Jiahan/Cindy's post for October 11th reading:

The readings for this week is fascinating, such that I encounter something new that I never experienced before.

Full of Malice: This is really a violent tale. It tells about that a female protagonist stepped into a health institution to find his 5-year-old brother, who was a half-wit. But it ended up with the female character's brain being taken out by a young doctor by force. And she was unable to escape from that "health institution" and watched her brother's cut body remains with an unconscious and fake smile. It is quite brutal and make me dumbfounded after reading it. Nonetheless, I think that the message here is provoking. This story reminds us about the importance of those unwanted/undesired negative emotions. Emotions like revenging, mad, hate, and dislike, which we want to restrain, even put into extinction, are parts that make us complete human. Without them, we would live in a deceptive friendly world with a meaningless and dull smile, which possesses no soul. I guess that Izumi Suzuki wants her readership to realize that even malice, is a crucial part to each of us, that we have to live along with throughout our life. This notion is impressive and makes me think of the newly released "Inside Out 2", which punches on that every emotion has a purpose to be and we shall embrace them as well as we shall embrace an imperfect self. However, although I am charmed by this short story, I could not stand her mentioning about Miyazawa Kenji being an old storyteller in the "health institution". To me, although Kenji's literature can seem to be utopian and too extremely pure, his work purges people's heart so effectively and has a strong power in them, which is not utopian and overly idealistic at all. Characters in Kenji's stories do have their downsides and flaws, yet there will always be a pure-hearted character, in sought of true happiness. I always feel that Kenji's most beautiful wishes are contained in his stories and it is not something fake, or pretentious.

The Hole: This is yet another tale touches on societal insatisfaction between a modern Japanese married couple. Behind everything tranquil and peaceful, our protagonist is not able to have a rewarding job and feel lost in her temporary "house-wife" life. She's stuck somehow and could not find a way out, while her husband is always on his phone, failing a helpful conversation. I wonder what is the significance of the appearance of the mysterious black animal and a boy beside the river. And I am curious about the hole and Seras. Who is Seras and is she just a neighbor or a ghost. I have many suspicions about her. And my biggest guess is that maybe they are all reflections of Matsuura's innermost desires, such that the mysterious black animal might be her desire to find something new that excites her and grants her a meaning of life, such as an adventure similar to Alice in Wonderland. And the appearance of Seras might be her desire to connect with other people and make friend with others, as we are told in the beginning that Matsuura does not have handful of friends.

Twelve Twitter Stories: This is one of the most craziest thing that I ever read. They are sequences of stories, lacking an exact connection to me. And the address changed between first person and third person. Some of them sounds like a podcast script to me. But it is an interesting read and I am looking forward to discuss them in class. Maybe they are all different dreams during one ill sleep night?

People who talk to stuffed animals are nice: I am in love with the title and I think that stuffed animals is an important symbol in this short story. And it is a story about a male character Nanamori, who is unfit with his surroundings for his insufficient idea and pulses towards romantic relationships. It is quite psychological too, in writing, which unfolds Nanamori's thoughts before the readers clearly.