The Driving Pool

The Driving Pool is a compilation of three stories written by Yoko Ogawa, an award winning novelist from Japan. The Driving Pool revolves around the experiences of Aya, a young female narrator (James 1).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Driving Pool specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Aya is orphaned in a number of ways. For example, her parents are too busy in the wards and cannot create time to attend to her needs. It is against this background that Aya (who is emotionally abandoned by her parents) decide to shower Jun (a young athlete) with all her devotion and love. Jun has lived at the Light House for a decade now. Nonetheless, acquaintance does not rekindle disdain for Aya. Her feelings for Aya are not sisterly. Aya’s obsession with Jun is manifested when she spent most of her free time in the bleachers looking at Jun practice his favorite sport. When Aya is not in the bleachers, she idles around the home eager to bump into Jun. It appears that Jun feels the same way towards Aya (James 2). This tale could have had a merry ending if Aya had not subjected her loneliness and pain upon others. The seductive force of cruelty is manifested when Aya resorts to torture Rie (the youngest toddler at the orphanage) for pleasure. In spite of the fact that Aya’s actions are distressing, most of the readers are sympathetic with her deeds because they understand their origins. It seems the author has excelled in demonstrating how natural feelings can be overturned into anomalous ones and how benevolence can coexist with malevolence (James 3). It goes without saying that The Diving Pool examines the intensity of our intricate dark natures. Nevertheless, The Diving Pool does not sanitize anything in the process. It is a simple moral story that seems to suggest the impeding devastating revenge for the young woman (James 3). Majusi is the author of the internationally acclaimed book titled Black Rain. It astonishes that whenever a book dwells upon serious issues such as genocide, lynching, or Hiroshima bombing; it will frequently receive a rare evaluation irrespective of the manner in which subject at hand is presented. Black Rain focuses on a teenage girl who is caught in the middle of the radioactive â€Å"Black Rain† that ensued after Hiroshima was bombed. The writer based his novel on accounts of real-life records and dialogue with the victims of the holocaust. In his book, he manages to disclose the extent of suffering of human as a result of the atomic bomb (Schneider 1). In the novel Black Rain, the author narrates the manner in which the life of Yasuko that was altered forever as a result of the Hiroshima bombing.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The author describes how the attack caused him periodic bouts of radiation sickness and her suspic ions that her future generations may be affected too. Ibuse presents the horrific incident with a tinge of moderate humor which he is commonly known for. His compassion to the multifaceted web of feeling in a customary community dilapidated by the devastating attack has made the Black Rain one of the most highly recognize novel (Schneider 3). The novel talks about the survivors who witnessed the Hiroshima bomb as it unfolded. Nonetheless, the writer neither asks for sympathy from the readers nor blames anyone for the event. On the contrary, but he focuses his attention on the catastrophe itself from the human point of view. The author and those around him maintain a deep sense of self-respect and significance for human life and experience which stands out in the entire days after the Hiroshima bombing. In his account, he talks about the suffering many victims had to endure during and after the bombing and his description leave the reader less than pleasant. In the Black Rain novel, the author does not hold the back the information about the bombing nor try to overwhelm the readers with cheap words to narrate the devastating outcomes of the attack. He simply employs an exceptional narrative style that describes the suffering of the victims (Schneider 4). Pregnancy Diary is the second story in this collection. To most readers, Pregnancy Diary appears to be more complicated and even bleaker. Just like the other two stories, Pregnancy Diary talks about a displaced young female narrator. The diary in question is a vivid account of a woman concerning her sister’s pregnancy. Pregnancy Diary bears semblance to the other two tales because it is filled with horrific tales. It is worthy to mention that Pregnancy Diary does not dwell upon the foetus but on revulsion, food and greed as the narrator prepares an intoxicated grapefruit jam for her sister. Pregnancy Diary reveals the emotional turmoil that the children had to endure following the tragic and untimely dea th of their parents. According to this tale, it is very difficult to establish whose delusions are prevailing in this world of emotional haziness (James 4). All women featured in Ogawa’s tales are basically numbed and emotionless as they attempt to gain power by subjecting their weaker specimens to cruel deeds. Their disturbing inertia in reaction to their limited roles is counterpoised with vicious twists and turns which the author portrays with a distinctive coolness of tone. The sense of emotional estrangement, of cultural universality as well as the use of weird disappearance cuts across the three tales (Briscoe 7). Dormitory is the last tale in this collection. Dormitory rarely qualifies as a bedtime story because it is filled with dark twists and turns in spite of the fact that there is some ray of hope as the horrific tale comes to an end. Nonetheless, Dormitory leaves many questions unanswered (James 5).