Oh the glorious days of childhood……there was little school (if any at all), mom bought tons of candy and soda (what were cavities?), Rugrats was an amazing cartoon, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese could be consumed for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (I would never complain), caloric content was never a question, bumble bees and bugs were my favorite past time, wearing mismatching socks was a pure enjoyment, the first Nintendo system was one of my favorite toys, along with my My Little Pony figurines and my brother’s Ninja Turtles action figures, “house” had the capabilities of entertaining me for hours, my parents workout equipment was a playground…..just thinking back on all of the amazing joys of my early life makes me realize what an amazing thing it is to be a child. Life back then is something so remarkable and blissful that who wouldn’t want to run off to Neverland with the Lost Boys?
Looking back onto everything that I’ve experienced is almost a surreal thought and the growth that we as human beings going through is downright astonishing. From toddlers, where we are consumed with questions and just don’t understand much more than how to tie our shoelaces and that mommy and daddy say “don’t talk to strangers”, to high school where our social lives are talking off, we can converse at a mature level and the opposite sex doesn’t have “yuckie” body parts anymore.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s an Artist of the Floating World has brought to our English class this discussion of nostalgia. A term that can be defined as “a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time; A bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past”. (Dictionary.com) Soon into the novel, we get a feeling of Ono’s nostalgic feelings. As a retired artist, Ono looks back on his pre-war life, when he painted to express his feelings, passions and ideas. Life was good and he never had to fit any specific mold. Post-war Japan changed everything and Ono was no longer able to continue with the same style as well as passion for painting. He abandoned his original freedom for painting and began painting in a propaganda style in order to bring his country together again.
Nostalgia has shown to have the capabilities to make or break a person. Some people can become consumed with their past and run into a roadblock that holds them back from growing and moving on with lives. If old memories of friends, family and experiences are held too tightly, the chances to develop new memories and experiences that shape one’s self could be damaged. I look at Ono’s moping as exactly this. He is holding too tightly into his fond memories of his earlier life in pre-war Japan. Because of this, he is not letting himself move on and develop a new sense and enjoyment of current life.
3 comments on Neverland
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Good article, I agree with your take on Ono.
I remember those old days of Ninja Turtles and Nintendo and not worrying anything else. Childhood and good times with friends always brings nostalgia into everyone of us. Good article overall. i enjoyed reading it and I liked how you were able to approach it from a personal view and still relate it to the novel.