to another person within the same sex, while bisexuality is a “middle”
condition between normal and abnormal sexuality, since the person who has this
disorientation is not only sexually attracted to the opposite gender but also the
same gender (2).
15
2.1.4.1 Characteristics of People with Normal Sexuality
Jim Smith presents the idea of normal and abnormal behavior, including
sexuality, based on various theories in the area of psychology that have developed
over the years. He finds that the existence of abnormal behavior depends upon
several conditions such as time, culture, and attitudes (5). In sexuality, sexual
dysfunctions and sexual variants are the so-called “abnormalities” of human.
Hence, it can be concluded that normal sexuality means the state of sexually with
no dysfunction or variant suffered by a person. Sexual orientation comes up
unconsciously in human’s mind. It is a kind of archetypes that are not ready-made
ideas because they are genetically psychic inheritances (Bressler 154-155).
Sometimes the orientation also can be acquired through mental illness, interaction,
and a process of learning (Smith 5-8). Therefore, heterosexuals, people with the
desire of sexual engagement with a sexually mature member of the opposite
gender, are those who are considered as normal (Smith 138).
2.1.4.2 Characteristics of People with Abnormal Sexuality
According to Smith, abnormal sexuality can be divided into two major
parts, sexual dysfunctions and sexual variants. Sexual dysfunction refers to
“impairment either in the desire for sexual gratification or in the ability to achieve
it”. It is something that is related to someone’s personal health and background.
For example, erectile insufficiency and frigidity (137). On the other hand, sexual
variant is “behavior in which satisfaction is dependent primarily on something
other than a mutually desired sexual engagement with a sexually mature member
of the opposite gender” (138).
16
Smith divides sexual variants into thirteen types. The first is male and
female homosexuality. This condition is based on the sexual attraction of a person
to another within the same gender (138). The second is bisexuality. Bisexuality is
considered as one of homosexual types. Bisexuals are “individuals who engage in
both homosexual and heterosexual practices during a sustained period”. Many
homosexuals who are desperate with their homosexuality life would fit into this
category (139). The third is transvestism and transsexualism. Transvestism covers
those who achieve sexual excitement by dressing as a member of the opposite sex,
while transsexualism is a case of “a person who feels “trapped” in a body of the
opposite sex”. There is an indication that their cross-gender identity began in
childhood and continued into adulthood (139). The fourth is prostitution. It is a
kind of sexual relations as a transaction, in return for money (140). The fifth is
fetishism. The sufferer is interested to some body parts of inanimate objects, such
as an article of clothing (140). The sixth is sexual variants involving nonconsent
or assault, which involves “a definite element of injury or significant risk of
injury, physical or psychological, to one or more parties involved in a sexual
encounter” (140). The seventh is voyeurism. It refers to the achievement of sexual
pleasure through secretly looking at the forbidden; for example, undressing female
(140). The eighth is exhibitionism. Exhibitionist gets sexual excitement by
exposing the genital part to members of the opposite sex under inappropriate
conditions; such as in parks or more public places (141). The ninth is sadism, in
which the sufferer achieves sexual stimulation and gratification by inflicting
physical pain on the sexual partner (141). The tenth is masochism; it “includes
deriving pleasure from self-denial, expiatory physical suffering (such as that of
17
religious flagellant), and suffering in general” (141). The eleventh is incest. It
happens when there is a sexual relation between family members within the same
blood (141). The twelfth is pedophilia, with children as the object of sexual
pleasure (142). The last type is rape. Raping is “sexual intercourse or unnatural
sexual intercourse by a person with another who is compelled to submit to force”
(142).
2.1.4.3 Causes of Abnormal Sexuality
Abnormal sexuality or sexual perversions may happen because of some
stimulation. According to Alan Stone and Sue Smart Stone, “perversions, like any
other symptoms, are not simply fixations, but also represent an attempt to deal
with anxiety or conflict” (319). Smith states that there are some factors which are
seen as the causes of abnormal sexuality. Sexual dysfunctions may be affected by
genital injuries, disease, fatigue, excessive alcohol, and others as follows (Smith
137).
The first is faulty learning. It can lead young people to start out with
wrong expectations and information that possibly impair their sexual adequacy
(138). The second concerns feelings of fear, anxiety, and inadequacy. They are
attributed to faulty learning and later aversive experiences (138). Interpersonal
problems are also considered as a factor. Emotions and feelings take roles in this
factor (138). The fourth is changing male-female roles and relationships.
Sometimes men feel less dominant than women who expect too much in the
relationship, so that it affects men sexually (138). Other factors are
homosexuality, low sex drive, and rejection and disturbed family background
18
which make it difficult for a person to get involved in an interpersonal
relationship.
Meanwhile, sexual variants may be affected by three factors. The first is
the normal level absence of adults presence of the opposite sex (138). The second
is individual’s lack of social skills which are actually important for adult
heterosexual relationships (138). The last is the failure of creating a firm
psychological gender identity inside oneself (138).
2.1.5 Motivation
Motivation is the reason for a person to do something. It will cause
someone to behave specifically. There are some definitions of motivation which
come from various experts. Wright, Taylor, Davies, Sluckin, Lee, and Reasor say
that motive is a particular level of reasons for doing something as when we
discuss motives for a crime, for example. It refers to that which causes an
individual to behave in a specific way (206). Jung states that sometimes we cannot
separate motivation with emotion because emotion operates motives in generating
responses. He simply considers both motives and emotions as motives (4).
According to Bootzin, Loftus, Zajonc Black, La Piccolo, and Holahan,
“motive is the dynamic property of behavior that gives it organization over time
and that defines its end states”. It is the purpose that leads someone’s behavior in
order to achieve goals or needs as the end state (367). They divide motivation into
two parts, external and internal motivation. The external motivation or incentus is
the motivation that comes because of the environment influences, while the
internal motivation or drives comes from the person himself (368). They also have
19
the theory of extrinsic motivation for the behavior that is motivated by external
reward, while intrinsic motivation is for the behavior motivated by an individual’s
established persons (383).
2.1.6 Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s definition about motivation, as explained by Petri, relates to the
human needs. People’s behavior is caused by some motives and that they conduct
actions to fulfill their needs. According to Maslow, there are five basic needs
which are stated in the hierarchy of needs. The first needs are the physiological
needs. The need for food, liquid, shelter, sex, sleep, and oxygen are the most
basic, powerful, and obvious of all human needs since they are needs for physical
survival. These needs are primary needs for human being (302-303).
The second are the safety needs. A person needs the safety to grow in
order to feel secure. It will emerge after the physiological needs are satisfied
(303). The third are the belongingness and love needs. Maslow says that without
love, the growth and development of someone’s ability will be troubled. Love is a
healthy-loving relationship between two people, which includes mutual trust. It
involves both giving and receiving (303). The fourth are the esteem needs.
Maslow defines two kinds of esteem needs, self-respect and esteem from other
people. Self-esteem growing in a person will cause him to be more confident,
capable, and productive (303-304).
The fifth needs are the self-actualization needs. Self-actualization needs
will emerge when the first four levels of need have been satisfied. It is the desire
20
someone has inside to prove himself, become more and more what he is, as well
as become everything that he is capable of becoming (304-305).
2.1.7 Goals in Life
When a person has a motivation to achieve something, he attempts to get
the goals. Halsey defines goals as “dreams with deadlines”. Individual can make
his dreams come true by setting goals and trying some efforts in order to bring
them into realization. She says that “by setting goals and identifying what you
need to do to get there, will cut down on a lot of stress in your life. At the same
time, you will be making those dreams a reality”.
Bryan presents eight steps of goal achievement theory that he believes can
help to manage actions of pursuing goals. The first step is by defining the goal. A
person has to start with defining goal as precisely as possible, for example a good
job, a new car, or anything else. The second is visualizing. By visualizing that the
goal comes true, a person can picture himself after the goal has come true. The
third is by writing the goals down. Writing down things to achieve and often
looking at them encourage a person not to stop trying. The fourth is to believe it
will happen. Doubting causes goal will not happen because it is admitting defeat.
A person needs to believe that he is worthy of the goal. The fifth step is by
gaining the knowledge. It means finding out what other people do to achieve the
same goal. The sixth step is working out a plan. A person should look at where he
is now, where he wants to be, and work backwards, step by step, until he can see
