The Red Cocoon, written by Abe Kobo, is a story about a young man named Toru who is drafted into the Japanese army during World War II. He is sent to a small island in the South Pacific where he meets a girl named Mika. The two of them form a close bond and eventually fall in love. However, their happiness is cut short when the war ends and they are forced to part ways. The story follows their lives after the war as they both try to rebuild their lives and find each other again.
The Red Cocoon is a heart-wrenching story of love and loss set against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent times in history. The characters are incredibly well-developed and the plot is moving and suspenseful. Abe Kobo’s writing is beautiful and evocative, and he does an excellent job of depicting the horrors of war and the strength of the human spirit. The Red Cocoon is a truly remarkable novel.
Abe Kobo was a Japanese writer of many different works that spanned over several genres. The Red Cocoon is a prime example of his talent for short fiction. Abe was born in 1924 and died in 1993(“Abe Kobo”1). Not an exceptionally long life, but one filled with publications of novels, essays, plays, and multiple other forms of writing. Abe’s parents were lower-middle class which may have had some affect on his writings. The Red Cocoon was published in 1957, near the end of Allied Occupation and beginning of the Cold War(“The Red Cocoon”1).
This story is about a young boy who’s mother has recently passed away. The father does his best to fill the role of both parents, but the young boy is left feeling isolated and confused. The story progresses with the young boy’s descent into madness, and eventual suicide. Abe Kobo does an excellent job of using The Red Cocoon to express his feelings on post-war Japan, and the state of mind of its citizens.
When looking at The Red Cocoon from a literary standpoint, it is important to first look at the title. The color red has many different connotations. In this particular instance, it could represent the blood spilled during war, or the anger and hatred felt by those who were fighting. It could also be representative of the Communist threat that was looming over Japan at the time.
The cocoon itself could symbolize the protective shell that people build around themselves in order to keep from being hurt. The fact that it is red could also symbolize the danger that lurks just beyond the surface. The title itself gives away very little about the actual story, but does set a tone that is dark and foreboding.
Abe Kobos novel The Red Cocoon, according to this hypothesis, appears to be a perfect illustration of an author using literature to voice his political views and personal problems with society. Given this, learning about his life and political viewpoint might assist in proving or refuting such a supposition.
The Red Cocoon starts with a guy walking down the street talking to himself about the issue of not having a home to return to. The narrator, who is also the protagonist, transitions abruptly from topic to subject throughout the narrative, but the motif of lack of housing recurs frequently.
The man goes on to visit a bar, where he meets a woman who is also struggling with housing issues. The two discuss their situations and eventually end up sleeping together. The story concludes with the man leaving the womans house and realizing that he still does not have a place to call home. Abe Kobo was born in 1924 in Osaka, Japan. He was raised in a lower-middle class family and did not begin attending school until he was eight years old.
Abe began writing while he was in high school and his first story was published when he was only eighteen. He joined the Japanese Communist Party in 1943 and was arrested and imprisoned for his political beliefs shortly after. Abe continued to write while he was in prison and his experiences during this time would go on to influence his writing.
The Red Cocoon was published in 1949, shortly after Abe was released from prison. The story is set in Osaka, which was also Abe Kobos hometown. The story deals with the struggles of working-class people and the lack of affordable housing. This was a reoccurring theme in Akes work, as he often wrote about the working class and their struggles.
The Red Cocoon can be seen as a reflection of Abe Kobos personal experiences with poverty and homelessness. It is also possible that the story is meant to be a political commentary on post-war Japan and the problems that the country was facing. With this in mind, it seems likely that Abe Kobo was using The Red Cocoon to express his personal views on the state of Japan and its treatment of the working class.
The narrator questions whether he has forgotten his house and knocks on the door of a random home to see if this is what happened. After explaining his problem to the woman who answers the door, he begins arguing with her about having proof that it isn’t his house. The narrator quickly becomes concerned whether or not things like concrete pipes or park benches are actually his home.
The only thing he can think of is air, but as he soon realizes, even air has to belong to something in order for it to exist. The story concludes with the narrator sitting on a bench in a park, realizing that everything in the world belongs to someone and that there is no such thing as something that belongs to no one.
The point of the story seems to be that everything must have a place where it belongs and that nothing can exist without belonging to something. The story also shows how humans tend to try and find ownership in things in order to feel as though they have control over them.
The use of the word “red” in the title could symbolize the blood that gives us life and ties us all together or it could be a reference to the Communist party, which believed in communal ownership of everything. The story could be interpreted in many different ways, but it seems that the main point is that we all need to feel as though we belong somewhere and that everything in the world has its own place where it belongs.
