Characterisation

=You need to create some notes for one of Mishima's characters and (eventually) post them here. This is a test of your literary understanding (do you understand what Mishima is doing and why he is doing it) AND your language skills (can you write in a clear, academic way which will help your classmates?) No pressure, but remember that these notes will be used by other students FOREVER!= = = =To create notes on a character: identify the 'important' parts of the novel for that character. Read and annotate those, looking at both the things the character does and (more importantly, perhaps) the language used to describe the character and his or her actions. Discuss the character's relationships with others. What is the purpose of the character? Are they used as a vehicle to convey a theme? (For example, the Little Chinese Seamstress is used to communicate the theme of independence, growing up, beauty and so on.) How and when is this done? Is the character just a one-dimensional vehicle (a CIPHER) used to represent something else (like Bernarda Alba, arguably) or is there an attempt to problematise / complicate the character and make it more like a real human being (like Shakespeare's characters)? Are any particular symbols associated with the character (Bernarda's cane; Offred's cloak; Hamlet's skull; McLovin's ID card...)? Is the character a vehicle for the writer's voice (like Adela in __Bernarda Alba__ perhaps) or is there a completely fictionalised voice? Is the character constructed primarily through plot (the things they do - like Katharina Blum), through dialogue (the things they say - like Othello) or through imagery and symbolism (like Noboru)? Or indeed, through a mixture of these things (like all of the above)?=

= = =Fusako (start with chapter 3) = =Noboru (start with chapter 1) = =Ryuji (start with chapter 2) = =The Chief (start with chapter 5) = =Yoriko and Shibuya=