A Pastiche Revealing Uraras Loss and Her Recovery from Her Grief

The first 200 words of this essay...

A Pastiche Revealing Urara's Loss and Her Recovery from Her Grief

Word Count: 1, 462

Statement of Intent

In the Japanese novel Kitchen, Banana Yoshimoto suggests through the accounts of Mikage and Satsuki that companionship and maintaining hope are essential to helping one recover from a loss and that one must eventually move on from one's grief. I will focus on this theme in my passage written from Urara's point of view when she is at the bridge with Satsuki for the Weaver Festival Phenomenon. I chose to write from Urara's point of view because it is illuminating to reveal Urara's own grieving process to explain her empathy with Satsuki's emotional state and how she arrives at the insights she shares with Satsuki. In the passage, I also chose to focus on the motifs of cold, warmth, light, and darkness. Additionally, I emulated Yoshimoto's style of using poetic metaphors to explain emotions. Finally, Yoshimoto does not heavily emphasize traditional Japanese culture, apart from the Japanese foods and names. Interestingly, she often makes references to Western culture. I therefore referenced the Great Houdini to emulate her style.

Yoshimoto uses the motifs of cold and warmth to