25th Annual Student Research Conference
Scream of Silence: An Autobiographical/Existentialist Examination of Kenzaburo Oe's The Silent Cry
Garrett M. Kelsey
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
Kenzaburo Oe's The Silent Cry depicts the anxieties and pain of raising a mentally handicapped child. Mitsusaburo, the protagonist, has to not only learn to accept the responsibility of raising his child, but also to find meaning in his own existence. Oe himself had a child with a mental handicap; and through looking into his life we can better understand Mitsusaburo's existentialist angst. This paper will examine how the parallels between Mitsusaburo's character and Oe's life help to shed light on the novel's existentialism and its themes of marginalization and communal acceptance, especially how outcasts fit into a community which does not want them.
Keywords: Alcoholism in Relationships, Changing Culture, Mental Handicap, Occupation of Japan
Topic(s):Asian Studies
English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 109-2
Location: VH 1408
Time: 8:15