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tdreyer
Posted March 24, 2009
Discovery
Through Seventeen & J, readers are able to gain insight into the wonders of the Japanese political world. In Seventeen, readers explore the psyche of a young man known as Seventeen. The first of two short stories, Seventeen opens with its intriguing main character exploring his body for the first time since he turned seventeen years of age. While this portion of the short story may cause uneasiness to close-minded readers, those remaining aloof from the text will surely find an odd thrill.
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The young man, Seventeen is caught between two worlds. The first being his own personal life where he has little to no control, and the second being the life of his alter ego, a right-wing activist. When given the opportunity to explore the right-wing party, Seventeen finds a peculiar connection with the world. He suddenly feels a sense of belonging within the group. Through his journeys as a right-wing activist, Seventeen is no longer in a desperate search for his lost identity.
Similar to Seventeen, J is a story consisting of many sexual references. These two novels are clearly not intended for those who are light-hearted. In J, the central character known as J is in the midst of an identity crisis. He finds belonging within the "chikan" club alongside both young and old men. Within this perverted alliance, men are to violate women by putting their private parts on display for the whole world to see. The men appear to let their own insecurities with their sadistic selves remain buried below their desperation of belonging to a society.
Through violating women, J is able to find his place in the world, but at what cost? As with most of Oe's works, the characters within the two novels have severe identity issues at hand. These characters are the first of many to influence modern Japanese literature. Oe's Seventeen & J are incredibly detailed. The protagonists from each novel have entirely perverse psyches which make for a great read for those interested in the psyche of any twisted mind.