what the first step is, that he needs to take to get to his goal. The seventh is taking
21
the first step. Often becoming the hardest part to do, taking the first step has much
power to support a person in pursuing his goal, because it leads to other steps
follow. The last step is to keep going. Even though the efforts to do are getting
tougher, they still have to be faced
(Bryan,
Gordon.
8
Step
Basic
Goal
Achievement
Theory.
http://www.icbs.com/KB/inspiration/kb_inspiration-8-step-basic-goalachievement-theory.htm,
accessed on August 8, 2008).
2.2 Criticism
In order to understand the novel Vita Sexualis deeply, some criticisms
from some books, articles, and sites that relate to the novel and Ogai Mori as the
author of the novel are gathered. The article of James Reichert from Asian
Languages of Stanford University states that Ogai Mori waged a 20-year
campaign against Naturalism. The culmination of this extended campaign was
Vita Sexualis, a work that strove to discredit Naturalism and its founding
principles. He considers Ogai Mori’s mobilization in utilizing two strategies to
attack Naturalism: history and science. He says about how the author will explore
the way that those two strategies work with and against each other.
Some sites of Ogai Mori comment on how he left behind no direct
disciples to carry on his work, but the extraordinary range of his activities, the
high seriousness of his purpose, and the enormous influence he exerted on both
contemporary and later writers have caused him to be ranked with Natsume
Soseki as one of the preeminent writers of the Meiji period.
22
Perhaps the most shocking aspect of "Vita Sexualis" is its lack of
sexuality. Ostensibly a record of burgeoning sexuality, written by a father
to his son, so that his son would be better prepared for his own maturation,
the main character is almost completely asexual, unable to understand the
rampant behavior of his friends and contemporaries. He openly admits that
he has never experienced the desires that seem to drive everyone around
him. Women and men make themselves available to him, but he is defiant
in his moral purity and never indulges.
They say that Vita Sexualis is a sexual philosophy in which it does not
describe sexuality as something vulgar, but in fact, it is wrapped in a serious and
intelligent way of writing. The readers will find the novel as a soft description of
sexual life in Meiji era.
2.3 Theoretical Framework
This study analyzes the motivation of Shizuka Kanai, the main character
of Mori’s Vita Sexualis, for sustaining his normal sexual life under the pressure of
his surroundings. Based on the theory of critical approaches by Rohrberger and
Woods, the psychological approach is used to help in analyzing the main character
of the story.
This part is going to describe the contribution of the theories to support
and answer the problems. The theory of character and characterization are needed
to know who Shizuka Kanai is. The theory of character is important to explain
about what is meant by character. It helps to reveal Shizuka Kanai’s character
which also deals with some characters in the novel and to see the novel’s world
through the characters’ eyes. The theory of characterization is employed to
discover the characterization of the characters. In the first problem, the analysis is
dealing with the motivation of Shizuka Kanai. Therefore, the theory of motivation
23
and the theory of hierarchy of needs are applied. The theory of motivation gives
information about what motivation is and helps to reveal the motive behind
Shizuka Kanai’s actions and decisions. The theory of hierarchy of needs provides
information about Shizuka Kanai’s needs in the relation with his motivation. The
psychological approach is used to observe what really influence Shizuka Kanai’s
life and decisions.
The second problem is about how the action of Shizuka Kanai affects his
achievement in life. The theory of sexuality and the theory of goals in life are
utilized. The theory of sexuality is used to give information about some
characters’ sexual life and orientations, including Shizuka Kanai. The theory of
goals in life is applied to know what is meant by goals and the effect of Shizuka
Kanai’s action to it.
24
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
This chapter is divided into three major parts. The first part is subject
matter. It contains the specification of the study and a brief summary on the story
of the novel. The second part is approach of the study, which describes the
suitable approach for this literary study. The third part is method of the study. It
explains how this study is conducted, what sources are used, and steps taken in
analyzing the novel.
3.1 Subject Matter
The subject matter of the study is a novel Vita Sexualis that was written by
Ogai Mori and published by Tuttle Publishing, Massachusetts 2001. It consists of
one hundred and fifty three pages and is divided into sixteen chapters. With its
title Vita Sexualis, this novel is considered as one of the most successful novels
that Mori has ever created. Mori, who was born in Tsuwano, January 19, 1862,
wrote many other novels along his life. Some of them are Half a Day (1909),
Youth (1910), Under Reconstruction (1910), Delusions (1911), and The Wild
Goose (1911).
The story of Vita Sexualis is about Shizuka Kanai, a young man who faces
the reality in Japanese atmosphere along the Meiji era. He has many conflicts
dealing with the sexual life happening around him. The condition forces him to
overcome the pressure of Japanese life style with the supports from his close
people. He spends fifteen years to develop his sexual awareness while also trying
to fulfill his interest in having a good formal education.
24
25
3.2 Approach of the Study
As mentioned in Chapter 2, there are five approaches that Rohrberger and
Woods, Jr. offer. Among them, the approach to apply in this study is the
psychological approach. The main concern of this approach is the characters’
personalities in the story. This approach is mainly used to study the psychological
side of Shizuka Kanai in order to reveal his personality and the motivation he
brings for sustaining his normal sexual life. Therefore, the appropriate approach
for this study is the psychological approach.
3.3 Method of the Study
In gathering the data, the means used was the library research. It became
the option because most of the data for this study were searched and found in the
library. The references were particularly on the literary theories, the approaches,
criticisms, and much other information.
There were two kinds of sources that were used in this study. They were
primary source and secondary source. The primary source was the novel itself,
Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis, published by Tuttle Publishing, Massachusetts 2001.
The secondary sources included the books, the articles of related theories,
and the criticisms on the author and the novel. Some of the main sources selected
were Forster’s Aspects of the Novel: And Related Writings, Henkle’s Reading the
Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques of Interpreting Fiction, Rohrberger and
Woods, Jr.’s Reading and Writing about Literature, Smith’s Abnormal Behaviors,
Stone’s The Abnormal Personality through Literature, and other books and
articles utilized for assistance in this study. The complete lists of sources can be
seen in the References section.
26
Some steps were taken in analyzing the novel. The first step was reading
the novel Vita Sexualis as the main source of this study and trying to find out
what the story was all about. The second step was selecting the interesting topics
or the problems in the novel that were going to be discussed in this study. In
obtaining good understanding to the story of the novel, it needed a few times to
read the novel. The third step was outlining the main points to be discussed. The
fourth step was gathering information about the related theories, the most
appropriate approach, and criticisms to analyze the problems. The fifth step was
trying to answer the problems based on the information found. The last step was
making the result of this study into a conclusion.
27
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS
This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part discusses Shizuka
Kanai’s reasons for sustaining his normal sexual life. It is an attempt to answer the
first problem. In this part, the role of Shizuka Kanai as the main character is
analyzed. The second part is a discussion on the effects of the achievement on his
life.
4.1 The Reasons of Shizuka Kanai for Sustaining His Normal Sexual Life
The novel Vita Sexualis tells about a life journey of a man especially in
the sexual life, from the age of six up to the age of twenty one. The story describes
experiences that the main character goes through along those periods of time.
As explained in the theory of character, a main character is the person who
is relevant to every event in the story and appears continuously, so it seems that he
dominates the whole story; while a peripheral character is the person who rarely
appears in the story (Stanton 17-18). From this theory, it can be concluded that
Shizuka Kanai is the main character in Vita Sexualis since he is the one who
becomes the center of the story and appears continuously from the beginning to
the end of the story. The novel shares Kanai’s life as the main topic. It is seen
from how Kasuji Ninomiya, the writer for Vita Sexualis in the introduction,
explains about the novel. He directly describes
27
28
Thus the narrator-hero of Vita Sexualis declares he will endeavor to write
the history of the sexual desires of one Shizuka Kanai, himself, but the
result of this nineteen-year chronicle of a sexual life is that Ogai succeeds
in creating that twofold path of body and spirit in all its psychologically
ambivalent complexity (16).
Character is also divided into flat and round. Forster describes a flat
character as a character without many details and can be simply defined. On the
other hand, a round character is a character with many changes and complexities
(20-21). Based on the character division, Shizuka Kanai is considered as a flat
character. Along the story, Kanai is always described as a straight-thinking
person. He never changes his thought about sexual life. He is also always
