THEME NUMBER 1: The Search for identity... The main character (Takeo) must pretty much start a new life and personality. Doing this, he realizes who he really was in the first place and what he is capable of - supernatural powers : "I did not know if this Takeo was real or just a construction created to serve the purposes of the Tribe and the Otori (p.153)." This quote shows that Takeo is trying to understand his purpose in life.
THEME NUMBER 2: Gender equity... Kaede shows this more than most, thinking that women are treated as if they are not as important as men: "(Kaede) had come to believe that all women should use every weapon they had to protect themselves in the battle that life seemed to be…(p.144)." She wants women to be able to stand up for themselves, like she stood up to the guard who tried to rape her. "Why is it that women have to suffer this way? Why don’t we have the freedom men have? (p.104-4)"
THEME NUMBER 3: Honour... Of course Otori (Shigeru) shows the most honour, and never changes his state of mind: "It is better to die than to live with shame(p.183).
I believe the three key themes in this novel were revenge, women’s rights and loyalty. I will now explain why:
Revenge: Probably one of the most prominent themes in the book. Revenge is what makes up a large part of Takeo. After Takeo is rescued from his village, it is revealed to him that he has supernatural powers. He is part of the Kikuta group; a clan less group, many of which are skilled assassins. When Takeo learns that Lord Iidia was the one who plundered his village, it only adds to his burning desire for revenge. He learns the skills of the Kikuta with a great passion and soon masters them: "I knew nothing of the wars of the clans, nothing of their rigid codes and their feuds. I had spent my whole life among the Hidden who are forbidden to kill and taught to forgive each other. But at that moment Revenge took me as a pupil" (pg. 7). Here is a quote from page 90-91 where Takeo explains how he feels about revenge: “It was true that I disliked cruelty and shrank from the idea of killing. But every day I learned more for Shigeru’s desire for revenge. It seemed to seep from him into me, where it fed my own desire....I could kill, I thought. I could kill Iidia. And then, I will kill him. I will learn how.” We can conclude from this that although Takeo was reluctant to kill, he wished to bring Iidia to justice, even if it meant killing him. When Takeo finally gets to Lord Iidia’s castle and learns that it is Kaede who killed his target, he is filled with mixed emotions. I will now quote from page 314: “Iidia was dead, but I had not killed him. I felt cheated of my revenge, but I could not argue with Fate, which had dealt him through Kaede’s hands. I was both disappointed and mad with relief.” We can conclude that although Takeo burned for revenge, much of it was forced upon him by Shigeru and Kenji and it was a relief to have such a heavy burden relinquished.
Women’s rights: I agree with Jono here, in the book men are portrayed as superior to women. There is no equality between the two sexes. Kaede struggles to cope with this issue the most and is bold enough to ask ‘why?’. She even says (as Jono quoted) “Why is it that women have to suffer this way? Why don’t we have the freedom men have?” (p.104-4)" Which is a pretty fair question. Kaede manages to grow strong though and use her inner strengths to get through the hard times. She is a woman living in a man’s world.
Loyalty: This applies to Takeo the most out of all the characters. Takeo is “like a dog”. He follows other people’s order’s and doesn’t let them down. Takeo always tries to please others, he is a good man. He respects Otori Shigeru the most, saving his life on one occasion. Yet to others such as Kenji, he is forced to please them and to be loyal, almost against his own will. When Takeo is kidnapped by the tribe and finds Kenji responsible, he immediately loses all respect and loyalty to him. Takeo is part of three tribes; the Hidden, the Tribe (Kikuta) and the Otori which ultimately makes his loyalties with each tribe clash with one another. In the end, the Tribe take him away. The question is, will Takeo ever make his own decision without conflicting loyalties? I guess the next book holds that in stall.
I just wanted to add to my comment about women's rights. "What can women do in this world of men? Kaede thought. What protection do we have? Can anyone look after me?" (page 56) This is a strong statement. She is questioning the authority of men and why her life is so unfair. It's a good thing that the world has fixed this matter.
I agree with both jono and Ben, revenge play a big part as a theme in this book, also the same with loyalty. I don’t believe that women’s rights play a big as part as the others do but it is still a theme. All that Takeo is thinking about after Shigeru is killed is revenge and even before that he wants revenge for his parents and brothers and sisters and all his friends who were slaughted at the start of the book.
Also loyalty is a big part because that is how Shigeru has lived his whole life and how he wants Takeo to live his life as well. Loyalty and honour are the two biggest traits that define a man in that time and place.
I would also like to add to my point on gender equity, and express my agreement with Ben's second comment. Sure this book is fictional, but the themes that it incorporates are very relevant to our society. In our western society these days, women are treated the same way men are treated. In nearly every situation, there is no favouritism towards either sex. These rights for women were gained by hard work from people like Kaede. Groups of people like the suffragettes, who chained themselves to fences to fight for women's right to vote. People who have the confidence to stand up and speak for what they believe in are the people that shape this world. People like Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi. Now I am not saying that there was a mystical character in an ancient place who ultimately gave the sexes equality, I was just thinking about how the author Lian Hearn has cleverly woven empathetic themes into a fantasy story.
