For my research paper I have decided to read “Under
Reconstruction” by Mori Ogai. In this story, a man by the name of Watanabe
reunites with an old friend in a hotel that is under reconstruction. The
narrator voices Watanabe’s different remarks about the hotel and things in the
environment around him. The narrator also voices the thoughts and feelings of
both Watanabe and his friend, the woman in the veil. After reading this story I
an able to come up with a theme, some observations and questions about this
story.
In “Under Reconstruction,” the characters make repetitive
comments about something that is being rebuilt. Early in the story, we are made
well aware of the current state of the hotel; it is under reconstruction. When
the main characters are speaking of the woman’s travels, Watanabe states that
Japan is also under reconstruction. I also believe that there is one last thing
under reconstruction, the relationship between Watanabe and the woman he is
meeting. Once these observations were made, I was able to develop a theme for
this story. In life, one may face a situation of conflict or uncertainty where
the only solution is to start over and build from the bottom up.
As I read the story multiple times, I was able to make many
observations about the context and the structure of the text. Ogai uses the
hotel to highlight some traditions of Asia and compare them to the western
traditions. When Watanabe enters the hotel, he notices that he needs to wipe
his shoes instead of taking them off. Inside the hotel there was Buddhist text
framed over the door. Watanabe is a character that has many thoughts and
feelings, but he is not the type of man who voices them. The German is very
verbal and speaks quite often. She shows more emotion than Watanabe, but not in
its entirety.
I believe that the hotel in the story plays a large role
in portraying the author’s message. Not only does the author use imagery purposes,
but he uses it to emphasize some key concepts of Asian traditions. I believe
the largest role that the hotel plays is along the line of symbolism. It can be
understood that the hotel is made to represent the relationship of the main
characters. It is used to point out that their relationship is being worked on,
but it still has some working parts. In the dialogue between the characters,
they seem to be catching up with each other, almost like they are starting
over. Although some tension in the conversation can be detected, the main
characters are still able to be friendly to each other. In the hotel, there is
a mix between western and Asian culture cultures. This is also common between
the woman and Watanabe; she is from Germany and he is from Japan.
Resulting from the observations I have made, many
questions arose. By noticing the slight tension between the characters, I
wondered what their history is and what happened between them before their
meeting? As I wondered this, I considered the question, what if this was
written in the point of view of the woman or Watanabe? I believe that if this
story were written in a different point of view, we would be able to learn more
about the relationship and feelings of the main characters.
The story ends with the woman in the veil leaving the
hotel. It is stated that the veil is over her face indicating that she is still
hiding her feelings and the truth about herself. Overall I enjoyed reading this
story, the history of the context, and the various questions that develop after
reading this text.
