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Abstract
The study aimed to explore the inner English elements of Soseki Natumei, who studied abroad in British. The author discovered Soseki’s English elements from three dimensions. Firstly, it based on the influence from Soseki’s British study time. Thus, it explored what inputs gained by Soseki during his British study time according to his diaries, letters, and fragments. Secondly, it focused on his most famous literary works “I Am Cat” and “Botchan”to find out that the reflections and effects from Soseki’s British study time. Further, the author would like to exam whether these two novels are full of English humor. Thirdly, it explored the acceptance and influence from a Soseki’s favorite British writer, Johnathon Swift. Accordingly, it made studied on points in common between Soseki and Swift at first. Then it explored that the degree of acceptance and influence on Soseki’s“I am cat” and “ Bochan” from Johnathon Swift’s proud world literature-“Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Tale of a Tub”
Concerning the result of the study, it concluded as follows. Firstly, about the influence from Soseki’s British Study time, it was conspicuous that Soseki acquired a deep comprehension toward British including compliments and critiques to Britain or British. Moreover, he absorbed various knowledge of many fields and learned the insufficiency and honor of Japan after making comparisons with British in his mind. Besides, he not only found his purpose in life but also changed his sense of values in British, which formed his unique literary perspective. Among those outputs as above, it was worthwhile paying attention on his inner conflict about accept the western culture or not. As a result, it appeared that there was a significant change in his mind from resistance to the West before studying abroad to the attitude of “In my mind, a half is the West, a half is Japan” as commented himself before in the end of British study time. In addition, the author discovered more evidences to support the possibility of a scholar’s study about Soseki’s British love story, which he fell in love with a British lady-Grace Nott.
Secondly, with regard to the reflections of Soseki’s British experience on his literary works. The author examined whether “I Am Cat” and “ Bochan” covers English humor or not based on the definitions of English humor and the elements of English humor. As a result, it found that it ascertained that the two novels were full of English humor. Furthermore, it recognized not few reflections of Soseki’s British experiences from “I Am Cat” and “Bochan”. For instance, the characters in these two novels suffer from neurasthenia or madness. characters who act as detectives, a character, arrangement or script imply the lady of Soseki’s British love story, critique toward Christian, the similar image between Soseki’s wife and Kiyo in “Bochan”, regarding Matsuyama city as “London”, the complaint to meals provided by accomodations. In addition, Soseki showed his attitude, contradiction, opinions, criticism, evaluation, compliment ect. in these two novels, which are all based on his British study experience that he contacted with the most civilized country then. It also appeared that the complicated evaluation and attitude of Soseki toward the West.
Thirdly, regarding the influence of Soseki’s favorite British writer. The author found that there were not few points in common between Soseki and Swift. For example, background, accomplishment, writer position in home country, characteristic, chronic diseases, the pessimistic view of life etc. Moreover, it was conspicuous that the significant impact of “Gulliver’s Travels”on “ I Am Cat” as well as “Bochan”. There were similarities not only in criticism to human nature such as darkness of humanity, arrogance of human etc., but also in critiques in national and social system, heterogeneity of leading characters to the surrounding, revulsion toward female, mentioning various historian persons, involving knowledge from a variety of field, argument of wearing clothes. On the other hand,
the effect of “A Tale of a Tub” on “ I Am Cat” and “Bochan” shall be valued, e.g. there were some common points such as the sarcasm to the man of power, insane-like characters setting, the story
development mainly depends a disputing issue between characters, association of clothes, digression literature etc. Based on the comparison between Soseki’s and Swift ‘s novels, it was confirmed that there was of heterogeneity fundamentally between Soseki’s humor and Swift’ black humor
All in all, it appears that the irreplaceable British study experience to Soseki’s life. Among these influences, the most significant impact for Soseki is that he accomplished self-realism by means of British study experience. Furthermore, it is obvious that the brain and inner world of Soseki was composed of the East as well as the West just a half for each simultaneously as he commented himself before.
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