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Drivi ng Pool specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, why is the young wife not attempting to search and save her cousin? What is behind the bizarre inertia contaminating her right from the start? What would she have found behind her cousin’s bolted door? And what exactly is happening to the landlord? In Dormitory, a woman in Tokyo is busy sewing a patchwork coverlet as she waits to join her husband in Sweden. Meanwhile, her young cousin calls to inquire if she can reside in the college dormitory where she once lived as a student. In the meantime, the manager of the hall of residence is a terminally ill amputee infatuated with body parts of healthier students. As the cousin takes residence at the college dormitory and disappears later, the narrator is drawn into a distorted world full of garish tulip colors and sickly buzzing of bees that threatens to overwhelm the ordinary daily life as a background to insanity. It seems that the author has met all the preconditions that qualify a story to be regarded as horrific (Briscoe 8). Ogawa has successfully depicted the workings of human psychology in her three tales. The author has been able to demonstrate her in-depth knowledge of psychological workings through her wonderful and well-executed pose. Reading Ogawa’s tales is synonymous to entering an illusory state that is filled with frightening scenes (Briscoe 9). The narrators of both Pregnancy Diary and The Diving Pool commit dreadful acts (poisoning an expectant woman and tormenting a young orphaned toddler). They commit these horrendous acts as if by impulse and do not care of the possible consequences of their actions. It is worthy to mention that the three tales bear similarities in terms of structure and arrogance. Nevertheless, The Diving Pool is an exceptional tale that depicts an author whose evocative, disconcerting narrative style speaks more by leaving some details unarticulated (Briscoe 9). Works Cited Briscoe, Joanna. â€Å"Dark Side of the Dormitory.† 2 Aug. 2008. Web. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/aug/02/fiction5. James, Victoria. â€Å"The Diving Pool, by Yoko Ogawa: Everyday Horror in Suburban Tokyo.† 8 Aug. 2008. Web. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-diving-pool-by-yoko-ogawa-trans-stephen-snyder-887841.html.Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Schneider, Jessica. â€Å"Book Review: Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse.† 16 Jan. 2011. Web. 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A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Summary

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Summary A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Summary NOTE! The below paper is just an example written by one of our staff writers. If you need an original summary of A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings or a paper on a different topic, feel free to place your order. In the short story A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a Colombian writer, talks about Pelayo and Elisenda, a couple who found an old man in their yard. This man had wings. Pelayo and his wife tried communicating with him but in vain. They eventually got their neighbor woman who informed them that he was an angel who had come for their ailing child. As a result, they kept the angel in a chicken coop when their child developed a fever. At sunrise, the whole community had landed to see the angel (Marquez, 1999). In any case, when Father Gonzaga came, he announced that the man was fake. He vowed to get the genuine truth from the church’s higher court. On the other hand, news about the angel spread widely, and many people came to see it. As a result, Elisenda decided to charge a fee of five cents for one to view the angel, believing they will finally get rich. The group left when a carnival flaunting a Spider Woman arrived to the village. Observers scrutinized her, and she disclosed to them how she was transformed into a tarantula one night when she disobeyed her folks. This seemed appealing to the majority than the old winged man who could overlook the individuals around him. Along these lines, the curious villagers before long left the angel for the creepy-crawly, leaving the yard of Pelayo. Afterwards, Pelayo and Elisenda constructed a mansion with all the cash they had gathered and ignored the angel, consequently keeping their child from drawing near to the chicken coop (Marquez, 1999). Ultimately, the elderly person turned into a piece of their life, and they never again dreaded him. The kid could visit him regularly. Inevitably, the chicken coop broke, and they enabled him to move around their home, even though it caused Elisenda much pain. At last, Elisenda watched him fly away to her extraordinary help. A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Characters The Old Man The old man in the A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings story appeared in the yard of Pelayo and Elisenda looking squalid and tousled. He had wings and could communicate in an unknown language that nobody could understand. His wings and incoherent language prompted a few people to accept that he was an angel and the church to think he was a Norwegian. Pelayo He is the spouse to Elsenda. He is an unfortunate and ordinary resident who hesitantly shielded the winged elderly man in his chicken coop. Pelayo protected the elderly man against harm by modestly consulting the village priest. However, he could oppose progressively indulgent advice he got from different locals. Elisenda She is the spouse of Pelayo. Elisenda persuades Pelayo to charge residents to see the elderly person, yet, later believes him to be a nuisance. A reasonable lady, she fundamentally worries about the welfare of Pelayo and their kid and is consequently relieved when the old man at last leaves. Father Gonzaga He is an authority figure in the community who acts as a priest. He willingly volunteered