Memoirs of a Geisha
In the years before the Second World War, the Gion district in Japan was a viciously competitive place where women fought desperately for men's favor and munificent gifts, a girl's virginity was auctioned off to the highest bidder, and a woman could not even dream about happiness through love. In Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Sayuri, whose name was Chiyo before she became a geisha, tells of her struggle to survive in Gion's cruel hierarchy and her race to be one of the top geishas. Through all of it, Sayuri exhibits the emphasis she, as well as the society, puts on wealth and outer appearances. Even before Sayuri enters the geisha district of Gion, to her, the exterior of a person is a significant factor when judging a person. From this sort of judgment, she develops trust and respect based on the way a person dresses, talks, or how rich s/he is. In Yoroido, Mr. Tanaka Ichiro is a person she respected-revered, almost. He "knew things [she] would never know...and had an elegance [she] would never have..." for his "blue kimono was finer than anything [she] would ever have occasion to wear." (pg. 20) Just because Mr. Tanaka does not wear peasant clothing, but rather a quality kimono, Sayur
Sayuri lived most of her life, needing to impress everyone. She astonishes many with her beauty, but that is all. She is so busy contending with others the physical beauty that she does not take the time to look into the character of others as well as herself. In the ending paragraph of the book, she states, "Now I know that our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean." (pg. 428) At that point in life, Sayuri realizes that the traits she at first regarded highly in a person is ephemeral. Only the kindness and compassion in a person will last a lifetime, leaving a deep impression of his/her true inner qualities as a human being. In the geisha district of Gion in Kyoto, a woman, who is most likely a geisha, is not of importance if she is not beautiful or seductive and no one notices a man if he is not wealthy. In the okiya, another term for a geisha house, a geisha has top priority if she is the most beautiful or most called for to entertain men at teahouses. When Sayuri first entered the okiya, the first geisha she saw was Hatsumomo, one of Gion's most famous geishas at that time. She'd never "seen a more astonishing-looking woman. Men in the street sometimes stopped and took their cigarettes from their mouths to stare at her." (pg. 48-49) Her beauty gives her the right to treat slaves, such as Sayuri, with cruelty and give orders to elders in the okiya. Today, commanding seniors would be the ultimate disrespectful gesture. Once, just to get Sayuri in trouble, Hatsumomo framed her and led the mother of the okiya, whom they call "Mother" into believing that she had stolen Hatsumomo's expensive comb. No matter how innocent Sayuri was, whatever Hatsumomo said was the truth. Later in the story, Mother tells Sayuri that she'd "earned more in the past six months than both Hatsumomo and Pumpkin combined. 'Which means,' she said,' that it's time for you to exchange rooms with them.'" (pg. 317) As quick as a blink of an eye, Hatsumomo is bumped down and Sayuri becomes the one who all the slaves have to make way for. It is only because she has grown into an exceptionally pretty young lady and is earning all the money for the okiya that Mother treats her completely differently and allows her special pr
Some common words found in the essay are:
Nobu Mother's, Tanaka Ichiro, Hatsumomo Gion's, Golden Sayuri, Hatsumomo Pumpkin, Gion Kyoto, II Sayuri's, War Gion, Tottori Nobu, geisha house, Memoirs Geisha, geisha district gion, geisha district, district gion, peasant clothing, physical beauty, sayuri help, memoirs geisha, teahouses sayuri, village girl, world war,
Approximate Word count = 1512
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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