The Sound of Waves - Themes
Nature
Civilisation
Modernity
Superstition
Coming of age
Power
Love
Religion
Gossip + rumour
“Their dry, chapped lips touched. There was a slight taste of salt.”
“The boy swam with all his might...It was as though a drill were boring its way through the hardest of solid rock.”
“It seemed to him that only the sea would be kind enough to answer his wordless conversation.”
“When it came to its being her own son's affair that was the subject of malicious gossip, then there was a motherly duty she would have to perform”
“To this the girl gave a truly naive answer, though a startling one: “If you took your clothes off too, then I wouldn't be ashamed.”
“The mother's simple, straightforward heart had immediately understood the modesty and respect behind the girl’s gesture."
"luminous watch"
“In his heart the boy reminded himself again of his happiness - the gods had given him everything he had prayed for.”
“He was thinking that in spite of all they’d been through, here they were in the end, free within the moral code to which they had been born, never once having been estranged from the providence of the gods…”
Shinji looked up at the star-filled sky and breathed deeply. Then he thought:
“But mightn't the gods punish me for such a selfish prayer?”
“In Yasuo’s opinion the mere ownership of such a wonderful watch made him by rights a favorite with the women.”
When the diving women talk about seeing things you shouldn’t see in the ocean and then dying because of it.
When Shinji goes on the boat trip
“Then Shinji shouted out in a cheerful voice"
"He knew it had been his own strength that had tided him through that perilous night.”
“Chiyokos version of how she had seen Shinji and Hatsue coming down together from the deserted mountain, clinging to each other, certainly did nothing to make the event less compromising; and her story was a staggering blow to Yasuo’s pride.”
“Terukichi was the personification of all Uta-jima’s toil and determination and ambition and strength.”
"phosphorescent glow"
"white flash of his teeth shone through the blackness to prove that he was smiling.”
The theme of love isn’t just shown romantically but is also shown through the mother-son relationship with Shinji and his mother. Shinji's mother cares a lot about her son and “When it came to its being her own son's affair that was the subject of malicious gossip, then there was a motherly duty she would have to perform”. She does everything she can to try and clear her son's name, even if this meant being humiliated in front of the rest of the island. She even tries to talk to Hatsue's father to clear the situation, which just shows the lengths she would go to to protect her son. From the quote “Would just be enough to see the villagers tongues to wagging”. The use of the word ‘wagging’ uses the technique of zoomorphism and is describing the villagers as animals. Although the theme of love is also shown through the way Hatsue and Shinji deal with this situation, the way Shinji's mother cares is just as important. This also shows that the theme of love doesn’t just have to be romanticised and can also be a family bond. All she wants is for her sons to live a happy life with a good future, without any worry or stress.
One instance of Yasuo’s modernity conflicting with nature is represented in this phrase: “Perhaps out of disappointment, the hornet turned its stinger toward the skin at Yasuo’s wrist—and drove it in with all its might.” Yasuo’s plan was debunked by the one thing he had such overwhelming confidence in– modernness and trendiness, specifically his prized possession, a “watch with a luminous dial”. The fact that he was betrayed by the one thing he treasured most is evidence of how opposed the gods of nature were towards him, almost as if Yasuo is nature’s worst enemy, which is fitting towards the constant conflict between him and Shinji, and could almost suggest that Shinji is one with nature. This constant representation of Shinji’s connection with nature by Mishima shows that Mishima is trying to tell the reader that the gods of nature are in Shinji’s favour, and that nature played a big part in bringing Hatsue and Shinji together.