interested in knowledge, especially literature. The author Ogai Mori uses Kanai’s
thought and reaction to emphasize his flat character.
Probably Kojima and I were the only virgins to graduate from the English
Academy. And even after entering the department of literature at our
university, we kept the moral sanctions of our triumvirate intact so that
Kojima and I remained innocent (102).
It shows how Kanai’s perspective concerning sexual life remains the same. He
always believes that sexuality issues will somehow be an obstacle to his efforts in
pursuing what he desires in life.
After the analysis on the character, the first problem arises. To discover
Kanai’s reasons for sustaining his normal sexual life, the theory of motivation
especially Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is utilized.
4.1.1 Getting Higher Education
As mentioned in chapter 2, Maslow states there are five elements of
human basic needs in the hierarchy of needs. They are physiological needs, safety
29
needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs
(302-305).
In the novel, it is described that Kanai is an intelligent student. At the age
of ten, he says “My father began teaching me English a little at a time” (38). He is
a young man with a big curiosity. He likes reading very much and willing to learn
new things. However, he is not a man who has a special interest in sexual life.
When he is eleven years old, he enters a private school located at Ikizaka in
Hongo where German is taught. He goes there because his father wants him to
take mining as the specialization. Kanai’s father lodges him in the home of the
famous Professor Azuma to ease him going to school since his estate at Mukojima
is too far from the school.
During the time I lived at Professor Azuma’s, I was never pressured by
sexual desires (56).
My lesson at school did not seem very difficult. Since I had studied
English under my father’s instruction, I had been using a dictionary by a
man named Adler. It was in two volumes, one German-English, the other
English-German. Whenever I was bored, I would amuse myself by looking
up such a word as member and then finding its equivalent zeugungslied or
by looking up the word pudenda and finding scham (57).
When Kanai is thirteen, he gives up German and enters the Tokyo English
Academy. The change is not because he cannot follow the German lessons, but
partly because of the revision of the educational system by the Ministry of
Education and partly because of his interest in studying philosophy. In this new
school, his passion for reading gets its proper place. There is a library in the
dormitory. Kanai makes use of this means to fulfill his self-actualization needs.
Maslow explains that self-actualization needs involve the desire someone has
inside to prove himself and to become more and more what he is, as well as to
30
achieve everything that he is capable (304-305). Kanai needs to feed his hunger of
knowledge, therefore he reads books regularly.
Permission was granted to the owner of a lending library to trade in the
dormitory. I was one of his regular customers. I read Bakin. I read
Kyoden. When I found someone had taken out Shunsui and was reading
him, I even borrowed that book “secondhand” from him and read it (61).
At the age of fourteen, Kanai keeps on showing his intelligence. Still, he
does not feel any real sexual desire yet. He finds much more interest in books of
knowledge rather than those romance books. He seems to focus on the study and
think less about special relationships of men and women.
As usual, my daily lessons still didn’t give me any trouble. Whenever I
had some free time, I read those books from the lending library. Because I
was gradually able to read faster, I finished almost all the works of Bakin
and Kyoden. Then I tried reading some other writers, those of the
historical romances we call yomihon, but I found them uninteresting. I read
some of the so-called ninjobon, novels which describe the love affairs of
lower class people, borrowing the books secondhand from my friends.
These relationships between men and women flashed through my mind as
if in some beautiful dream. But then that dream faded without leaving any
deep impression (73).
After Kanai passes the final exams in the school when he is fifteen, there is
a great amount of students who are eliminated from school because of failing their
study. Shonosuke Hanyu, Kanai’s playmate in school, is one of them. In those
days Kanai finds two new friends, Koga and Kojima. Koga becomes Kanai’s
roommate in the school dormitory due to the students’ shakeup. At first, Kanai
has a bad feeling about Koga and they do not blend instantly. When they are in
their room, Koga discovers Kanai’s books and essays. He asks “What sort of
books are those?” (88). Kanai explains about the books and leads Koga to
question the purpose in reading them. Koga thinks that it is useless to read books
if there is no particular goal.
31
“What’s your purpose in reading that kind of stuff?”
“It’s not for any particular purpose.”
“Then it’s all useless, isn’t it?’
“If that’s the case, then my, or anyone’s, entering this school and pursuing
an education is useless, don’t you think? You probably didn’t enter only to
become a government official or a teacher, did you?”
“You mean that when you graduate, you don’t want to become a
government official or teacher?”
“Well, I may. But I’m not studying just to become one.”
“You mean, then, you’re studying in order to learn, that is, you’re studying
for the sake of study?”
“Well. Yes, I guess that’s right.”
“Well, you’re an interesting kid” (89).
Kanai clearly loves studying and developing his knowledge. He does not
see education as something obligatory for him to do, but in fact, it is something
that he really likes and concerns about. The same day, Koga asks Kanai to join
him for a walk. Even though Kanai does not like him, he is willing to try going
out together with Koga. Later, they see a young girl about twelve or thirteen years
old who works as a Japanese street dancer in a public square.
“I don’t know what kind of child she is,” Koga said, “but she’s been
treated badly, hasn’t she?”
“Probably Chinese children are treated more harshly. I once heard that a
Chinese baby was placed in a square box, forced to grow square, and then
put on display. The Chinese may be capable of that kind of thing.”
“How did you come to hear that story?”
“It’s in the Gushoshinshi, a Chinese book on biography and anecdotes.”
“You certainly read strange things. You’re an interesting kid” (90).
Again, Kanai gives the impression that he enjoys gaining knowledge. His needs of
self-actualization are fulfilled by developing his knowledge and achieving a good
education in his study.
Kanai becomes a university student in the department of literature and
lives in a boardinghouse at the age of sixteen. He assumes that probably Kojima
32
and he are the only virgin graduates from the English Academy. They even keep
the moral sanctions of their friendship after becoming university students that
affects their innocence.
When Kanai is seventeen years old, his father becomes an official in
Kosuge prison in Tokyo and decides to move to Kosuge. Kanai spends his
weekends by visiting his parents at Kosuge. Kanai’s mother knows a girl who is
very skillful in playing koto. The girl occasionally visits Kanai’s mother so that
sometimes Kanai meets her when he is on holidays. Being closer enough to
Kanai’s mother, it is discovered that the girl wants to be Kanai’s wife. She looks
for a husband who is at least a university graduate, and that is the reason why she
approaches Kanai. But since Kanai does not consider marrying anyone at that age,
he refuses it. He chooses to focus on his education.
I didn’t especially dislike this clever, active girl, but because I had no
interest in marrying that early, nothing came of the entire episode, falling
through like water absorbed in sand (107).
The seriousness of Kanai in achieving a good education from his study
also proven by the way he studies hard. Kanai says “Since the graduation exams
were drawing nearer, I thought of going to some quieter place to study for them”
(108). He willingly goes to his house in Mukojima which is a perfect place for
preparing the exams. As a result, he graduates from the university at the age of
nineteen. There is an opinion from someone that Kanai is so young to be
considered as a university graduate. He graduates without any experience in a
special relationship with a woman. Yet, his hard work is ready to be paid off.
Kanai thinks that he has a big chance to study abroad, so he waits for the good
33
news. “There was talk I would finally go abroad to study next year. As usual I
idled away my time in our house in Kosuge” (127).
Kanai is twenty one years old when finally the decision of going abroad is
given. His achievement in getting a higher formal education is a real evidence of
how far his motivation can bring him.
That same year on the seventh of June I received the government order
allowing me to study abroad. I was to head for Germany.
I went to the home of a German to study conversation with him. My
studies during my early days at Ikizaka proved quite helpful.
I boarded a ship at Yokohama on the twenty fourth of August. It so
happened that I left Japan without marrying anyone (146).
Kanai's sacrifice to repress the desire of love, relationship, and even
sensual pleasures certainly helps him to get what he pursues.
4.1.2 Getting More Friends
Kanai is an introvert person. He has only few friends in his school or
neighborhood. So when he has a new friend who shares similar thoughts and
interests with him, he will keep the friendship to last. The esteem needs are the
needs that Kanai tries to fulfill by making friends. If the needs are satisfied, a
person can be more confident, capable, and productive (303-304). When Kanai
returns to Mukojima during summer vacation, he finds a friend named Eiichi Bito.
They have something in common, which is reading. It is what makes Kanai
maintain his good relationship with Eiichi.
Eiichi, whose face was flat and yellowish, was morose and taciturn. He
was quite good at Chinese literature. He was most enthusiastic about the
famous poet and Confucian scholar Sankei Kikuchi. I read his anthology,
Seisetsuroshisho, after borrowing it from Eiichi. I read Kikuchi’s parody
