Sei Shōnagon’s Personality and Time There are two ways of which an author could write a novel. Depending on the chosen way of writing an author will either use tone in the text of the book to add their character. Or, the incorporation of their nature into that of the setting of the story. In the case of Sei Shōnagon she develops her whiney disposition by using tone in the written text; and of using the setting of the Heian period of Japan in The Pillow Book. Thus, effectively using both ways of writing a novel. Sei Shōnagon writes in a format that tells of what she likes and dislikes. Consequently, her wording becomes excessive making it easy to tell of what her reaction is to a certain topic. Viewing her work as a reader, one can