There were many themes in the book but I have to agree with Jono that one of the main themes in the book was the search for self-identity. Takeo belonged to three different groups. The Hidden, The Otori and The Tribe. He had to balance all of this in with his daily life and sometimes found their paths entwining and Takeo had to choose between one or the other. At the tender age that Takeo is it is a time where you have to find yourself and find who you really are. Being part of more than one group is really just making the whole thing harder for him.
As The Big Ben said another main theme in the book is revenge. Takeo wants to get revenge on the man who killed his people. Ida Samadu who had a great amount of power in the land. When Lord Shigeru dies Takeo is fuelled with revenge and revenge is what the whole book is based on.
As Jono and Ben said it would be hard not to put the rights of women as one of the main themes of the story. Kaede keeps plying with the idea in her mind that it is not fair how women do not have the same rights as men and Ben and Jono quoted Kaede says “Why is it that women have to suffer this way? Why don’t we have the freedom men have?”. This theme is not the biggest theme in the story but it certainly is addressed as an issue in the book.
I agree that loyalty and revenge were main themes of the book but i don't feel that women's rights were hugely emphasized. I feel the third theme may be mourning.
Loyalty: I feel loyalty is the major theme in this novel as Takeo is the most loyal person i have ever heard of. As Shigeru saved him he will now do anything for him. Also after Shigeru has died he will not back out of his deal with the tribe.
Revenge: Throughout the book both Takeo and Shigeru were looking for revenge on Iida. This is a theme because this need for revenge engulfs Takeo and Shigeru and is what moves the story along.
Mourning: Always, both Shigeru and Takeo are in mourning. Takeo for his family and Shigeru for his brother. The mourning is what drives their need for revenge which is what the story revolves around.
I agree agree with Jono and Ben's points, although I think that they have missed out on a point each, and gender equity/women's rights aren't pushed as hard in this book as others in the trilogy. as such, i think the three main themes in the book are; revenge, the search for identity and honour/loyalty. The first theme, revenge, is the most prominent in the book, and is probably the theme the book hinges on, as the story would be so different without the plot to kill Iida. The search for identity is the second most important theme in the book, and the start of the book is based on Takeo's search for his identity after having to renounce his beliefs of The Hidden, and learning of his Tribe skills and honing them, but he is also adopted into the the Otori clan, so he has three conflicting powers that he can chose to align with. The last theme is honour/loyalty and is not portrayed much, but is underlying, such as Takeo's loyalty to Shigeru and Shigeru's honour
8 comments:
THEME NUMBER 1: The Search for identity... The main character (Takeo) must pretty much start a new life and personality. Doing this, he realizes who he really was in the first place and what he is capable of - supernatural powers : "I did not know if this Takeo was real or just a construction created to
serve the purposes of the Tribe and the Otori (p.153)."
This quote shows that Takeo is trying to understand his purpose in life.
THEME NUMBER 2: Gender equity... Kaede shows this more than most, thinking that women are treated as if they are not as important as men: "(Kaede) had come to believe that all women should use every weapon they had to protect
themselves in the battle that life seemed to be…(p.144)." She wants women to be able to stand up for themselves, like she stood up to the guard who tried to rape her.
"Why is it that women have to suffer this way? Why don’t we have the freedom men have?
(p.104-4)"
THEME NUMBER 3: Honour... Of course Otori (Shigeru) shows the most honour, and never changes his state of mind: "It is better to die than to live with shame(p.183).
I believe the three key themes in this novel were revenge, women’s rights and loyalty. I will now explain why:
Revenge: Probably one of the most prominent themes in the book. Revenge is what makes up a large part of Takeo. After Takeo is rescued from his village, it is revealed to him that he has supernatural powers. He is part of the Kikuta group; a clan less group, many of which are skilled assassins. When Takeo learns that Lord Iidia was the one who plundered his village, it only adds to his burning desire for revenge. He learns the skills of the Kikuta with a great passion and soon masters them: "I knew nothing of the wars of the clans, nothing of their rigid codes and their feuds. I had spent my whole life among the Hidden who are forbidden to kill and taught to forgive each other. But at that moment Revenge took me as a pupil" (pg. 7). Here is a quote from page 90-91 where Takeo explains how he feels about revenge: “It was true that I disliked cruelty and shrank from the idea of killing. But every day I learned more for Shigeru’s desire for revenge. It seemed to seep from him into me, where it fed my own desire....I could kill, I thought. I could kill Iidia. And then, I will kill him. I will learn how.” We can conclude from this that although Takeo was reluctant to kill, he wished to bring Iidia to justice, even if it meant killing him. When Takeo finally gets to Lord Iidia’s castle and learns that it is Kaede who killed his target, he is filled with mixed emotions. I will now quote from page 314: “Iidia was dead, but I had not killed him. I felt cheated of my revenge, but I could not argue with Fate, which had dealt him through Kaede’s hands. I was both disappointed and mad with relief.” We can conclude that although Takeo burned for revenge, much of it was forced upon him by Shigeru and Kenji and it was a relief to have such a heavy burden relinquished.