of a Chinese classic, Honcho-gushoshinshi. When I heard that Sankei had
34
published some poems, I went to Asakusa and bought Kagetsushinshi, the
magazine they appeared in, came home, and read them. The two of us
even attempted composing some poems ourselves. We tried writing short
essays in the manner of the Chinese classic. These were the kinds of things
we enjoyed doing most (80).
They share the same hobby and enjoy some quality time together. Since Eiichi is a
person who seems to avoid sensual pleasures at least until he has a degree, this
influences Kanai. As the friendship grows, Kanai’s interest in knowledge and
studying also grows. Eiichi becomes a good friend to support Kanai and his
interest, “I competed with Eiichi in our exercises of composing essays in the
Chinese manner. When we became more interested in it, we wanted to study
Chinese composition with a good teacher” (96).
As time passes by, Kanai begins to get along well with Koga, his
dormitory roomate. Through Koga, finally he also has a friendship with Kojima.
The three young man are about to become best friends. This alliance is another
factor that makes Kanai sustains his normal sexual life. Like Eiichi, Koga and
Kojima also influence Kanai to remain safe from sensual pleasures, as “Kojima
was a most innocent child. His sexual life was a complete zero” (94). On the other
hand, Koga is actually not that innocent. Sometimes after drinking some sake and
not feeling in a good mood, he will leave the dormitory, usually at night, to
release his sexual desire, but then he will regret it (94).
Kanai does not think of sexual desire in such point of view as many other
students in the school do partly due to the friendship he has with Koga and
Kojima. They have a big role in avoiding Kanai to associate with other students
who can become stumbling blocks for him. The three of them often get together
and criticize other students’ behavior (95).
35
4.1.3 Having a Normal Life
Kanai’s thought about sexual life is basically always positive. He is
attentive of the values and consequences related to sexuality. He prefers to stay
away from sexuality matters as well as he can. His self-actualization needs are
completed by having a normal life. When Koga’s friend, Adachi, happens to have
an intimate relationship with a prostitute, Kanai reflects the issue as something
deviating yet can be understood if it happens in the society.
Of course I felt no greater joy existed than obedience to one’s parents. And
for the sake of this obedience it was a fine thing to restrain one’s sexual
desires as much as possible. It was not strange, however, to find that some
human beings were unable to (100).
Kanai sustains his normal sexual life also for the sake of health. He does
not want to get any disease from an abnormal sexuality may cause. He thinks that
“Concealed at the bottom of my heart was, afterwards, a kind of uneasiness. It
concerned the question of whether or not I might pick up some awful disease”
(139). His awareness of abnormal sexuality lets him not to distract his life focus
with sexuality problems.
From the discussion above, the reasons of Kanai’s action for sustaining his
normal sexual life are revealed. He is motivated by the will to get a higher
education, to get more friends, and to have a normal life. Therefore, he chooses to
stay in the right direction of life, trying not to be involved in negative influences.
Then, after finding out the motivation, the analysis continues to the second
problem.
36
4.2 The Effects of Shizuka Kanai’s Action on His Life Achievement
There are two major discussions in this part, sexuality and goals in life. As
explained before in chapter 2, sexuality is divided into normal and abnormal.
There are thirteen types of abnormal sexual variants namely homosexuality,
bisexuality, transvestism and transsexualism, prostitution, fetishism, assault
sexuality, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism, masochism, incest, pedophilia, and
raping. The theory of sexuality is used to find out the sexual orientation of some
characters in the novel, while the theory of goals in life provides information
about steps taken to achieve goals which relate to Kanai’s action.
4.2.1 On His Study
Kanai’s consideration of good and bad things has been started from the
time when he is still young. When he is ten years old, he watches the Bon Festival
dancing which is quite popular in the province. At the time he enjoys the festival,
he hears a conversation of two dancers talking about a prostitution area.
While I was watching the dance, I happened to overhear some masked
dancers talking to one another. Apparently the two men knew each other.
“Last night you went to Atagoyama, didn’t you?”
“What you making that up for?”
“Oh no? Someone said you did.”
While they were arguing in this way, another man beside them cut in:
“If you go up there early in the morning, you can find a lot of stuff left
behind.”
A burst of laughter followed. Feeling as if I had touched something dirty,
I stopped watching the dance and returned home (46).
Kanai knows that the conversation is something he does not suppose to hear, so he
decides to leave the festival even though he actually does not know exactly the
real essence of the conversation.
37
Kanai is eleven years old when he sees prostitutes for the first time.
Kuriso, the steward who becomes Kanai’s friend when he is alone, asks him to go
for a walk together. They pass some places and eventually come to a street which
has many women whose faces are covered with white paint. Kanai thinks that
their faces are not ordinary. They have strange face make-up and look similar one
another. “Though I didn’t understand what I was witnessing at that time, I later
learned that these faces were for sale. These were the faces of prostitutes” (52).
The women call and tease Kuriso, but he enters the shop where the woman he
already knows is. Kanai does not feel comfortable with the situation that he
hesitates to go into the shop.
A remarkably high-pitched voice yelled these words. Kuriso entered the
woman’s shop and sat down. Since I merely stood where I was, a look of
disgust on my face, Kuriso waved me in to take a seat (52).
Kuriso and the woman talk about an adult topic. Their conversation is something
that Kanai cannot join. Kanai does not mind because he knows that the woman is
a type of person he avoids.
They spoke in this way. Their words had two kinds of meaning. Kuriso
never considered I would be able to conceive the second meaning behind
their words. The woman also treated me as if I were nonexistent. Not that I
was complaining however. I found her quite disagreeable. I didn’t want to
have her talking to me (53).
It shows that Kanai has developed a mature sense of sexual life from young age.
He already knows how to choose the kind of life that is best for him.
In the same year, Kanai studies German and lives at Professor Azuma’s
house. He focuses so much on the study that he does not find it interesting to
explore the sexual life. One day, he discovers a conversation between the
houseboy and the maid of Professor Azuma.
38
He was explaining to her something like the following: A woman’s
machinery can be put to use at any time. It can go into operation without
any relation to feelings. A man’s machinery is at times serviceable, at
times not. If a man takes a fancy to something, his machinery springs
forward. If he feels something distasteful, it gives poor showing. The maid
was listening with crimson ears. Disgusted, I returned to my room (56-57).
Kanai is a young man with big curiosity, but he is uncomfortable to hear or talk
about sexuality. Moreover, the topic is something that does not relate to educative
sexuality matter.
Kanai’s action for sustaining his normal sexual life gives him the
opportunity to focus more on his education. His goal to get the government’s
scholarship to study abroad in Germany needs proper preparations, and since he is
not distracted by any sexuality matter, he has more time to study. Kanai’s life is
surrounded by some events which show him that sexuality matters can bring some
negative effects to someone’s life. Hanyu’s experience is one of them. He has a
relationship with an apprenticed geisha and it disturbs his study (79).
Henmi, one of Kanai’s senior students from the queers also cannot make it well in
school. He is a homosexual. That abnormal sexuality distracts his concentration in
the study.
After the final exams at the close of the past year there had been such a
great weeding out of students that each class had some members who left
school. the majority of these sacrificial candidates were mashers. Even
little Hanyu was eliminated along with the others.
Henmi also dropped out of school. But only recently had he suddenly
turned into a masher, lengthening his kimono sleeves and his hakama skirt
and plastering his hair with perfumed pomade, that hair of his which had
formerly pointed to the heavens like the leaves of a palm tree (85).
Another example from Kanai’s surrounding that sexuality matter can ruin
life is the experience of Adachi, a good friend of Koga. He is intimate with a
39
prostitute and tied up to her. Not so long after, he is expelled from school. He has
a gloomy life as the result of the relationship.
About a year later I heard a rumor that a handsome policeman in a section
of Asakusa was quite the gay blade among many nurses and widows.
Several years later Koga was at Okuyama in Asakusa and happened to
meet a man dressed in a wadded garment made of taffeta, his face sinister,
his cheeks hollow. They said that was the miserable end of Adachi, who
was being kept by a female acrobat performing in a cheap Okuyama tent
show (100-101).
Kanai learns many things from his surroundings. He is wise enough to
take lessons from others’ experiences. Bryan states in chapter 2 that there are
eight steps of goal achievement theory; defining the goal, visualizing, writing the
goals down, to believe it will happen, gaining the knowledge, working out a plan,
taking the first step, and to keep going. Kanai’s expectation to get permission to
study abroad in Germany is the way he defines the goal of his life. A person has to
start with defining goal as precisely as possible. He studies hard and puts aside his
