Mishima's Classic: The Sound of Waves Anonymous 11th Grade

In the novel The Sound of Waves, author Yukio Mishima tells the story of Shinji, and his love for a girl by the name of Hatsue. The novel expounds upon a myriad of themes relevant to the lives of many across the world, adolescents especially. These names range from the excitement of a first love to the importance of knowledge. Perhaps the most important , however, is the coming of age. This theme centers around Shinji, who begins the novel as a teenaged boy living with his mother and ends it as a man on his way to face the world with his soon-to-be bride by his side. Mishima expertly utilizes several literary techniques to bring these themes to life, including a well-developed character in Shinji, fleshed-out locations, and detailed imagery and symbolism.

To begin with, The Sound of Waves features a character by the name of Shinji, an eighteen year old boy who has recently finished high school. Shinji works on an octopus-fishing boat, known as the Taihei-maru. What is perhaps most significant about Shinji is his attitude towards life itself. This is best characterized in a quote by the Terukichi Miyata, the uncle of Shinji’s lover, Hatsue. “The only thing that really counts in a man is his get-up-and-go. If he's got...