“A Personal Matter” by Kenzaburo Oe

Introduction

A Personal Matter is written by Japanese writer Kenzaburo Oe. The novel depicts the imagery of decay, sex and death. It was written in 1964 that was an era of political dishevel in Japan. A personal matter is deeply personal, dark and semi autobiographical. "A personal matter," is one of his best and most cruel novels, animated with a strange internal violence. It tells the terrible ordeal of Bird, a young English teacher overwhelmed by a muddy daily life in contemporary Japan. His secret desire is redeemed through a mythical journey through Africa, where he believes life will be reborn and will become full of meaning. However, fate has other plans for him, his wife gives birth to a baby who is deformed and brain damaged, doomed to imminent death. This convulsed the languid and indolent Bird exist, and for three days and three nights, entrained by a relentless journey to the depths of their inner abyss. In this paper, the theme of the story, sexual encounters has been discussed.

The Theme

The dilemma of Bird is against compromise with the reality that cannot be denied and the personal responsibility that cannot be avoided.

Discussion

In the case of a personal matter, Oe explained that the deformed child of his novel is actually his son, Hikari, whose birth overshadowed his life and writing. He confesses to having written extensively on living with mental disability and ensures that the child was an issue that guided his writing to the subject of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Barker, 2000, 25-106). To meet both reasons, his work has used a method that is based on an event intimate staff, and then relates it to society and the world. Oe says came to the realization that life with a sick child has the power to heal the wounds that members of the family have become each other. And this experience is to Oe comparable to that of the victims and survivors of the atomic bombs who in turn have the power to heal those who live in a nuclear age. The author comments that listening to the testimonies of elderly survivors of the bombs and see them become part of activist movements against war are an act of faith that helps society to heal its wounds. To escape from his sorrows, he meets up with his old girlfriend named ...