Women’s rights: I agree with Jono here, in the book men are portrayed as superior to women. There is no equality between the two sexes. Kaede struggles to cope with this issue the most and is bold enough to ask ‘why?’. She even says (as Jono quoted) “Why is it that women have to suffer this way? Why don’t we have the freedom men have?” (p.104-4)" Which is a pretty fair question. Kaede manages to grow strong though and use her inner strengths to get through the hard times. She is a woman living in a man’s world.
Loyalty: This applies to Takeo the most out of all the characters. Takeo is “like a dog”. He follows other people’s order’s and doesn’t let them down. Takeo always tries to please others, he is a good man. He respects Otori Shigeru the most, saving his life on one occasion. Yet to others such as Kenji, he is forced to please them and to be loyal, almost against his own will. When Takeo is kidnapped by the tribe and finds Kenji responsible, he immediately loses all respect and loyalty to him. Takeo is part of three tribes; the Hidden, the Tribe (Kikuta) and the Otori which ultimately makes his loyalties with each tribe clash with one another. In the end, the Tribe take him away. The question is, will Takeo ever make his own decision without conflicting loyalties? I guess the next book holds that in stall.
I just wanted to add to my comment about women's rights. "What can women do in this world of men? Kaede thought. What protection do we have? Can anyone look after me?" (page 56) This is a strong statement. She is questioning the authority of men and why her life is so unfair. It's a good thing that the world has fixed this matter.
I agree with both jono and Ben, revenge play a big part as a theme in this book, also the same with loyalty. I don’t believe that women’s rights play a big as part as the others do but it is still a theme. All that Takeo is thinking about after Shigeru is killed is revenge and even before that he wants revenge for his parents and brothers and sisters and all his friends who were slaughted at the start of the book.
Also loyalty is a big part because that is how Shigeru has lived his whole life and how he wants Takeo to live his life as well. Loyalty and honour are the two biggest traits that define a man in that time and place.
I would also like to add to my point on gender equity, and express my agreement with Ben's second comment. Sure this book is fictional, but the themes that it incorporates are very relevant to our society. In our western society these days, women are treated the same way men are treated. In nearly every situation, there is no favouritism towards either sex. These rights for women were gained by hard work from people like Kaede. Groups of people like the suffragettes, who chained themselves to fences to fight for women's right to vote. People who have the confidence to stand up and speak for what they believe in are the people that shape this world. People like Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi. Now I am not saying that there was a mystical character in an ancient place who ultimately gave the sexes equality, I was just thinking about how the author Lian Hearn has cleverly woven empathetic themes into a fantasy story.
There were many themes in the book but I have to agree with Jono that one of the main themes in the book was the search for self-identity. Takeo belonged to three different groups. The Hidden, The Otori and The Tribe. He had to balance all of this in with his daily life and sometimes found their paths entwining and Takeo had to choose between one or the other. At the tender age that Takeo is it is a time where you have to find yourself and find who you really are. Being part of more than one group is really just making the whole thing harder for him.
As The Big Ben said another main theme in the book is revenge. Takeo wants to get revenge on the man who killed his people. Ida Samadu who had a great amount of power in the land. When Lord Shigeru dies Takeo is fuelled with revenge and revenge is what the whole book is based on.
As Jono and Ben said it would be hard not to put the rights of women as one of the main themes of the story. Kaede keeps plying with the idea in her mind that it is not fair how women do not have the same rights as men and Ben and Jono quoted Kaede says “Why is it that women have to suffer this way? Why don’t we have the freedom men have?”. This theme is not the biggest theme in the story but it certainly is addressed as an issue in the book.
I agree that loyalty and revenge were main themes of the book but i don't feel that women's rights were hugely emphasized. I feel the third theme may be mourning.
Loyalty: I feel loyalty is the major theme in this novel as Takeo is the most loyal person i have ever heard of. As Shigeru saved him he will now do anything for him. Also after Shigeru has died he will not back out of his deal with the tribe.
Revenge: Throughout the book both Takeo and Shigeru were looking for revenge on Iida. This is a theme because this need for revenge engulfs Takeo and Shigeru and is what moves the story along.
Mourning: Always, both Shigeru and Takeo are in mourning. Takeo for his family and Shigeru for his brother. The mourning is what drives their need for revenge which is what the story revolves around.
I agree agree with Jono and Ben's points, although I think that they have missed out on a point each, and gender equity/women's rights aren't pushed as hard in this book as others in the trilogy. as such, i think the three main themes in the book are; revenge, the search for identity and honour/loyalty.
The first theme, revenge, is the most prominent in the book, and is probably the theme the book hinges on, as the story would be so different without the plot to kill Iida.
The search for identity is the second most important theme in the book, and the start of the book is based on Takeo's search for his identity after having to renounce his beliefs of The Hidden, and learning of his Tribe skills and honing them, but he is also adopted into the the Otori clan, so he has three conflicting powers that he can chose to align with.
The last theme is honour/loyalty and is not portrayed much, but is underlying, such as Takeo's loyalty to Shigeru and Shigeru's honour
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