Secrecy,+discreetness

**Secrecy and Discreetness**
In the novel __The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea__ by Yukio Mishima, the story takes place in post-war Japan, revolving around the life of a group of young boys who strive to acquire complete dispassion and apathetic interest towards any emotions. Through these practices, the gang of boys regard life and mankind as useless, directing their nihilist thoughts into their actions. One of these actions involves the secrecy of the young boys, Noboru being one of them. However, not only does this type of confidentiality exist in Noboru's actions, they also prevail within Fusako and Ryuji's actions. This secrecy and discreetness found in Noboru, Fusako, and Ryuji's actions are intended to protect themselves, and in doing so, it generates even more distanced and detached relationships between the three characters as the novel progresses. Consequently, these passive relationships lead to the inevitable demise of Ryuji Tsukazaki.

Fusako’s exclusiveness from Noboru results in a series of misinterpretations, an inadvertent and indirect process that leads to Ryuji’s death. Although Noboru is her only son, Fusako keeps a secret and private life, secluding herself from her son. As a result of her concealment, Fusako is unaware that Noboru has been spying on her through the peephole in his room. Her naivety about Noboru’s actions results in the unpredicted truth, causing Fusako to “sob and glare down at [Noboru] through her tears.” (152). This outbreak of emotion is also of surprise to Noboru as Fusako usually hides her feelings. Her public display of emotions and “fawning sweetness” (142) towards Noboru, something that never occurred before, causes Noboru to be sickened and disgusted. Not only is Fusako acting out of character, but she is also going against the concepts of complete dispassion held by the group of boys. Her sudden spur of emotions is evidently because of the presence of Ryuji, and thus the charges held against Ryuji ensue. Due to Fusako’s secrecy from her son, something that was meant to protect her identity as an independent woman, she subconsciously aids the process of putting Ryuji on the path towards death.

Ryuji hiding his true thoughts and feelings from both Noboru and Fusako that were aimed to protect himself ironically works against him as he ends up digging his own grave, putting himself on a path towards death. In attempt to please Noboru, Ryuji has mixed feelings about how to act towards Noboru—maintaining his normal indifferent, manly demeanor or treating Noboru in an amiable, child-like way. Ryuji is torn between the two, and in the end chooses the latter, acting “overbright and artificial, [with] an unnecessary, outrageous blunder of a smile” (63). Noboru perceives this type of behavior silly and non-heroic, the qualities that a sailor like Ryuji should not have. Consequently, Ryuji becomes less of an idol to Noboru, leading to the charges against Ryuji that result in his death. Not only does Ryuji act differently from his true self with Noboru, this secrecy is also present in his acts towards Fusako. Ryuji is not able to “tell [Fusako] his conviction” (38), only speaking simplistically although he has the urge to probe deeper into topics. Again, he is faced with the dilemma of showing a manly image or a more expressible, softer image, and in the end chooses to display his manly side. This decision causes Fusako to misinterpret Ryuji's actual character, unaware of Ryuji's softer side that only Noboru notices. Although Ryuji's discreet ways of treating Noboru and Fusako are aimed to please them, hiding his actual identity in the process leads Ryuji to his own death.

Noboru's secrecy in attempt to distance himself from Fusako and Ryuji in turn results in him discovering the truth, the truth that jeopardizes Ryuji's life. Through the peephole that Noboru keeps a secret, he spies on all the activity that goes on in the Fusako bedroom, developing a stronger disapproval and “despise [towards] all mankind” (80). With Noboru's unknown spying, he also discovers that Ryuji is not the glorifying hero that he once was viewed as. Not only does Ryuji display emotions such as love and sentiment towards Fusako, he also compliments Noboru on his knowledge—flattery that causes “fury in [Noboru's] eyes” (65). Ryuji's actions go against the concepts and ideas held by the nihilist group of boys, and therefore, Ryuji dies as a punishment. Noboru hiding his actions from Fusako and Ryuji causes him to come upon the truth that contributes to the death of Ryuji.

Word count: 749 Citation: Mishima, Yukio. __The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea__. Trans. John Nathan. New York: Vintage International, 1994.