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ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4419-5896
Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Japanese
Degree Type
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2020
Month Degree Awarded
May
Abstract
The goal of this thesis is to examine the theme of community in two translated works, Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow: Our Minamata Disease and Lake of Heaven, by Ishimure Michiko. I analyze how Ishimure defines a community, and I also look at the tension between insiders of the community with outsiders. Next, I look at Ishimure’s use of genre in Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow; she blends autofiction, autobiography, and illness narratives to give different perspectives to reflect on the Minamata disease health crisis. Through this analysis, I also look at the shift in Ishimure’s tone toward outsiders, moving from anger to reconciliation between the texts in question. Lastly, I comment on the change in Ishimure’s public image and discuss a story where she is the outsider experiencing Tokyo.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/17621364
First Advisor
Amanda C. Seaman
Second Advisor
Stephen Miller
Recommended Citation
Kaufman, Brett, "Seas of Sorrow, Lakes of Heaven: Community and Ishimure Michiko" (2020). Masters Theses. 928.
https://doi.org/10.7275/17621364
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/928