curiosity as a young man in exploring sexual life. Kanai also has a strong belief
that he will get the scholarship. It is another way to manage actions of pursuing
goals, to believe it will happen. A person needs to believe that he is worthy of the
goal. Otherwise, he admits defeat.
Since my class standing when I graduated was good, it was rumored I
might be permitted to study abroad at government expense. However,
since it was far from being settled, my father was worried. I wasn’t, so
lying on my bed in my four-and-a-half mat room in our official residence
at Kosuge, I read my books (120).
Another step that Kanai does is gaining the knowledge. It is no doubt that
Kanai is willing to diligently study in order to achieve his goal. He likes to read a
40
lot, and it becomes his nature to read anything that is interesting to him. Taking
the first step and keep going are other ways Kanai works out. He never gives up
on his study and in fact, he enjoys studying. He knows exactly what he wants in
life and does the steps required to get his goal. As a final point, Kanai’s goal to
study abroad is achieved.
4.2.2 On His Social Relationship
Smith divides abnormal sexuality into thirteen types, which are
homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism and transsexualism, prostitution,
fetishism, nonconsent or assault sexuality, voyeurism, exhibitionism, sadism,
masochism, incest, pedophilia, and raping (138-142).
Kanai’s school has its own dormitory. Kanai says “It was there that I first
heard about sodomy” (58). He finds out that his classmate, Kagenokoji is the
object of those students who cannot have girls to love. This abnormal sexuality
they suffer is homosexuality. Some of the dormitory students are trapped in their
life condition that makes them attracted to others within the same gender. One of
the students also looks upon Kanai as the object. He starts to offer Kanai some
refreshment and some chats. But then he becomes more intimate and scares
Kanai.
From the beginning, though, I felt his kindness was a little too tenacious,
so I didn’t like it, yet fearing to be impolite to a senior, I merely tolerated
our association. Before long he was grabbing my hand. He even pressed
his cheek against mine. It was annoying, unbearable. I had no genius as an
Urning, as a sodomite (58).
41
One day when Kanai comes to that senior student’s room, he finds that the bed is
already prepared. The student forces Kanai to sleep with him. At the time, his
thought is “The more passionate he became, the greater became my dislike and
fear” (59). Kanai tries to get out of the room, but then a friend of the student helps
him to attack Kanai. The fight makes noises that few students come to the room to
see what is happening. One of them breaks the fight. Kanai is able to run away
from the room and never goes into the dormitory again
In his new school, the thirteen years old Kanai discovers a new sexuality
matter. Some of his seniors who are called the mashers like to go to prostitution
areas. They dress more elegant, while the queers are those other students who are
manlier and less care. The mashers’ habit is a kind of abnormal sexuality, which is
prostitution. Prostitution, as explained by Smith, is a kind of sexual relations as a
transaction. The prostitutes work in order to get money by serving their clients
(140).
And where do you think these feet in white socks were headed? Toward
those archery “shops” at Shiba and Asakusa and the houses of ill-fame in
Nezu, Yoshiwara, and Shinagawa. When the mashers went out in their
usual dark blue socks, they often frequented the bathhouses. Not that the
queers failed to go to the public baths, but they never went upstairs. The
mashers counted on taking that trip upstairs. Without fail women would be
there waiting (64).
Kanai does not join any of the group. He is a neutral student. He prefers to
be a witness of the seniors’ habit and stay away from them rather than becoming
one of them. As he does not suffer any sexual dysfunction or variant, Kanai can be
concluded as a man with normal sexuality (Smith 5).
42
There is a day when Kanai wants to play with Eiichi. He goes to Eiichi’s
house and finds that Eiichi is going out fishing. Eiichi’s mother asks Kanai to
come in. Unexpectedly, the woman seduces him. Since Kanai is not well
experienced with women, he feels inconvenient in that situation.
She almost seemed to press her cheek against mine as she peered at me
from the side. Her breath fell against my face. I felt that breath was
strangely hot. And at the same time it suddenly occurred to me that
Eiichi’s mother was a woman. For some reason or other I became terrified.
I might have even turned pale (83).
Finally, Kanai decides to get away from Eiichi’s house. Actually, he has the
interest in having a special relationship with a woman, but because of his lack of
confidence, he has not experienced it yet (99). He is heterosexual, whom Smith
describes as people with the desire of sexual engagement with a sexually mature
member of the opposite gender (138).
At the age of seventeen, Kanai feels a real feeling to a woman. He really
likes the woman that he sees for the first time in front of a curio shop. It appears
that he longs for the belongingness and love needs. Maslow says that love is a
healthy-loving relationship between two people, which includes mutual trust
(303).
Each time I went to Kosuge on my way there and back, I felt a joy in
passing those sliding doors. And once when I saw a girl standing in the
open space between the doors, I felt, for about a week, some undefinable
satisfaction. When I found the girl wasn’t there, I felt, for a week, a vague
dissatisfaction (103).
From that time until long past my graduation from the university – no,
that’s not so – until the day I went abroad two years after my graduation,
this girl was quite definitely the heroine of my beautiful dream (104).
43
Kanai does not even know the name of the woman. All that he knows is the name
of the shop where he always sees the woman. Years later he finally hears about
the woman’s character. The chief priest of a temple in the neighborhood is
sending her living expenses (104). But still Kanai does not make any attempt to
approach the woman and so nothing happens between them. He is not brave
enough to do anything as a way to struggle for his feeling. Here, he shows that he
has a confidence issue related to women.
As many other men do, Kanai has a dream to marry a woman. When
Kanai is twenty, his friend Koga is already married, so that this consideration also
comes up from his mind. Here, his belongingness and love needs are considered
again. But even though Kanai’s mother has insisted him to get married as soon as
possible, at least before he studies abroad, Kanai still does not feel ready for it.
Separated from his lack of confidence to be in contact with women, he has a
mature thought about marriage that he shares to his mother in order to make her
understand about his decision.
I would, in any event, be married at some time or other. When I did, I
would really be troubled if I married someone I didn’t like. It would be
easy to decide if I liked her or not. However, it would even be hard for the
woman to marry a man she didn’t like (121).
Kanai’s action to stay in the right path to sustain his normal sexual life makes him
become a good man, yet his introvert and unconfident characteristics make it hard
for him to build a social relationship, especially with women. He fulfills his selfactualization needs as a way to gain knowledge as well as to build confidence. His
44
self esteem needs are satisfied by getting more friends who have the same vision
as him. However, he cannot manage to please his needs of belongingness and
love. Hence, this condition leads him not to marry or even have a special
relationship with any woman when he is already twenty-one years old.
45
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
This chapter is the closing of the study. It is divided into two parts,
conclusions and suggestions. The first part summarizes the analysis of the
problems in the study. The second part describes the recommendations for future
researches on the topic and the ways to apply Vita Sexualis in the teachinglearning activities.
5.1 Conclusions
After analyzing Vita Sexualis in the previous chapter, the study comes to
the conclusion. There are two problems that are discussed in the study. The first is
Shizuka Kanai’s motivation for sustaining his normal sexual life under the
pressure of his surroundings and the second is how his action to sustain his normal
sexual life affects his achievement in life.
The first conclusion is the answer of the first problem. Shizuka Kanai is
described as a person with high curiosity, especially in the field of knowledge. His
motivations for sustaining his normal sexual life are to get higher education, to get
more friends, and to have a normal life. Kanai realizes that his action to have a
normal sexual life is needed in order to support his goal. He is an intelligent
person who wants to focus his life on educational matters. His interest in studying
and learning new things bring him to achieve his goal. He also wants to have
friends that share similar thoughts and interests with him. Having a normal life is
45
46
a part of the motivation since he is aware of the risks of sexuality life. Therefore,
he chooses to stay away from the influences of sexuality trends around him. He
knows that those bad influences may distract his efforts in pursuing his goals and
dreams. He is aware of the possibility to be tempted since he is a normal man with
love and desire, so he makes the right decision by sustaining his normal sexual
life until he finishes his study.
Based on the analysis, it is also found that Kanai can act and react properly
in facing the surroundings and this causes him to be a weird man. There are some
people in Kanai’s surroundings with some kinds of abnormal sexuality. He has
experienced being approached by a homosexual senior student in his school and
has known that some of his friends and relatives are involved in prostitution.
However, he has a strong determination. He learns from others’ mistakes and tries
not to ruin himself with sexuality problems.
The effect of his action for sustaining his normal sexual life on his study is
