In 1945, the Japanese reestablished their constitution and stated that men and women were now equal. This change in the constitution impacted a lot of families; some families were able to cope with the new constitution very well, adapting their cultural traditions to it, while others could not. The change in the constitution led to stereotypes about gender roles and cultural traditions. In The Sound Of Waves, Yukio Mishima uses foil characters and stereotypes to show the social commentary in the contrast of the old versus the new Japanese culture. He uses Shinji and Yasuo to show the stereotype, the “best” husband is characterized as the wealthiest one; he uses Hatsue and Chiyoko to show the stereotype that women had to stay home to cook, clean
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The stereotype, the “best” husband is characterized as the wealthiest one is shown throughout the book to show the preferences of social classes. Shinji Kubo is characterized as a humble, poor, hardworking young boy who couldn’t marry Hatsue Miyata because of her father’s harsh views of society. Mishima uses figurative language to show how Shinji knew he had nothing to offer Hatsue, “But he could not believe that any of these qualifications could possibly touch Hatsue’s heart” (33). In contrast of Shinji, Yasuo is characterized as a rich, ignorant, young boy who believes he is capable of getting whatever he wants because of his high social status. Yasuo believed he had the power to make others follow him due to being the son of a leading family (22). Mishima uses the metaphor, “the sea was the place where he earned his living, a rippling field, where instead of waving heads of rice or wheat…” (19). This describes Shinji’s job versus Yasuo’s who just gives orders to the boys in the Young Men’s Association. Mishima uses the symbol of Yasuo’s watch to show how he brags about him being from a high social class, “In Yasuo’s opinion the mere ownership of such a wonderful watch made him by rights a favorite with the women” (87). Throughout the book, we see how Yasuo isn’t the only person who intervenes in Shinji and Hatsue’s
The stereotype, the “best” husband is characterized as the wealthiest one is shown throughout the book to show the preferences of social classes. Shinji Kubo is characterized as a humble, poor, hardworking young boy who couldn’t marry Hatsue Miyata because of her father’s harsh views of society. Mishima uses figurative language to show how Shinji knew he had nothing to offer Hatsue, “But he could not believe that any of these qualifications could possibly touch Hatsue’s heart” (33). In contrast of Shinji, Yasuo is characterized as a rich, ignorant, young boy who believes he is capable of getting whatever he wants because of his high social status. Yasuo believed he had the power to make others follow him due to being the son of a leading family (22). Mishima uses the metaphor, “the sea was the place where he earned his living, a rippling field, where instead of waving heads of rice or wheat…” (19). This describes Shinji’s job versus Yasuo’s who just gives orders to the boys in the Young Men’s Association. Mishima uses the symbol of Yasuo’s watch to show how he brags about him being from a high social class, “In Yasuo’s opinion the mere ownership of such a wonderful watch made him by rights a favorite with the women” (87). Throughout the book, we see how Yasuo isn’t the only person who intervenes in Shinji and Hatsue’s