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Sound Of Waves Analysis

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Throughout the novel The Sound of Waves, women are portrayed differently than men and this divide is apparent in the entirety of the work. Yukio Mishima creates a society that is so odd to anyone living in a more progressive culture because he writes about an island that has it’s inhabitants criticize people who see women as equals. In this novel, women are seen as objects, discouraged from being educated and are restricted and told to be a certain thing or act a certain way in order to fit in. Women are forced to follow society's rules and can not be who they want to be.

On the island, women are treated as objects and are controlled by men. This is shown when Hatsue is given away to be adopted by her father because he does not need her, but after his son passes away he has her returned because he now has a use for her. This shows that women are treated as lesser and that her father thinks he can do whatever he wants. In the book, one of Shinji’s friends explains the situation, “Uncle Teru had four girls and one boy. Said he had more than enough of girls, so he married three of them off and let the other one be adopted away… but then, what do you know, that only son of his, Matsu, dies of lung sickness last year. Being a widower, Uncle Teru starts feeling lonely. So he calls hatsue back, has her put back in his family registry , and decides to adopt a husband into the family for her, to have someone to carry on the name” (18). The control over woman is also shown

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