that he can manage to stay focus on his goal, which is to achieve a higher formal
education by studying abroad. Some steps are taken to turn his goal into reality.
He studies hard and respects the opportunities coming to his life. As a very smart
and diligent student, it is not difficult for Kanai to gain excellent results in his
study. He has a strong belief that he will get the scholarship he wants. He also
takes the first step and keeps going with his motivations. Finally, he gets the
government’s scholarship to study in Germany and shows that his determination
can be accomplished through his motivations and the effects. On the other hand,
the effect on his social relationship is not so well. He remains straight-thinking
47
which makes him a good man, but his introvert and unconfident characteristics
lead him to become an inexperienced man in relationship, especially with women.
As a result, he still never has any special relationship with a woman yet up to the
age of twenty-one.
5.2 Suggestions
This part is divided into two. The first is the suggestion for future
researchers and the second is the suggestion for teaching implementation.
5.2.1 Suggestion for Future Researchers
This part concerns with the future researchers who are interested in
studying literary works. For a consideration, there are some other aspects in the
novel that are beneficial and worth to analyze. The main discussion of this study is
the motivation of the main character for sustaining his normal sexual life under
the pressure of his surroundings. Therefore, the future researchers can analyze
other interesting topics in Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis. The characters in the novel
can be another subject to analyze. There are many minor characters that influence
Shizuka Kanai’s character. The life values, cultures, and issues in the novel may
also create an interesting topic to discuss. The Meiji era in which the story takes
place is another good point provided in the novel. Since this study uses the
psychological approach, the future researchers may use the sociocultural-historical
approach to explore the characters and events in Vita Sexualis.
48
5.2.2 Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activities
In Vita Sexualis, there are many topics that can be used for teaching. For
example, the character of Shizuka Kanai as the main character. Kanai shows a
unique character since he is different compared to other young men in his
community. He tends to be more mature and knowledgeable than them. This can
be an interesting topic to discuss in the classroom; therefore, a part of Vita
Sexualis is chosen to teach Extensive Reading I for the third semester students of
English Education study program.
Studying literary works may enrich the students’ knowledge and ability in
language. The students memorize and understand new words and phrases while
studying. In addition, students can also get the life values and cultures of certain
societies that they study. One of the practices which may make it easier for
students to study literary works is through the reading class.
Reading is one of four language skills that should be mastered by English
learners. It is intended to develop the students’ knowledge on grammar,
vocabularies, and different styles of English. Paulston and Bruder define reading
into two kinds, namely intensive reading and extensive reading. Intensive reading
focuses on linguistic features, such as vocabulary and pronunciation. On the other
hand, extensive reading focuses on comprehension. It requires students to get the
meaning from the context and solve the problem without teacher’s help. Extensive
reading activities may be acquired through a short story, a chapter, or sequence of
chapters of a novel (158-199).
49
In implementing Vita Sexualis as a material for reading, the students are
classified as advanced students in order to avoid difficulties concerning the
vocabulary. Thus, these following suggestions can be used as an example of the
procedure in teaching-learning activities. The meeting will be conducted in 100
minutes.
1.
The teacher selects a chapter of the novel Vita Sexualis as the reading
material to be discussed.
2.
The teacher gives a brief introduction about the selected chapter to the
students.
3.
The teacher distributes the reading material to the students.
4.
The teacher asks the students to read the material.
5.
The teacher asks the students to define the meaning of the unfamiliar words
given in the material.
6.
The teacher asks the students to answer the questions in groups.
7.
Each group summarizes the story on their own words.
8.
The teacher and the students discuss the problems in the form of group
presentation.
50
REFERENCES
Abcarian, Richard and Marvin Klotz. Literature: Reading and Writing the Human
Experience. New York: St. Martin's Press Inc. 1998.
th
Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 6
Rinehart and Winston Inc. 1993.
ed. Forth Worth: Holt,
th
Bootzin, Richard R. (et al.). Psychology Today: An Introduction. 6 ed. Random
House Inc. 1986.
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice.
nd
2 ed. London: Longman Inc. 1981.
Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. Glasgow: Harper
Collins Publishers. 2001.
Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel: And Related Writings. London: Edward
and Arnold. 1974.
Hemmings, Clare. Bisexual Spaces: A Geography of Sexuality and Gender.
New York: Routledge. 2002.
Henkle, Roger B. Reading the Novel: An Introduction to the Techniques of
Interpreting Fiction. New York: Harper and Row Publishers Inc. 1977.
Jung, John. Understanding Human Motivation: A Cognitive Approach. Macmillan
Publ. 1978.
Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture. Essex: Longman Group
UK Limited. 1992.
Moreland, Floyd L. and Rita M. Fleischer. Latin: An Intensive Course.
University of California Press. 1977.
Mori, Ogai. Vita Sexualis. Massachusetts: Tuttle Publishing. 2001.
Murphy, M. J. Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and
the English Novel for Overseas Students. London: George Allen and
Unwin Ltd. 1972.
Petri, Herbert L. Motivation: Theory and Research. Belmont, California:
Wadsworth Inc. 1981.
50
51
Rohrberger, Mary and Samuel H. Woods, Jr. Reading and Writing about
Literature. New York: Random House Inc. 1971.
Smith, Jim. Abnormal Behaviors: Outlined Reference. Chattanooga, Tennessee:
University Press of America. 1983.
Stanton, Robert. An Introduction to Fiction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston Inc. 1964.
Stone, Alan A. and Sue Smart Stone. The Abnormal Personality Through
Literature. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1966.
Webster’s New Explorer Dictionary and Thesaurus. Springfield, MA: MerriamWebster Inc. 1999.
White, Elizabeth, Joan Wofford, and Edward J. Gordon. Understanding
Literature. Lexington, Massachusetts: Ginn and Company. 1975.
Online Sources:
http://www.icbs.com/KB/inspiration/kb_inspiration-8-step-basic-goalachievement-theory.htm. Bryan, Gordon. Accessed on August 8, 2008.
http://www.icbs.com/KB/inspiration/kb_reaching-your-goals.htm. Halsey, Carol.
Accessed on August 8, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mori_%C5%8Cgai. Accessed on September 15,
2008.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mori_Ogai. Accessed on September
15, 2008.
52
APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1:
SUMMARY OF VITA SEXUALIS
The story begins with the six year-old Shizuka Kanai, who plays around
by himself and decides to come into his neighbor’s house. When he is inside, he
sees two women; one of them is the widow who owns the house and the other
woman that he does not know. They are examining a book together and being
strange after he enters the house. Kanai later realizes that they are looking at a
picture book of human’s anatomy. When he is ten, he finds that his parents also
have the same kind of book he has seen when he is younger. At the time, he does
not realize in the least that this kind of human behavior has any connection to
human desire.
Kanai is eleven when he moves to Tokyo. It is there when he first
witnesses the faces of prostitutes. He has a disagreeable feeling about them and
prefers not to talk to them. Around October of that same year, Kanai enters a
private school to study mining. Since the school is too far from his house, Kanai’s
father has him lodge in the house of the famous Professor Azuma. During the time
he lives there, he is never pressured by sexual desires. His lessons at school do not
seem very difficult. The school has its own dormitory, and it is the place where he
hears about sodomy. Kanai has experienced almost being harassed by another
student in the dormitory, but he can manage to run away.
53
When Kanai is thirteen years old, he enters the Tokyo English Academy.
He lives in the school dormitory. Permission is granted to the owner of a lending
library to trade in the dormitory. Kanai is one of his regular costumers. He also
becomes friends with Shonosuke Hanyu, another youngest member in the
dormitory. But even though Hanyu and Kanai are good friends, they have nothing
in particular to talk about. Kanai keeps reading books at random from the lending
library and like a child living in a daydream world. Outside the classroom Hanyu
is very restless, so he does not read any books. If they play together, it is just
about limited to sumo. Kanai is fourteen when Hanyu fails his exams and
withdrawn from school. During summer vacation the same year, Kanai finds a
new good friend named Eiichi Bito. They enjoy composing some poems
themselves and writing short essays in the manner of the Chinese classics. One
day, Kanai intends to play with Eiichi. All of the sudden, Eiichi’s stepmother
approaches him. Overcome with confusion, Kanai decides to run from Eiichi’s
house and never tells Eiichi about it.
Kanai is at the age of fifteen when he becomes acquainted with two
friends, Koga and Kojima. A triple alliance comes into existence. The sixteen
years old Kanai graduates from the English Academy and becomes a university
student in the department of literature. He thinks that probably Kojima and he are
the only virgins to graduate from the English Academy. And even after entering
the department of literature at their university, they keep the moral sanctions of
their triumvirate intact so that they remain innocent.
