Prized Possessions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Prized Possessions" (愛玩, Aigan) is a short story written by Yasuoka Shōtarō in 1952. It was translated into English by Edwin McClellan and published in a volume entitled Contemporary Japanese Literature in 1977. The text is highly allegorical as it serves as a commentary on the dialectical forces present in the reconstruction of Japanese society in the wake of its postwar period. In doing so, the story constantly alludes to the reversal of conventional Japanese values and gender roles occurring at the time.
Plot
Setting
- The “house,“ the only physical setting in the story.
Main Characters
- Son: The narrator “I“ who suffers from Pott's disease, which he got during the war.
- Father: A traumatic and pathetic man who grows obsessed with his rabbits.
- Mother: The backbone of her household who initiates the sale of Father's rabbits.
Supporting Characters
- Father's acquaintance
- Mother's guest
The story begins with the speaker's groaning and cynical comment on "poverty," in which he redefines it as something highly substantial than what many people consider it to be, something "that clings to you" (111). As the narrator "I" goes on to describe the unfavorable circumstances surrounding his family, his critical attitude toward the family and contemporary Japanese society stands out. In his view, both units of the community seem to lack the "capacity to manage its affairs" with weakening patriarchal figures (111). As a result, there is now an unmistakable sign of havoc in every corner of the house, the "whirlpool of rubbish" (112). Yet another disorderly factor arrives to the house after "one of Father’s former subordinate officers" visits him one day (112). In defiance of postwar trauma that has prevented him from leaving the house, Father, dressed up and gone out the next morning, brings home rabbits.
As time progresses, the protagonist sees disorder and annoyance in these animals and is often disturbed by their enervating sound. His parents, on the other hand, find delight and hope, undoubting that the rabbits would earn them "eight thousand yen a month" (112). As Father's devotion to the rabbits and their babies—though it initially infuses some kind of meaning into his life—grows into an obsession, the "I" starts to perceive the impact of such transformation. More than often, the son feels the need to secure his "plates" and "hair" in fear of having them taken away by Father for the sake of "those disgusting creatures," and the Mother also starts to nurse the babies rather ‘maternally’ (115; 116; 112). Only after the house has turned into a dirty hutch, and she sells her own clothes to provide their food, does Mother realize that the household is overwhelmed by their presence and make an arrangement with the "meat buyer" (117). As the man pedals away his bicycle after a brief encounter with the family members, the story ends with the family members watching him in silence.
Narratology
Narrative Structure: "Prized Possessions" is presented from the perspective of a young, immature male whom we can refer to as "I." The narrative's tone is both bitter and melancholy—especially towards the Father, as well as apathetic. Though not indicated in the English translation, the narrator uses boku to refer to himself in the original Japanese text, a pronoun used to indicate ‘I' among young males. Even though the narrator feels resentful towards his father as well as skeptical about his scheme to make yards of cloth and earn money with the rabbits, he seems to comply with the rest of the family in the end.
Literary Devices
- Allusion: The sound of rabbits, "chu, chu," which appears frequently throughout the text, evokes the Hirohito surrender broadcast when the Emperor's speech was broadcast on the radio for the first time in Japanese history. This "strange," "futile" and "profoundly disappointing" cry explicitly alludes to the emotion the Japanese nation would have really felt when they heard the Emperor's voice on the radio (113). As the "I" explains in the next sentence, rabbits make such sound for fear of danger from burglars and stray dogs, which also seems to underline the contemporary, new victimization of Japanese people of themselves as a result of the war.
- Juxtaposition: The juxtaposition in this text chiefly serves to create the sense of disorder predominating the house on multiple levels. The precise "kind of confusion" in the character's perspective is materialized and realized through the list of Father's rather meaningless possessions: "his veterinarian’s saw, scalpel, glass fragments, seeds of unusual plants, his old rank badges, khaki-colored thread wound around a leather bobbin, and so on" (111; 112). Most of these items are identifiable only with Father's past as "a professional soldier;" in fact, Father seems to think "as though he were still at the front" (111). In other words, this juxtaposition of practically useless items reinforces, very effectively, the stuffiness that fills the house's physical space, as well as Father's traumatic state which hinders him from adapting to the Japanese postwar period.
- Irony (Humor): As the story progresses, Father starts to resemble the rabbits he so frantically cares about. The narrator, at one point, says that his father eats his food by "biting with his front teeth," causing the narrator to think "of him as being one of [the rabbits]" (115). Initially the rabbits are a means of producing wealth for the family, but they rather seem to produce "confusion" on everyone (111). Father also starts to mirror the habits of the animals so closely that his initial plan to use them as an economic means becomes even more unattainable than before. The irony in the reversal of the primary functions of the characters and means, made all the more humorous by the vivid mergence of Father and his rabbits, is one literary device in the text.