to observe whether the elderly person is an angel as the townsfolk accept or only a human with wings. Father Gonzaga is doubtful that the grimy elderly person could be a messenger from heavens, yet he obediently reports the occasion to his superiors in the church. The Neighbor Woman She is the bossy neighbor to Pelayo and Elisenda. The savvy neighbor lady appeared to be more similar to a silly know-it-all than a good advisor and is the first to recommend that the elderly person is an incapacitated holy messenger. She went ahead to advise Pelayo to club the old man to death. This way he would keep him from taking Pelayo and Elisenda’s child. The Spider Woman The spider woman is depicted as the monstrosity show attraction who visits the village. The spider lady had the body of a colossal creepy crawly and the head of a miserable young lady. A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Themes Theme 1: faith Faith is one of the essential themes in A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings short story. People in this community show an inconsistency of faith. In the story A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, Marquez focuses on the weakness of the faith of people. The author adds the angel as a symbol of faith in God. However, despite this evidence, the villagers questioned the mundane external characteristics of the angel. According to Marquez (1999), the angel seemed too much of a human. When the spider woman, who was another mythical creature, arrived in town, the villagers lost their interest in the old man. Additionally, Marquez states that the villagers asked her all sorts of questions about her as she narrated her story. As a result, the villagers believed her story behind her transformation, unlike the old man who ignored everyone around him. However, the villagers did not have any factual evidence. Theme 2: supernatural Another theme evident in the story is supernatural. Here, the old man is viewed as creepy, supernatural or spiritual. However, the village priest needs time to consult. However, according to the crowd and the neighbor woman, the old man is an angel. Theme 3: suffering Suffering is another theme portrayed in the story. The old man enters the yard in bad condition that seems to get even worse. The old man is also subjected to many questions from the curious villagers. He is trapped in a chicken coop, poked, prodded and neglected. A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Symbolism In the A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings story, Marquez has used symbolism to convey a deep meaning to the story The old man with wings One of the most visible symbols is the old man with wings. Here, this old man is perceived to be an angel. He is used to symbolizing the unknown or unfamiliar that seems to be appearing in the civilized community (Marquez, 1999). However, the angel in the story is not treated like other heaven-sent creatures. The angel, in this perspective, symbolizes the faith people have in whatever they believe. As a result, apart from the many wings that the angel had, the people were not entirely convinced he was an angel. The chicken coop The chicken coop, as used in A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings short story, is equally symbolic. It is used to show the boxed belief that the people in this community have. When people from different places came to know that the old man was an angel, they could plug and prod the old man in an attempt to test who he was. However, the old man did not meet their expectations. This is a clear indication that this community has boxed its ideas into what they believe. The spider woman According to the story, the spider woman is another symbol. She is used to showing the introduction of another freak of nature. This woman shows the faith that people of this community had and how they could easily be swayed when the unique creature arrived in their community. As a result, the people shifted their attention to the spider woman who could eat mothballs and ignored the existence of the old man. A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Analysis In the A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Mrquez has utilized a few inventive diversions from the primary storyline to make the interpretation progressively subtle. Amid the story diversions, the techniques and themes that are used turn out to be indistinguishably entwined. The old man is the main character in the story with each event bearing on him. Notwithstanding, the conduct, appearance, personality and the attention given to the old man is hindered repeatedly by shifts of focus to different characters, which are, once in a while, named and depicted finally (Marquez, 1999). The noticeable quality of the storyteller occupies the readers. The story falters between the perspective of the omniscient storyteller and that of local people, independently and collectively. For example, Father Gonzaga reveals his questions about the old man. The readers of A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings children’s story appear to occupy a place that is better than that of its characters, who view old people as jokesters and accept that their neighbors have supernatural powers. The attitude of the readers is critical concerning the role of invention and interpretation. The reader acknowledges innovativeness in itself and makes sense of how to perceive its advantaged position in the story. The redirections from the basic storyline give innovation need over closure or action. The reader approaches the interpretation carefully, as attributing symbolic characteristics to either the elderly person or his baffling vanishing may be acts of inconsequential analysis. References Marquez, G. G. (1999). A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings.Leaf Storm and Other Stories.