54
When Kanai is seventeen, he first has a special feeling for a girl. He does
not even know the young girl’s name. He feels there is something mysterious
about her. But nothing happens between them since Kanai never tries to approach
the girl. Actually, Kanai has been offered marriage proposals for several times,
but he always refuses them for the reason that he is not ready to marry yet.
In July, Kanai graduates from the university. He is nineteen at the time. He
graduates from the university without finally having had an experience with a
woman. Kanai and his friends have a graduation party, and that is the first time he
has ever seen geisha at a party.
Finally, it is at the age of twenty-one that Kanai receives the government
order allowing him to study abroad. He goes to Germany. It happens that he
leaves Japan without marrying anyone.
Adapted from Vita Sexualis by Ogai Mori
55
APPENDIX 2:
Ogai Mori’s Biography
Mori Ōgai (森鷗外 / 森鴎外) (February 17, 1862 – July 8, 1922) was a
Japanese physician, translator, novelist and poet. Mori's real name was Rintarō
(林太郎). Ōgai is correctly written 鷗外 but 鴎外 is often used in its place. A
writer of the Meiji period (1867–1912), during which Japan was cautiously
exchanging technology and cultural ideas with the West, Mori combined an
understanding of Western values with Japanese loyalty to traditional duty,
influencing the direction of modern Japanese fiction.
From 1884 to 1888, Mori studied medicine in Germany. In 1890 he
published Maihime (“The Dancing Girl”), the story, based on his personal
experiences, of an unhappy relationship between a Japanese student and a German
girl. It started a trend of autobiographical revelations among Japanese writers and
represented a departure from the impersonal fiction of preceding generations. Gan
(“Wild Geese,” 1911–1913), his best-known work, tells the story of the
undeclared love of a moneylender’s mistress for a medical student who passes by
her house each day. Mori also wrote poetry and historical biographies, and
translated the works of several European authors, including Hans Christian
Anderson’s autobiographical novel Improvisatoren.
Mori Ōgai, the pen name of Mori Rintaro, was born February 17, 1862,
into a family of doctors in the small town of Tsuwano in western Japan (now
Shimane prefecture). His father was physician to the daimyo, or feudal lord. His
56
mother was a strict disciplinarian who pushed Mori to pursue academic excellence
throughout his youth. Mori began the study of Confucius and Mencius at age five
and entered the fief school at seven, where he excelled in the study of Chinese
philosophers, mathematics, medicine, and Dutch.
Mori followed his father to Tokyo in 1872, and the rest of the family
joined them the next year. In 1874, Mori added two years to his age in order to
enroll in the preparatory course for the medical department at Tokyo University.
His father began a private medical practice in downtown Tokyo. Privately, Mori
learned to compose tanka poetry and Chinese poems. He translated Asagao Nikki
and some poems from Genji Monogatari (“Tale of the Genji”).
In 1881, at the age of 19, Mori became to youngest student ever to
graduate from the University of Tokyo. He began a career as an army surgeon,
and in 1884, was sent to study in Germany (Leipzig, Dresden, Munich, and
Berlin) for four years by the Meiji government. There he studied military hygiene
under the physician Robert Koch, and familiarized himself with European
philosophy and literature. Upon his return to Japan in 1888, Mori immediately
undertook efforts to modernize both Japanese medicine and Japanese literature.
In 1889, he published a collection of translated poetry called Omokage
(“Vestiges”). In the same year he married Akamatsu Toshiko, through a
matchmaker (Nishi Amane, a doctor from the same province). The couple
divorced in 1890, the year that Mori Ōgai published Maihime (舞姫, The Dancing
Girl), describing an affair between a Japanese man and a German woman. In
1902, at the age of 41, Mori married Shigei Araki, a judge’s daughter.
57
He served as an army surgeon in both the Sino-Japanese War (1894) and
the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Because of repeated clashes with his
superiors over medical policies and their disapproval of his literary activities,
Mori was transferred to the remote town of Kokura in Kyushu. He kept a diary
and did not publish any novels during that time, but seems to have matured
personally and as a writer, and to have gathered material for his later historical
fiction. In 1907, five years after he returned to Tokyo from Kokura, Mori was
promoted to surgeon general.
As a physician, Mori specialized in beriberi, an ailment caused by a
deficiency of thiamine. He wrongly believed that beriberi was an infectious
disease and refused to implement the dietary policy which was adopted by the
Japanese Navy and which demonstrably cured the ailment for 99 percent of
patients. His questionable decisions during the Russo-Japanese War caused the
deaths of ten of thousands of Japanese soldiers from beriberi.
During the Russo-Japanese War Mori started keeping a poetic diary. After
the war, he began holding tanka writing parties that included several noted poets
such as Yosano Akiko, Sanshō Dayū (山椒大夫), and Takasebune (高瀬舟). He
also produced translations of the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
Friedrich Schiller, Henrik Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, and Gerhart
Hauptmann, and instituted modern literary criticism in Japan, based on the
aesthetic theories of Karl von Hartmann. Most of his later work is biographical or
historical.
58
Mori's most popular novel, Gan (1911–1913; The Wild Geese), is set in
Tokyo in 1881 and was filmed by Shiro Toyoda in 1953 as The Mistress. The
1912 suicides of General Nogi Maresuke and his wife in the wake of the death of
the Emperor Meiji came as a great shock to Mori and prompted him to turn to
historical materials, resulting in Okitsu Yagoemon no isho (“The Last Testament
of Okitsu Yagoemon,” 1912). Another novel in the same vein was Abe ichizoku
(“The Abe Family,” 1913). In 1916, Mori was appointed director of the Imperial
Museum.
A house which Mori lived in is preserved in Kokura Kita ward in
Kitakyushu, not far from Kokura station. Here he wrote Kokura Nikki (“Kokura
Diary”). The house where he was born is also preserved in Tsuwano. The two
one-story houses are remarkably similar in size and in their traditional Japanese
style.
One of Mori's daughters, Mori Mari, influenced the Yaoi movement in
contemporary Japanese literature.
During the four years he spent in Germany, Mori was impressed with the
importance of the individual in Western culture, where the originality of those
who chose to flaunt tradition and accept the consequences was admired. On his
return to Japan, he introduced the genre of autobiographical revelation to Japanese
literature and initiated a movement away from the impersonal fiction of the past.
His works embodied the conflict between modern Western culture, which was
being at least superficially received in Japan, and the deep-rooted traditional
values of family loyalty and cultural obligation.
59
Maihime (“The Dancing Girl”), Mori’s first short story, reveals the
dilemma faced by Ota Toyotaro, who meets a young German dancer, Elise, while
studying in Germany. The two fall in love, but Ota learns that he must return to
Japan to clear his name. He agonizes over his decision to leave the pregnant Elise
behind, symbolizing the modern Japanese struggle to reconcile a traditional sense
of duty and cultural responsibility with the individuality and self-direction of the
West. Mori himself found love in Germany, but he was forced to abandon it
because of traditional family loyalty and the careerism of the Imperial
bureaucratic system which he found so oppressive. Though he gave up the love he
experienced in Germany, he never forgot it. The experience became the
motivation which inspired his writing activities; the compromise he faced in
actual life was changed to the literary images and was eventually resurrected in
the work of Maihime.
Mori struggled in the Imperial bureaucracy. He never openly disobeyed,
but showed a willingness to make one compromise after another. Three days
before his death Mori expressed his opposition clearly for the first time in a note
saying that he wished to reject completely the honors conferred on him by the
Imperial Household Agency and the army, and wanted to die only as “a man of
Iwami (province), Mori Rintaro.” It seemed as though he recalled with resentment
that, in his youth, even his love life had been encroached upon by the power of the
Imperial bureaucracy. This resentment against bureaucracy is evident in his last
works, historical biographies of three great men of the Edo age.
Taken from: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mori_Ogai
60
APPENDIX 3:
LESSON PLAN
Subject
: Extensive Reading I
Skill
: Reading
Level
: 3rd Semester of English Educational
Study Program
Topic
: The Character of a Person
Material
: Chapter 7 “When I was Fourteen” of
Ogai Mori’s Vita Sexualis
Time Allocation
: 2 x 50 minutes
Basic
Achievement
Learning
Competence
Indicators
Experiences
Reading
able
the discussion, develop
to read
students reading ability
able
to are
able
improve their define
reading
Evaluation
the 7,
their passage
73-84
- The students
are expected to - The students define
be
Form of
- The students - The students - Chapter - Discussion
At the end of are
the
Material
the
to meaning of the
the unfamiliar
skill, meaning of the words from the
apply reading unfamiliar
reading
strategies
words from the passage
through
reading
- The students
page - Students’
participation
and
presentation
61
various
types passage
answer
the
of texts, and - The students comprehensive
enlarge
their are
able
English
answer
vocabularies
questions
about
to questions about
the the
reading
passage
in
the groups
reading
- Each group
passage
summarizes the
- The students story on their
are
able
to own words
summarize the - Each group
story on their presents
own words
the
result of their
discussion
Source:
Mori, Ogai. Vita Sexualis. Massachusetts: Tuttle Publishing. 2001.
62
APPENDIX 4:
I. Define the meaning of the words below based on the context of the passage.

