Wonderful Fool Essays

Through the interactive orals, I have come to appreciate the purpose of the book, Wonderful Fool. At first, I considered Endo’s work to be a journey of a Christ-like character whose foolishness and love for others inspires them to be better. What I didn’t recognize was the huge element of a cultural clash in the novel. It was pointed out to me during Jonathan’s presentation that Gaston, who represents France and in general a westernized world, comes into a now economically thriving post WW2 Japan

Hamlet and Ophelia “This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once… I loved you not” (3.1.114,119). Confusion clouds the audience’s judgement reading this quote from Hamlet. His paradox insinuates that he is insane and truly did not love her. Contrary to belief though, this quote was a way to set his “mousetrap” and force her to be in the background of his grand scheme. The audience must draw conclusions concerning their relationship because their love is not

The common definition of the word fool is “ A silly person or simpleton who is deficient in judgment or sense or acts or behaves stupidly” (“Fool,” Oxford English Dictionary). When mentioning to a natural or born mental disability specifically, it means “a weak-minded or idiotic person who is deficient in, or destitute of, reason or intellect” (OED). It is also defined as “A dupe who is made to appear a fool or is imposed on by others”(OED). Additionally, it indicated “a jester or clown who professionally

As Erasmus praises in his Praise of Folly, there is something wondrous about a “fool.” The fool lives outside of the bounds of “polite society” and can therefore be honest, sometimes brutally so, when the rest of society cannot. Yet, he is a fool; in some way, he has diminished capacities that cause him to be in a position of disrespect. Cervante’s Sancho Panza is a complex and fascinating figure of a fool; a simpleton who is ridiculed by society, yet is constantly trying (and is perhaps crucial)

Explore Gaston as a Christ-like figure in Shusaku Endo’s Wonderful Fool In the novel Wonderful Fool, Shusaku Endo draws a clear parallel between Jesus Christ in the Bible and Gaston Bonaparte, the protagonist. Throughout the novel, Endo illustrates Gaston’s pilgrimage in Japan and highlights his Christ-like characteristics through strange encounters, such as those with the stray mongrel, the Higaki siblings and Endo the killer. The four aspects of Gaston that resembles that of Christ; compassion

TS Eliot talks about historical consciousness in his essay “Tradition and Individual Talent” in which he writes that even the most original artist of the modern age, is, infact, under the greatest obligation to the old masters of art and poetry. T.S Eliot has been widely appreciated for mirroring the sensibilities of the new age through a new idiom. New age is the time when an almost final break down of a pre-industrial way of life, and economy and also of the human values of agricultural life,

Relatively all authors are very fond of creating an underlying message to criticize society. Authors do this through social commentary. The book “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is no exception. The author, Oscar Wilde, criticizes the upper class through the consistent underlying idea that people are often deceived by one's beauty and are unable to understand the poison that fills the world is corrupting it. From the beginning of this book, the social commentary towards the upper class begins with

As new electronics are being invented, our society gradually becomes more addicted as the days pass. People become reliant on technology and find themselves unable to connect with others and the outside world. Alienation plays a major role in Fahrenheit 451 as Bradbury expresses this theme through the characters, Montag’s society, and how it occurs and affects people in reality. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury establishes the theme of alienation through the characters. Montag also

The tempest is the last play by Shakespeare. Although it is the last one, it is “the opening play in almost all the complete collections of Shakespeare’s plays ever since the first folio edition of Shakespeare’s plays…The tempest is unquestionably one of the best plays by Shakespeare”, as Zhang Siyang, a famous Shakespeare critic once pointed out in An Introduction to Shakespeare. From this we can see that the tempest assumes an important position in all Shakespeare’s plays. In this tale, every

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a novella about the American Dream two friends have. The novel describes the lifestyle of two poor workers who have long-term plans to live a happy and successful life on a farm ranch. Steinbeck demonstrates in this novella that sometimes to get to the ultimate destination, there can always be a bumpy road along the way. In the novel, there were several examples of actions with good intentions giving tragic outcomes. Those are examples of bumps on the road.

