Memoirs of a Geisha

I. Title Memoirs of a geisha (1997) II. Author Arthur G overageden (1957- ) III. Setting a. Where Gion, Kyoto, Japan b. When proterozoic 1900s (1930s, World War II) IV. Character and Characterization c. Principal Characters i. Sayuri Nitta (Chiyo Sakamoto) Sayuri is the main character of the nourish got. As a child, she always vox populi well of others. She has determination and does not give up easily. Her gray eyes argon what make her stand out the most. ii. Mameha Mameha was a well-known geisha in Gion. She was Sayuris older baby (not by blood) and mentor. She taught Sayuri what she needed to do for her to choke a thriving geisha.She is really determined and would do anything to master her goal. iii. Hatsumomo Hatsumomo was a geisha of the Nitta Okiya, the same okiya that Sayuri came from. She boasts of herself and thinks that no whiz is better than her. She despised Sayuri and saw her as competition, which take to her numerous attempts to destroy Sayuris intent. iv. moderate The moderate was the reason why Sayuri had a purpose to live, which was the pass of his act of changeness to Sayuri when she was a child. He is a person who thinks of others feelings. As a geisha, Sayuri wanted nothing more(prenominal) than for the Chairman to take notice of her. . Nobu Nobu was the Chairmans right-hand man, the Chairman owed him a kettle of fish. He is patient and kind. Nobus appearance is peculiar because of his skin which was damaged by a bomb. He fancies Sayuri and waited most of his manner to sire Sayuris danna. d. flakeary Characters i. Pumpkin Pumpkin was Sayuris helper when they were young. Their friendship was destroyed by Hatsumomo, who was Pumpkins older sister. She was sweet and very helpful at first, but was influenced by Hatsumomo. Pumpkin also became a geisha from the Nitta Okiya, but she was not as far-famed as Sayuri. ii. auntieAuntie was the first person to show kindness to Sayuri when she arrived at the Nitta Okiya. She wante d Sayuri to become happy and to not end up like her. When Sayuri became a geisha, she continuously helped her through what she needed to do. iii. Mr. Tanaka Sayuri, as a child, idolized Mr. Tanaka and thought that no other man is higher than him. Mr. Tanaka was the person who offered Sayuris aim to sell Sayuri and her sister Setsu. He was the reason why Sayuri ended up in Gion. iv. Mother Mother was the sister of Auntie and the owner of the Nitta Okiya. She was very fond of money and would do anything to become well-heeleder.She later adopted Sayuri as her girlfriend and as the successor of the Nitta Okiya. v. Dr. Crab Dr. Crab was one of the men who were attracted to Sayuri when she became a geisha. Dr. Crab is a kind of person who would let nothing to stand in his way. He is known for spending a rope of money in the pursuit of mizuage. V. Subject Matter a historical fiction nigh the life of a geisha in Japan forward World War II VI. Thesis/ primary(prenominal) Idea The ap ologue revolves around a girl whose life was transformed from rags to riches when her father interchange her until she became a well-known geisha in Kyoto.VII. The Part I Like The Best. Why? I was excite the most when I was reading the part where the Chairman met Sayuri in the Ichiriki Teahouse after the incident with the attend on the island of Amami. I was so consumed by the book of account since I badly wanted to know what the Chairman would say to Sayuri. Shock and disbelief came over me when the Chairman admitted that he knew Sayuri was the child he saw yell near the Shirakawa Stream. VIII. The Part I Like The Least. Why? I did not like the part where the contend was going on and Gion closed down.I felt as if the part was not that significant to the main takings of the tarradiddle and that the business relationship would yet have the same effect to the readers without it. As a reader, I thought that this was the dullest part of the theme. IX. Vocabulary Improvement 1. Geisha-(n. ) a Japanese women educated to accompany men as a hostess, performing different skills such as dancing and playing pawns * Most Americans confuse geishas as prostitutes because of the impress geishas who called themselves geisha girls and sold their bodies to American soldiers in Japan during the World War II. . Okiya-(n. ) the lodging house in which a geisha lives until she has paid all her debts from the okiya for sending her to school * Mameha was a geisha who was allowed to live in her own house since she was able to pay off all her debts from the okiya she was from. 3. Danna-(n. ) a geishas patron, a wealthy man who champions the geishas needs in exchange for spending time with him privately * Nobu spent almost his entire life waiting to become Sayuris danna which unforntunately never happened. 4. Shamisen-(n. a three-string melodic instrument that is played using a plectrum * Many geishas, if not all, were taught how to play the Japanese instrument called sham isen, which they used in performances. 5. Mizuage-(n. ) the coming of age ceremony of an apprentice geisha, usually associated with the geishas bolshy of virginity a large sum of money is to be paid to the geisha in return for her mizuage * fit to Mineko Iwasaki, the geisha Arthur Golden interviewed for his book, a geishas mizuage was never won by means of bidding.X. apprize Summary Chiyo Sakamoto, a girl from a little fishing village called Yoroido, was 9 years old when her father sold her and her sister Satsu to a man named Mr. Tanaka. They were brought to Kyoto where Chiyo and her sister were separated Chiyo stayed in Gion in the Nitta Okiya as a maid, whereas her sister was brought to Miyagawa-cho where she worked as a prostitute. Chiyo started going to school to become a geisha, but when she well-read astir(predicate) her sisters location, she went to look for her.When they met, they decided that they would runaway a few days after, Chiyo act to runaway but failed, which caused her her schooling priviledges. As Chiyo continued to live as a maid, knowing that she wont count her sister again, she felt as if she has no purpose in life hence he met the Chairman who treated her kindly, which gave her hope for a better future. After this incident, she wanted to become a geisha hoping that she would please the Chairman someday.Mameha, a well-known geisha in the Gion district, became her mentor and trained her to become a successful geisha she then changed her name to Sayuri Nitta, of the Nitta Okiya. Though she had numerous admirers, she wanted no one but the Chairman to take notice of her she strived intemperate to for this and in the