Simplicity at its best.

Interesting Fact of the Day: YouTube was first launched in the United States on February 15, 2005.

Since it was first launched, exactly six years ago, the popular online site has grown tremendously, gaining more and more viewers to this day. This led me to question why some online sites are successful, while others are not. The answer is easy: its simplicity. Users around the world have acknowledged this as the reason for their success. Not only are sites such as Google and YouTube user-friendly, the concept behind them is also simple. YouTube was established to broadcast videos, while Google was created as an "idiot-proof" search engine. These ideas are simple, and can be applied by anyone, anywhere. It is this simplicity that has established the success of these popular sites.

This idea of simplicity particularly relates to Japanese language. When translated to English, the words and meaning of the novel (The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea) seem distant and, in a sense, cold. However, this is due to the simplicity of the language, where the characters represent words and have intricate meanings behind them. However, it is this simplicity that renders the novel so interesting. Without going into extravagant details, Mishima is able to convey his thoughts and ideas effectively, creating a beautiful novel. I suppose that it is with this that readers are able to understand the true meaning of simplicity as the "ultimate sophistication." (Leonardo da Vinci)

A love worth dying for....

"A love worth dying for, a love that consumes you" (Mishima, 41) 

Since tomorrow is Valentines Day, it is kind of necessary to mention something that had to do with love, or happiness. When I made this realization, I realized that I knew the perfect quote, noted above. Ryuji, a sailor, is not speaking about Fusako, the lady he is in love with, but rather, the sea. The sea is his idea of glory, his idea of happiness. To Ryuji, the sea is a kind of salvation, something he uses to detach himself "from the land forever". However, it later becomes his whole life, something that completely consumes him. Only when he detaches himself from it, to marry Fusako does he feel unhappy, out of place. Ironically enough, it is Noboru, the son of Fusako, that reunites him with the sea, using a unique approach-one that will remain unnamed, since I don't want to completely ruin the story.

Summer and Winter

"It was the spring of hope, the winter of despair"  (A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens)

In The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, the two different parts are titled Summer and Winter, each representing not only the activities taking place, but also the characters' psyches and relationships. For Noboru, summer was quite literally a time of hope, where he hopes to experience joy and happiness. He learns about ships and the life of a sailor, and even creates an indestructible order. However, as time passes by, he feels more anger accumulate within him, as Ryuji breaks this circle of life.

I truly believe that one's surroundings and environment do influence one's psyche. I feel that in the summertime, I do feel a lot happier, or actually, energetic. In the winter, when I am enclosed inside, without sunlight and merely darkness, I do feel a lot gloomier, without energy. Although I realize that winter is just as beautiful, summer air just has a different feel, a relaxed feel. But, I guess that's life. You have to feel sadness to know what happiness is.

The Universal Order

The concept of the ideal order or "circle of life" is not a new one. However, in The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea, this outline of one's model life is revealed by the protagonist, Noboru. In his mind, the universal order is this:

Noboru and mother-mother and man-man and sea-sea and Noboru...

Although I understand the desire to create a safe, structured diamond connecting the relationships of many people, I don't identity with need to establish an imaginary arrangement that could be destroyed easily. Noboru himself realizes this, recognizing that the destruction of his order would mean "the end of the world" (13). This forces the reader to question the true idea of relationships and whether, subconsciously, we ourselves create a composition that embodies our idea of perfection. To Noboru, the above configuration is rendered perfect. Only later in the novel does he realize the pain stakes that he must endure to keep this state of perfection alive, bringing about the query of what humans will endure to maintain the idealistic view of perfection.