Splendid (page 73, 1st paragraph)

Torment (page 73, 1st paragraph)

Escort (page 73, 2nd paragraph)

Inscribed (page 73, 2nd paragraph)

Triumphant (page 74, 6th paragraph)

Idling (page 74, 10th paragraph)

Uttering (page 75, 3rd paragraph)

Assertions (page 75, 4th paragraph)

Inevitable (page 76, 3rd paragraph)

Dubious (page 78, 2nd paragraph)

Startled (page 79, 3rd paragraph)

Morose (page 80, 3rd paragraph)

Taciturn (page 80, 3rd paragraph)

Prominent (page 81, 1st paragraph)

Indolently (page 83, 2nd paragraph)
II. Read the passage that is adapted from the novel Vita Sexualis, and then
identify the character of Shizuka Kanai, the main character in the novel.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
63
III. Summarize the story from the passage and find some moral values that
you get from the novel Vita Sexualis.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
64
APPENDIX 5:
Ogai Mori’s Works
 Maihime (1890, 舞姫 The Dancing Girl)
Utakata no ki (1890, うたかたの記 Foam on the Waves)
 Fumizukai (1891, 文づかひ The Courier)
 Wita sekusuarisu (1909, ヰタ・セクスアリス Vita Sexualis)
 Seinen (1910, 青年 Young Men)
 Gan (1911–1913, 雁 The Wild Geese)
 Okitsu Yagoemon no isho (1912, 興津弥五右衛門の遺書 The Last
Testament of Okitsu Yagoemon)
 Sanshō Dayū (1915, 山椒大夫 Sanshō the Steward)
 Takasebune (1916, 高瀬舟 The Boat on the Takase River)
 Shibue Chūsai (1916, 渋江抽斎 Shibue Chusai)

Translations

The Historical Fiction of Mori Ôgai, ed. David A. Dilworth and J. Thomas
Rimer. 1977. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991. A one-volume
paperback edition of an earlier two-volume collection of stories.
 Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology, ed. Ivan Morris. 1961. Rutland,
Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle, 1966. Contains "Under Reconstruction".
 Sansho-Dayu and Other Short Stories, trans. Tsutomu Fukuda. Tokyo:
Hokuseido Press, 1970.
 Vita Sexualis, trans. Kazuji Ninomiya and Sanford Goldstein. 1972.
Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 200.
65

The Wild Geese, trans. Ochiai Kingo and Sanford Goldstein. Boston:
Tuttle Publishing, 1959.
 The Wild Goose, trans. Burton Watson. 1995. Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Center for Japanese Studies, 1998.
 Youth and Other Stories (collection of stories), ed. J. Thomas Rimer. 1994.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1995.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mori_%C5%8Cgai
66
APPENDIX 6:
Chronology of
Ogai Mori’s Life
-Early LifeMori was born as Mori Rintarō in Tsuwano, Iwami province (present-day
Shimane prefecture). His family were hereditary physicians to the daimyo of the
Tsuwano Domain. As the eldest son, it was assumed that he would carry on the
family tradition; therefore he was sent to attend classes in the Confucian classics
at the domain academy, and took private lessons in rangaku, and in the Dutch
language.
In 1872, after the abolition of the domains, the Mori family relocated to
Tokyo. Mori stayed at the residence of Nishi Amane, in order to receive tutoring
in the German language, which was the primary language for medical education at
the time. In 1874, he was admitted to the government medical school (the
predecessor for Tokyo Imperial University's Medical School), and graduated in
1881 at the age of 19, the youngest person ever to be awarded with a medical
license in Japan. It was also during this time that he developed an interest in
literature, reading extensively from the late-Edo period popular novels, and taking
lessons in Chinese poetry and literature.
-Early CareerAfter graduation, Mori enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army as a
medical officer, hoping to specialize in military medicine and hygiene.
67
Mori was sent by the Army to study in Germany (Leipzig, Dresden,
Munich, and Berlin) from 1884–1888. During this time, he also developed an
interest in European literature. As a matter of trivia, Mori Ōgai is the first
Japanese known to have ridden on the Orient Express.
Upon his return to Japan, he assumed a high rank as a medical doctor in
the Japanese army and pushed for a more scientific approach to medical research,
even publishing a medical journal out of his own funds.
Meanwhile, he also attempted to revitalize modern Japanese literature and
published his own literary journal (Shigarami sōshi, 1889–1894) and his own
book of poetry (Omokage, 1889). In his writings, he was an “anti-realist”,
asserting that literature should reflect the emotional and spiritual domain.
Maihime (舞姫, The Dancing Girl, 1890) described an affair between a Japanese
man and a German woman.
In 1899, he married Akamatsu Toshiko, daughter of Admiral Akamatsu
Noriyoshi, a close friend of Nishi Amane. He divorced her the following year
under acrimonious circumstances that irreparably ended his friendship with Nishi.
-Later CareerAt the start of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Mori was sent to
Manchuria and, the following year, to Taiwan. In 1899, he was appointed head of
the Army Medical Corps and was based in Kokura, Kyūshū. In 1902, he was
reassigned to Tokyo.
68
During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he was again sent to
Manchuria. He later came under criticism for his stubborn refusal to believe that
beriberi was not an infectious disease but an ailment caused by thiamine
deficiency, despite evidence presented by Takaki Kanehiro of the Imperial
Japanese Navy. His questionable decisions led to the death of 27,000 Japanese
soldiers to beriberi, compared to 47,000 deaths from combat.
In 1907, Mori was promoted to Army Surgeon-General, the highest post
within the Japanese medical corps. On his retirement in 1916 he was appointed
director of the Imperial Museum.
-Literary CareerAlthough Mori did little writing from 1892–1902, he continued to edit a
literary journal (Mezamashi gusa, 1892–1909). He also produced translations of
the works of Goethe, Schiller, Ibsen, Hans Christian Andersen, and Hauptmann.
It was during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) that Mori started
keeping a poetic diary. After the war, he began holding tanka writing parties that
included several noted poets such as Yosano Akiko.
His later works can be divided into three separate periods. From 1909–
1912, he wrote mostly fiction based on his own experiences. This period includes
Vita Sexualis, and his most popular novel, Gan (1911–1913; The Wild Geese),
which is set in 1881 Tokyo and was filmed by Shiro Toyoda in 1953 as The
Mistress.
69
From 1912–1916, he wrote mostly historical stories. Deeply affected by
the seppuku of General Nogi Maresuke in 1912, he explored the impulses of selfdestruction, self–sacrifice and patriotic sentiment. This period includes Sanshō
Dayū (山椒大夫), and Takasebune (高瀬舟).
From 1916, he turned his attention to biographies of late-Edo period
doctors.
-LegacyAs an author, Mori is considered one of the leading writers of the Meiji
period. In his literary journals, he instituted modern literary criticism in Japan,
based on the aesthetic theories of Karl von Hartmann.
A house which Mori lived in is preserved in Kokura Kita ward in
Kitakyushu, not far from Kokura station. Here he wrote Kokura Nikki (Kokura
Diary). His birthhouse is also preserved in Tsuwano. The two one-story houses
are remarkably similar in size and in their traditional Japanese style.
One of Mori's daughters, Mori Mari, influenced the Yaoi movement in
contemporary Japanese literature.
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mori_%C5%8Cgai

the motivation of shizuka kanai for sustaining his normal sexual life

Transcription

Similar documents

SEXtend \seks tend \ - Student Health Center

Media : Metro Ahad Section : Setempat Date

Mathew Hall, Peter Hegedüs, Josip Maras, Marco Mori, Zoltán

Iovine, Julie V. “If Martians Went to Design School,” The New York

Talking about body science and puberty with your child

T ravellingexhibition

Sexy sells: The marketing of girls` sexuality

Influence of pornification

Betty Page Reveals All A FILM BY MARK MORI