Arthur Golden and Camilla Gibb

Thesis Statement

The report compares the author Arthur Golden and Camilla Gibb with their back ground and their writing styles found in the novels of Memories of the Geisha and the Sweetness in the Belly.

"Memoirs of a Geisha

a) The author's backgrounds (did they live in the countries they wrote about? Did they have connections/relations with anyone living in those countries?)

"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden, is a beautifully written epic tale which envelopes the reader instantly; revealing Golden's ability to include a realism inside an engrossing, yet fictional narrative, resulting in the novel becoming a bestseller enjoyed the world over. Through his use of delicately descriptive and poetic language, Arthur Golden superbly portrays the effects of the harshness of Japanese society on the individual, Sayuri Nitta. (Donovan, 2006)

b) The author's knowledge (What gave the author's the legitimacy to write? Did they research/study about the particular events/countries/customs/people that they wrote of in their novels?)

Golden hands the narrative point of view to that of Chiyo Sakamoto - later, Sayuri Nitta - explaining her tragic life in a hostile world through her nine-year-old eyes; a child sold by her family to a geisha okiya, where, forced by society at that time, she has no other choice but to begin the ongoing struggle to become a geisha in order to attain at least some enjoyment and respect in her life. (Donovan, 2006)

By telling the narrative through Chiyo, Golden also allows the reader some insight into the effects that the world and events around Chiyo is having on her subconsciously, through her thoughts and actions which she both does and does not pick up on herself, hence showing the reader the alteration in Chiyo's development and perspective in life.

When Sayuri is taken from her childhood home in Yoroido, she begins to lose her childhood innocence and view life from a different outlook, so developing earlier and thus in a different way than if she'd stayed there:"During those first few days in that strange place, I don't think I could have felt any worse than if I'd lost my arms and legs than my family and my home: I had no doubt my life would ever be the same again".(Donovan, 2006)

c) The author's reason (What message do they want to convey? Why did they have the urge to write about such a distinct/controversial topic?)

Deliberately, Golden's simile here compares Chiyo's loss of family and home to the thought of losing her arms and legs; the only parts of the body that enable a person to move around and care for themselves. (Donovan, 2006) If Chiyo had lost her limbs she would have lost something that was part of her, that was irreplaceable and therefore lost every chance in life: unable to marry due to social exclusion and consequently unable to keep herself. Condemned to a life of misery and loneliness, Chiyo feels her life will never be the same again.

This incident in Chiyo's life also introduces the initial thoughtfulness of her as ...