First Name:
Jon
Last Name:
Aldridge
Major Department:
English
Thesis Director:
Jay Wentworth
Date of Thesis:
May 2012
Living Alone: Three Chapters of a Novelfollows the thirteen-year-old main character, Kazuki Kazetani, as his farming community falls under the crest of urban development in the outskirts of the future city of Nara, Japan. When his father decides to move the family into a high-rise condominium in the city, Kazuki is faced with the difficulties of adapting to the new environment and making new friends. By the end of the three chapters, we see that Kazuki also must question his identity, what it is, where it comes from, whether it can be preserved in his new surroundings, or whether it demands to be recreated into something altogether different. The story explores themes of alienation, rural and city life, farmer’s issues, and ecological destruction in contemporary Japan.