“American Hijiki”: Nosaka Akiyuki’s 1967 story depicts the main character Toshio

“American Hijiki”: Nosaka Akiyuki’s 1967 story depicts the main character Toshio’s memory as the past intrudes into his present everyday life. How does the war and the “occupier within” continue to shape his life and relationships, although Japan has recovered from the war (or forgotten, denied elements of the war) in many ways economically and materially? John Dower’s chapter on “kyodatsu” may also be useful here.
Format: double-spaced, 1-1.25” margins, in a 12pt font. Your paper should have a title of its own (not “Final Paper”) and each page should be numbered.
Outside sources: are not necessary. The papers are based on class readings and screenings. Papers with unapproved extra research will be marked down 50%. Off-topic papers will not be graded (if you want to write on an independent topic, you must clear it with the TA or prof in advance.)
References: *you will spend some time in Section working on this. Since you will be using class materials, references should be clear, and only page numbers are necessary. By “clear,” it means 2 things: 1) a Works Cited page is not necessary. Spend your time thinking. 2) The source of the claim should be clear—i.e. it should be clear if the text is from “The Factory Ship” or from you. This is relevant when you paraphrase; sometime, you need a sentence to set the scene before you quote/paraphrase. For example, here are 2 typical citations–in blue is the sentence; in purple is the framing:
1) A critique of capitalism drives the narrative of “The Factory Ship.” From the very beginning, the characters describe life on the ship as “hell” (3). It is clear that “hell” is a quote, and the rest is your argument. [The rest of the paragraph=further development of this argument, focused on how the characters observe their conditions, think about them, and change.]
2) The narrator uses graphic language to depict the exploitation of the workers as they are turned into objects themselves. On p. 40, the narrator tells the reader that “[t]he walls of the mines were literally strengthened, layer upon layer, by flesh torn from the workers’ bodies like filets of fish.” The image of “filets of fish” ______ [the rest of the paragraph explains how this language works, and what makes it typical of a larger pattern in the story.]
In contrast, plot summary does not require citation. For example,A) The visit of the entertainers in Chapter 6 provides an external point of view through which the crew members and fishermen can view the exploitation they suffer.
But you can definitely incorporate language from the story to bring your point home. For example:
B) The visit of the entertainers in Chapter 6 provides an external point of view through which the crew members and fishermen can view the exploitation they suffer. As soon as they set foot on the ship, the narrator exclaims “Whew, what a smell!” (50). *Note that the “narrator” here is not the narrator of the entire story, but the entertainer, the benshi narrator who goes on to narrate the films to the crew and fishermen.
Rubric (25 points)
3 structure and organization
3 clear question or thesis
7 relevant selection of quotes or screen shots from the materials
10 interpretation of quotes or screen shots that support your thesis
2 formatting