Shizuko's Daughter
Shizuko's Daughter, a novel written by Kyoki Mori, is about a bold and brilliant twelve-year-old Yuki Okundo who suffers the loss of her mother by suicide. Shizuko, Yuki's mother, is a loving mother with artistic talents that she has passed on to her daughter. Yuki's ability to survive many losses is tested by many factors, but mainly by her heartless father and his new wife. Yuki's coming of age is the result of the attack on her mother's memory, her father and stepmother's actions, mother's memory, and her mother's suicide.Yuki grows up strong and capable, and Shizuko has encouraged her daughter to be bold. Yuki fights boys and studies piano and she is also an outstanding student. Shizuko writes in her suicide note, "I do not do this rashly, but after much consideration. This is the best for all of us. Please do not feel guilty in any way. What has happened is entirely my responsibility. This is the best for myself as well as for you. I am almost happy at this last hour and wish you to be. In spite of this, please believe I love you. People will tell you that I've done this because of I do not love you. Don't listen to them. When you grow up to be a strong women, you will know that this was for the best. My only
Once Shizuko is gone there are many things that threaten Yuki's development. She must tolerate the harassing on her mother's memory, first by her Aunt Aya who removes the possessions of her dead mother, and then by the bitter Hanae. On the day of the funeral, Yuki takes shelter in her closet filled with colorful clothing all made for her by Shizuko. In her closet, with the sounds of her mourning family drifting upstairs, Yuki covers her ears and breathes in the colors seeking to "drown out the wailing chant with their brilliance." (Mori 16) It is not the last time the beautiful things Shizuko has provided for Yuki will give her comfort. Next, Yuki faces her father's attempt to erase his former wife by marrying the woman who has been his mistress for eight years. Though Yuki does not know the facts, she understands the betrayal. Shizkuo however, has raised her to be bold and never be afraid to turn from what is true. On Hideki and Hanae's wedding day Yuki is harsh towards Hanae and runs from her. Yuki disrupts the ceremony by smashing the ceremonial sake bowl on a tabletop, and carrying a photograph of Shizuko and Hideki taken on their wedding day in the white beaded purse her mother had made her a long time ago. These actions show Yuki's intolerance of two-facedness, a quality that will allow her to blossom under conditions that might destroy her. After the wedding, Aunt Aya tells Yuki that she will only see her mother's family on special occasions. She knows her father and Hanae do not really love her and are only concerned about what others will think if they do not take her. Once they are together in the Kobe house, they barely notice her. It is the memories of her mother that give Yuki the fuel she needs to survive. Hanae cannot tamper with Yuki's memories, which are as strong as her intolerance for two-facedness. In the end, Yuki learns to value the whole complex fabric of life with its failures and disappointments, its blooming and its dying back, and she comes to recognize the importance of the past. Returning to her grandparents, Yuki has a profound s
Some common words found in the essay are:
Hanae Yuki, Aunt Aya, Shizuko Yuki, Shizuko Yuki's, Shizuko Hideki, Hideki Hanae's, Yuki Okundo, Kyoki Mori, Shizuko's Daughter, mother's memory, yuki able, memories mother yuki, bold yuki, yuki responds, mother yuki, memories mother, aunt aya, mother's suicide, wedding day, garden shizuko,
Approximate Word count = 1402
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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