The Samurai's Garden Quotes

The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama tells the story of a young man who is sent away from his friends and family to a small village in Japan, in the attempt to get better from his illness. Through his self isolation, Stephen is able to learn from the two elderly people he meets there, and slowly comes to accept himself for who is he, regardless of what other people thought. Through the use of internal and external conflict in The Samurai’s Garden, Gail Tsukiyama uses Stephen’s character, specifically through his interactions with Matsu and Sachi, to convey the message that sometimes one will need to leave what they are comfortable with, and place themselves into isolation in the attempt to rediscover who they are while still knowing that

The gardens of both Matsu and Sachi symbolize them, and this gives the reader an insight on each of their respective personalities. Matsu’s garden turns more riveting and reveals more secrets as one goes deeper through it while Sachi’s garden illustrates that beauty can be in all forms. These descriptions of the garden mirror their owners and give more information about them. One example is that in the later portion of The Samurai Garden, it is revealed that Matsu was one of the primary founders of Yamaguchi. Like his garden, Matsu’s tale only becomes more

The Samurai’s Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard is about a boy named Taro, the protagonist in the story. The major characters in the story are Taro, Yoshitoki, Lord Takeda Katsuyori, Lord Akiyama Nobutomo, and Togan. The setting of the story is in Japan, in around the 16th century. In the beginning of the story he was presented as a gift by the great Lord Takeda Shingen to Lord Akiyama after his parents had been killed. By using his wits and suppressing his fierce pride, Taro slowly escalates the ranks of his lord’s household until he achieves his greatest goal—becoming a samurai like his father and Lord Akiyama, whom he has come to admire. The life of a samurai is not so easy, Taro finds himself sacrificing opportunities of love and friendship

The garden is the vehicle in which the narrator reveals her reluctance to leave behind the imaginary world of childhood and see the realities of the adult world. The evidence supporting this interpretation is the imagery of hiding. The narrator uses the garden to hide from reality and the

Secrets fill the garden. In Gail Tsukiyama’s novel “The Samurai’s Garden”, she uses metaphors to show the audience the garden and its’ curator in a mysterious light. Tsukiyama’s character Stephen gazes upon Matsu’s garden with wonder and amazement. He compares it to another world, “The garden is a world filled with secrets… Matsu’s garden whispers at you, never shouts; it leads you down a path hoping for more, as if everything is seen, yet hidden” (Samurai 31). Tsukiyama creates another world within the fences of the garden. She integrates the secrets of its’ caretaker into the aura of the garden. The metaphor to another world impacts the reader by allowing the reader to see the mystery and beauty that shrouds it. The cloak of beauty shows

The word isolation is defined as meaning, “The state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others” (Merriam Webster 1). Isolation is very powerful in that it leads to many negative effects and causes people to feel left out, as well as, separated from the group. However, isolation can have differing effects on different people, while isolation can negatively affect some, it can also cause people to find themselves. Through the use of the characters Stephen, Sachi, and Okonkwo, the topic of what isolation really is will be assessed, and what exactly this very same isolation can cause will be found. In Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama, and in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Stephen, Sachi, Okonkwo and Nwoye, are all isolated, thus causing them to strive to regain identity in their new lives.

Like the painting, the sketch exhibits a number of West 's finest imaging and clearly and convincingly depicts all of the feeling of a frightful scene. The larger oil on canvas work isn 't one portrait, but rather, a

This literary criticism is useful because it illustrates how the arts are connected, in this case, writing and painting. The arts are fluid and can translate between different mediums. The story is considered modern, but the painting is a classic. The character of Sammy is also meant to be relatable, even to future generations. The essay is well researched and soundly written; it is a good example of what a published literary criticism should look like.

While other may just quickly glance at the narrator’s paintings and not notice anything, Rockwell had always examined the narrator’s work in silence and noticed the subtle details of the narrator’s paintings. Because of Rockwell’s unconventionality, he is able to discern through the façade the narrator puts on and unveil his true identity. Unlike the other individuals who have scrutinized the narrator’s paintings, Rockwell began “frowning at a picture [the narrator] had made.” This illustrates his peculiar thoughts where he is capable of discovering something different from the narrator’s paintings of Sara. Rockwell is able to analyze the meaning behind the narrator’s paintings of Sara and eventually pry out the true meaning of his artwork. Rockwell represents the brutal, cold reality that the narrator must confront and accept. This is demonstrated through his honest, direct words as he tells the narrator that he is “doing [him] a favour by telling you this.” He wishes that the narrator will gradually begin to abandon his painful past and embrace the reality that he must end up confronting. Towards the end, even

aims his focal point at imagery to provide vivid and rich details. Literary devices play a crucial

This is not the only thing Mat realizes in the course of the hurt man’s presence and his mother’s actions. “After that, her losses would be his. The losses would come. They would come to him and his mother. They would come to him and Margaret, his wife [...]” (ll. 139-142)

Divided into five chapters, this book follows Stephen's life from childhood through adolescence to manhood. We are essentially given a window into Stephen's consciousness, and the whole world is unveiled to us through that single aperture. According to Sydney Bolt, no novel written before A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man can match its variety in styles This indicates Joyce's originality. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is told in characteristic dialogue and ironically sympathetic

The three most significant art principles I found in this painting are the contrast of the light and dark areas, the focal point being his aunt, and the sense of unity conveyed. The contrast of colors shows the natural cast of shadows within an

‘Stop that.’” When the reader is reading the quote they feel sympathy for Matt and a bit upset with Celia for being so strict for not taking him and being so harsh. Finally, when Matt is being hunted down, his friend María is helping him, they say, “‘What am I supposed to do?’ Matt said. He felt drained of willpower.

Throughout life, we all go through hardships and things we think that we’ll never be able to overcome. More often than not, the cause of such feelings stem from our home and personal lives. For example, in Gail Tsukiyama’s The Samurai’s Garden, Sachi developed leprosy, a terrible disease that left white rashes all over and was believed to be contagious, and was no longer capable of living a normal life with her family. Her fiance, Kenzo, was greatly upset and as Sachi remembered, he “backed away from me and walked out” (Tsukiyama 136). In Japanese culture, it is expected for a person in a situation like Sachi commit an honorable suicide, also known as seppuku. Seppuku takes all of the shame and guilt that was brought down on a person and