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Growing Up & Coming of Age - Coggle Diagram
Growing Up & Coming of Age
Chapters 1-3
1.
Chapter 1 - Shinji is described as a boy who is well bult beyond his age and he is responsible for his family as he generates the main income through his job as a fisherman. This shows responsibility and maturity as Shinji has the urge and feeling to take care of his family as he is old enough to understand the reality of their situation, especially the fact that shinjis mother is widowed and can find it troublesome to gain money page 6
Shows that he has grown up to be a respectful cahracter from the start and values his family and work. From this the reader can see how Shinji develops as he expores other relationships and aspects of his life.
1 - Chapter 1 - Shinji stumbles upon a girl who he has never met on his island while coming back from a long day of fishing. The girl was seen resting against a stack of heavy wooden frame. Shinji realised that this girl finished stacking the frames used for fishing from her heavy breathes to her sweaty eyebrows. Shinji clearly has a strong desire for her as she has a lasting effect on him, something that has never happened before and "disrupted his sleep".
(P7)
2.
Chapter 2 - The signs of desire towards a mysterious girl is shown during the time when he works but is distracted by the fact that there is a mysterious girl on the island - provoking his curiosity as he starts to care. This is shown by the fact that he could not sleep a whole night despite him having no problems sleeping normally, as well as his poor performance at work the next day page 7
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3.
Chapter 3 - There are signs of development and coming of age for Shinji's character at the end of chapter 3 when he starts to get jealous of Yasuo being invited to Miyata's house to meet Hatsue.
Chapters 7-9
1.
In chapter 7 Shinji and Hiroshi's mother is lonely as both her children are doing different things and moving on with their lives. To her they are growing up (which they are) and slowly drifting away from just focusing on family and their mother as they learn to be more independent. Page 57
"gloomy and deadly quiet even in the daytime, she began weeping, thinking of the day when both her sons would finally lave her for good and take to the sea." P57
This not only shows the coming of age of Hiroshi and Shinji for moving on with their lives and experiencing new things / relationships, but also shows how someone like Shinji's mother is affected from them growing up, and how she seems to be stuck unlike her sons.
2.
Chapter 8 proves Shinji and Hatsue's maturity and coming of age well, as they start exploring their new relationship in more depth - experiencing new things and dealing with them for the first time. Hatsue's maturity is proven clearly as she is honest with Shinji about her principals and communicates this well. This can also prove the maturity of their relationship with each other as she clearly trusts him. Shinji on the other hand isn't as vocal regarding his principles, however shows signs of maturity by respecting Hatsue and her body. He is honest with her and both of their innocence in this scene is slowly stripped away as they get comfortable.
3. Yaso's maturity is going in the opposite direction of Shinji and Hatsue's as he keeps objectifying Hatsue and show's no sign of respect for her. In terms of Mishima's writing and according to his ideologies, Yasuo is in no ways mature as he is too confident and shows no traditional values. Chapter 9
Chapter 7 key scene: (p59)
Chiyoko and Yasuo meeting first meeting of the foil characters showing the start of coming of age for Chiyoko
Chapter 8 key scene9(p67) (p69-72)
: when 'As Shinji stands in front of the roaring sea and feels salt spray on his face, he is reminded of the taste of Hatsue’s lips.' The observation tower showing us that if you are one with nature you will be rewarded
Chapter 9(p84) (87-94)
: When Yasuo ignores Shinji about class, he rape scene since Yasuo feels entitled to Hatsue
Chapters 4-6
1.
Chapter 4 - Shinji approaches Hatsue and decides to make conversation with her, despite having conflicting feelings for her in the previous chapters. This shows us that perhaps Shinji is trying to be more confident and is growing as a person. It is hard to determine Hatsue's coming of age in this chapter as this is the first chapter where there is a proper conversation and scene with Hatuse.
4. Chapter 6 - From this Chapter can see that besides Hatsue being hardworking and having a sense of humour, she is quite respectful to adults as well as Uta-Jima's culture. She took time to understand the rituals and traditions of this island, showing maturity and devotion to understand the island and it's culture better. Page 49
2.
Chapter 4
Shinji spends his free time to help his mother with chores, showing how he's grown to be selfless. The quotation "Since he had finished by noon with the Young Men's Association's work of carrying stones for the road building, she asked him to bring her gatherings down from the mountain for her."
Shinji has also helped Hatsue know more about the island showing more of his self nature.