end, she eventually learned that the Chairman acknowledge her way back then from the very first time they met.Memoirs of a GeishaMemoirs of a Geisha is a book written by Arthur Golden. The plot takes place in Japan and tells us the story of a young girl a fishermans daughter and her journey through life to become a nota ble Geisha, a Japanese female entertainer. The book describes the struggles of a young girl, Chiyo, who is derelict sold by her father. The story is told in flashback format with reference to the protagonists present and past. The focal point of the story is constantly on the internal narrator, Chiyo, who later changes her name to Sayuri when she becomes a geisha.Sayuri, who is our protagonist, is eight years old and lives in the small fishing village of Yorido at the beginning of the story. She lived happily with her family until one day her mother becomes sick. Her father who is a fisherman cant afford the medical treatment of her mother. Seeing no other way out, he sells Sayuri and her clumsy older sister Satsu to Mr. Tanaka the owner of the seafood company which all the villagers work for. Mr. Tanaka brings the girls to the cultural city of Gion.Satsu who is the little beautiful of the two is sold to a brothel while Sayuri is sold to the Nitta Okiya, a geisha house. At the Nit ta Okiya she meets a number of different people. There is the owner of the Okiya who is referred to as Mother, a bull-dog looking woman, whose main concern is money as described by Sayuri. The main Villain of the story is Hatsumomo , a famous and successful geisha who lives in the same Okiya as Sayuri. Hatsumomo is the main resource of the Nitta Okiya since all the money she earns goes to support it.From the day Sayuri arrives at the Okiya, Hatsumomo dislikes her, she tries to make Sayuris life as hard as possible. At first it is hard to understand why she has that kind of behaviour towards Sayuri but as the story continues we understand that it is all about jealousy. Hatsumomo cant stand that Sayuri is beautiful and sees that in a few years she might become a successful geisha unless she gets rid of her. Hatsumomo clearly states that she hates Sayuri and doesnt want her in the Okiya I shall destroy you (pg. 78)1 Sayuri comes to the Okiya with a debt which she has to pay off.The deb t just keeps getting bigger because she has to take geisha lessons. Sayuri is taken out from geisha practice,e after several(prenominal) accidents, and do a slave at the Okiya. She has no hopes for her future when Mameha, a character who becomes very important to the story, comes to coax Mother to let Sayuri continue her geisha practice. She helps Sayuri throughout her career by introducing her to many famous and rich people who can invite her to their parties and by taking her to all important places where the big parties are held.Mameha gives her own(prenominal) lessons and gives her all help she can and if it werent for Mameha, Sayuri would never have become a geisha. Throughout the story we see how Sayuris character changes drastically, from a simple and a naive country girl to a slave with no future to a graceful famous geisha and when the story turns again, a seamstress trying to pass away the second World War. Although the story mostly concentrates on Sayuri and we get to know the secrets of a geishas life, theres a lot more that can be learnt from the story.It tells us about the life in Japan before, during and after the Second World War. The story which is set in Japan wouldnt have existed if we were to set it elsewhere. Geishas are something unique to moreover Japan and cant be found in any other culture around the world. It tells us about the time before the war when everything was good. Sayuri mentions the war a couple of times, in the beginning but she negotiation about it as if it were something that was far off and didnt concern her. Then slowly she starts realising that the war is affecting them more and more when they start using ration books.Still, the reality of the war isnt realised fully by each Sayuri or the reader until it hits you in the slope when absolutely the heads of different Okiyas are selling fancy kimonos and jewels at the black market for their survival. The book mentions real-life incidents such as the bombing of Toky o and other big cities. It tells us about the problems that the people of Japan were faced with and how even graceful geishas are forced to become common seamstresses, making parachutes for the war.The theme of the book in my opinion is first of all, the life of a geisha since it tells us about how geishas lived and what they had to go through. Arthur Golden takes us into an unknown world and reveals the secrets of what seems to us a glamorous life. The book shows that the life of a geisha is far from glamorous. Both in sense of the social problems they have to face such as jealousy from other geisha and the struggle to make a good paper for themselves in order to survive and also personal problems such as those older geishas, whose skin has stinky and become yellow because of the paints they used, had to face.Another theme of the book may also be destiny. Sayuris destiny was to become a geisha no matter what came in her way, no matter how impossible it seemed at times, she in t he long run succeeded in becoming a geisha and not just that, she even became a very successful and famous geisha of her time. When the book starts and we see the village of Yoroido through the eyes of a young bleak girl, you wonder what does this little girl living in a small fishing village have to do with a graceful and glamorous geisha? Its almost as you wonder whether the title of the book is wrong.As the story develops, we see how Sayuri ends up in the cultural city of Gion, but then suddenly when the story turns again and Sayuri is made a servant at the Okiya you start wondering if the story result instead start focusing on Hatsumomo. The book is very slow and boring in the beginning, several times I thought of just putting it down but just then the story takes a new turn.It really tells about a life I knew nothing about before and got really interesting the further I got into the book. The author has tied in historical events into an interesting story reflecting not only t he lives of geishas but also the lives of ordinary people of that time. I found the book very interesting and different but a bit slow. Since it is semi-reality based I would recommend it to people both my age but also older people. The story catches your interest whether you are young or old. I would give the book 3 out of 5 points.