A Study Of The Realistic Concern In Yoko Tawada’s Novels

Yoko Tawada(1960-)is an excellent cross-border writer who works in both German and Japanese.She is known as " the vane of pure literature " and " the most influential contemporary Japanese female writer in the world ".With her unique narrative perspective and language expression,she has created many excellent works with the characteristics of postmodernism literature and art,which are full of strange ideas and surreal plots,including dreams interspersed with memories and absurd future assumptions.And behind the fantastic story,it also contains her real life experience and thoughts about the social reality.Starting from "realistic concern",this paper makes a close reading of Tawada’s novels The Bridegroom Was a Dog,Memoirs of a Polar Bear and The Emissary.Explore the author’s experience,feeling and thinking about "reality" and "modern" life wrapped in bizarre plots,absurd stories and "surreal" role setting.The first part focuses on Japan’s modernization road that aiming at becoming a "civilized" country.Tawada’s novel The Bridegroom Was a Dog,which was written at the end of the 20 th century,is a creation of the traditional story of modern civilization.Through adaptation,Tawada reproduces the picture of modern civilized community,creates a civilized social group that rejects traditional stories and worships western culture.From this,she leads the readers to think about the process of Japan’s transformation from "traditional oriental civilization" to "changing Western civilization" under the guidance of "advanced western civilization",and guides the readers to reflect on the " advanced civilization concept ".The second part is the write’s recollection and record of civilian life under the background of the cold war.Through the polar bear’s mouth,she interprets the international situation in the cold war,and the heavy disaster to ordinary people brought by the political struggle among countries,which make readers feel Tawada’s strong accusation against the Soviet military government for creating "democratic atmosphere".And Tawada’s narration of "putting on bear skin" also arouses the author’s thinking about the identity of polar bear.It is the writer’s admonition of human behavior and refutation of "Anthropocentrism".The third part is the obscure expression of social chaos and public panic in Japan after the 3.11 earthquake.In the absurd plot,the author shows the negative impact on society after the nuclear leakage caused by the earthquake.The writer creates the "isolated island of Japan" through anti-Utopian negative imagination,reminds modern people to pay attention to energy security and ecological protection.After intensive study of the text,we also found the writer’s guidance to the development path and future prospects after facing the reality.Yoko Tawada’s novels are unique literature formed by skillful use of postmodernism.On the surface,it subverts the real world,but in fact,it explains reality,review history,observes life and writes ordinary people’s sufferings.Her concern for reality has penetrated into every corner and pass on to the common people through the novels.