Paper #2 due This Friday (the 25th)

Paper #2: Intro to the East

Whatever such a man sees is a flower, and whatever such a mind dreams of is the moon” (Bashō, “The Records of a Travel-Worn Satchel)

INTRO: Both Lafcadio Hearn and Bashō are literary travelers who want to capture something of the essential spirit and character of Japan in their writings. Hearn’s stories, despite their supernatural origins, are highly poetic and full of metaphors that challenge the way we look at the world. In the same way, Basho’s haiku are like stories, showing how even the smallest details in life hint at hidden dramas that most of the world ignores. However, when you see everything as a “flower,” you consider the beauty in every object, and when all your dreams are of the “moon,” you question what the world is supposed to be (or tell you).

PROMPT: For this assignment, imagine that the publisher of a new edition of Kwaidan has asked you (as an expert on Japanese literature) to choose haiku to preface THREE of Hearn’s stories. By prefacing each story with a haiku, it gives the reader an “introduction” to the story and some ideas to consider as they read it. So your paper will take us through your selections, and explain why each haiku helps to illustrate the main idea, theme, or philosophy of the story. Be sure to QUOTE from both the haiku and the story: show us the lines/images that relate to one another, and help us see the connections between both works. Imagine that the haiku are like picture-book illustrations, guiding us to the ‘truth’ in each story, so we don’t dismiss them as simple ghost stories.

REQUIREMENTS:

• No set page limit; as long as it takes you to make meaningful connections between the poems and the stories. However, be wary of doing too little—I’m looking for thought and ideas, not page numbers.
• Connections and quotations: make sure we can see why you paired each poem with each story, and where you see literal connections that could helps someone ‘get’ each story.
• Cite according to MLA format, like so: In one of Basho’s haiku from “A Visit to Sarashina Village,” he writes that an ivy vine clings to a bridge, like “body and soul together” (Penguin 93). OR (Yuasa 93). * Cite the publisher or the translator followed by the page number.
• Due Friday, October 25^th by 5pm [no class that day]