3
Chapter 5
Shinji visits his father's grave to mourn and respect him. He comforts his mother, while Hiroshi is distracted by the thoughts of a school trip.This shows Shinji's mature and selfless nature. This also shows how Hiroshi is still young and immature. The contrast between Shinji and Hiroshi shows how maturity grows along with age.
5.
Chapter 6
Shinji prays to the sea god at Yashiro shrine and admires the distant ocean. He feels a deep connection with the nature surrounding him and embraces this environment, from the air to the sound of the waves. This shows how he's developed to be grateful of everyone and everything around him.
Chapters 10-12
Hatsue makes the initiative to start the letters and communicate with Shinji again. Shinji actually goes along with the idea of communicating using the letters. (Chap 11, P109-133)
1.
When Hiroshi comes back from his trip he has come back with a new perspective of how people live their daily lives compared to the isolated island. He also starts realising how his life has just gone back to normal after that trip, showing senses of maturity as he goes through such an experience. (Chapter 10)
3.How Shinji deals with all the gossip and rumours on the island as well as his approach towards the situation regarding Yasuo. At first he seems furious, making it seem lile he will do something rash, however after talking to characters like Jukichi (almost like a father figure to him) he learns to be more patient and think calmly - showing his maturity and how he is growing as a person. Chapter 11 P113 - 114
4
Jukuchi's character somewhat represents the coming of age and maturity that Shinji is starting to go through. He is also the character that helps guide him through some of the struggles he faces in his relationship and his life in general, hence being a role model for Shinji to refer to.
Instead of just focusing on his work and earning money, he grows and matures to allow more relationships and feelings into his life. He also grows as a person to pay attention to those new relationships and feelings instead of trying to ignore them as he thought for a slight bit in the earlier chapters.
5.
This can be seen in Chapter 12 when Shinji is excited to meet up with Hatsue and is eager to meet up with her. Showing determination and affection for the girl.
Chapters 13-14
1. Hatsue in the Abalone Diving contest is portrayed to be quite a mature and confident female during this chapter. She proves herself to be the right bride / wife for Shinji and earns the respect of many. which later gains. her support for their relationship. Chapter 13
Is seen as mature to Shinji's mother as she respects her with the prize she won and how she ended up giving it to her as an aplogy. Additionally the fact that Hatsue ended up apologising after all that time to Shinji's mother proved that Hatsue was very emotionally level headed and mature, being a "right match for someone like Shinji."
Shows maturity and how she's grown up among young divers yet finds the confidence to be brave and compete. This proves her maturity as she doesn't let the fear get to her and despite being new still wants to challenge others as she knows her capabilities.
2. Shinji is introduced as a shy and closed character, however in Chapter 14 he steps up to be the brave and talented fisherman to save the ship and prove his capabilities. He shows immense growth here as before he may have allowed Yasuo to shine and stayed behind the shadows, however now that this may be about his future and relate to his relationship with Hatsue; he is not hesitant to prove himself. Moreover, the quote "I'm free!" is proving Shinji's growth as a person since he realises he needed space and time for himself away from the island - showing a lot more emotional maturity than he had at the beginning of the chapter. Chapter 14
Chapters 15-16
1.
Terukihi is a great example of growth and maturity in Chapter 15 as he decides to change his opinion on Shinji and Hatsue's relationship. Mishima makes sure to keep him true to his character however, but realising he should give both Shinji and Yasuo a chance and then make sure Hatsue is happy with the decision made.
2. Chiyoko continues to show signs of growth and maturity as well as coming of age as she no longer is acting out of spite and instead is trying to fix her mistakes. She reflects on her actions and understands the gravity of the situation, hence helps persuade her mother to do. something about the situation. It is Chiyoko's maturity that helped Shinji and Hatsue get the approval of everyone, which in Mishima's eyes is a blessing. P. 169
Chiyoko's mother also proves to grow up and mature by the end of the novel. She is close to Shinji and has a similar role wtih Hatsue being like a mother figure for her. She shows maturity by firstly listening out to Chiyko and taking action as she realises that is the right thing to do. Throughout the novel she shows appreciation and supports Hatsue and Shinji's decisions and is there for them, so she takes this a step further by trying to convince Uncle Teru that she should not stand between the couple.
Another example of her being mature consists of her taking persmission of Shinji's mother. She understands the step she is about to take and no matter how close she is to Shinji, she understand's his mother should be aware of this and hence seeks permission.