Oedipus Rex and the Aristotelian Tragic Hero If you were to google the world tragedy, you would probably be left with multiple definitions that all say something along the lines of a tragedy is a play with tragic events and an unhappy ending. Despite what the dictionary may say, a tragedy is much more than that. Born in ancient Greece around the sixth century BCE, they evolved throughout the ages with Elizabethan tragedy blossoming in the sixteenth century, the Neoclassical tragedy developing in

Truth constitutes as a pivotal plot device throughout King Lear… (answer question). Lear’s banishment of Cordelia launches the norm of punishing truth, exclusive to the Fool, who in extremis signifies self-preservation, a voice of common sense and pragmatisms, causing his response to the mind-driven tempest of Lear of urging him to avoid the storm, self-confrontation and the failures of his tragic hubris. Consequently, Lear (“take my coxcomb”), Kent and Edgar attempt to usurp the Fool’s privileges

MOBY DICK AND SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDY Moby Dick is a revenge tale about the revengeful quest of a wounded man for the powerful force of nature; Moby Dick; and the perishing memories of the questors and the wounded questor into the deep perils of the sea, who engulfs all; leaving one as the sole survivor and witness to unveil and unfold the awful revenge tragedy of stubbornness that outlived the American imagination. Richard Chase in his book describes Moby dick as “the most startling and characteristic

his appreciation for the role foolishness plays in the human life. For all earthly existence, Erasmus’s Folly states that “you'll find nothing frolic or fortunate that it owes not to me [folly]” (The Praise of Folly, 14). Moreover, she states that “fools are so vastly pleasing to God; the reason being, I suggest, that just as great princes look suspiciously on men who are too clever, and hate them – as Julius Caesar suspected and hated Brutus and Cassius while he did not fear drunken Antony at all…they

Romeo & Juliet William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet entails a story of a young impulsive love that ends in a disaster. This traces the secret romantic relationship between the two families in Verona, as they carry an ancient feud, deepening from generation to generation. Romeo—a Montague—falls deeply in love with Juliet—a Capulet—at a masquerade ball arranged by Juliet’s father. Later during the night, these two lovers expose their love to each other as they decide to marry each

Oedipus’ tragedy as a result of his freely made decisions Are people truly responsible for their actions or they are just puppets in hand of Gods or people and executors of the fate that is pre-recorded? The question of determinism towards free will has occupied humankind almost over the centuries. Usually fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls the individuals and influence their decisions and actions. In ancient Greece the religion played important role in everyday-life of the Greeks

Fate is the predetermination of the events in one’s life by the gods in the way of Greek mythology. Mortals are subject to their fate and are left with no choice but to let it play out in their lives. The idea of challenging fate and the gods will is a recurring theme in greek mythology, such as in The Theban Plays, by Sophocles. Sophocles uses the main characters in The Theban Plays as key examples to the audience of people whose overzealous hubris and overwhelming curiosity inevitably lead them

Most novels usually include various symbols to affect the dynamics of the story. In The Great Gatsby, by Scott F. Fitzgerald, color is symbolically used to develop the various themes presented throughout the story. The Great Gatsby contains five main characters, Nick Carraway, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Jay Gatsby. Nick Carraway is a young man who moved to West Egg, where “new money” lives. He becomes a bond salesman and gets put in the middle of Gatsby’s dream and determination of

The Antithetic Ways of Love Love appears to materialize whenever, however, and to whomever it pleases, not often leading its victim to consider its many forms. Courtly love, established in the medieval days, and romantic love, a more popular present-day form of love, both play a role in society and in William Shakespeare’s influential play, Twelfth Night. Additionally, Noël Bonneuil’s article, “Arrival of Courtly Love: Moving in the Emotional Space,” as well as Camille Slight’s, “The Principle of

"Godfather Death," is a short story written by Brothers Grimm. It is about a poor father’s 13th son. The father already had 12 sons. He gave his 13th son to Death to be his godson; since he was very poor. When the son grew up and became doctor, he tried to deceive the Death and as a result, the Death could not tolerate his action and took the protagonist’s (the son, or doctor’s) life. 1. Conflict: A. The plot of the story is based on the conflict. Conflict is the main issue that happens between