BOOK REPORT
Title of book (Novel): No Longer Human
Author: Osamu Dazai (translated by Donald Keene)
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation Library
Copyright year: 1958
Number of page: 177
Part I
1.1 Introduction
If you are the type of a reader who likes to read about something controversial and also like to read a stories that contain mental and psychological issues, i think No Longer Human wil be suited your taste. The author behind this book is Osamu Dazai, he is a japanese writer in showa era or early 20th century. The name of Osamu Dazai may be familiar because his modern classic book has been integrated into contemporary pop culture by media such as manga (japanese comic), film, and anime (japanese animation). Also his work is internationally accepted and has been considered as one of the mandatory literature in Japan. Moreover No Longer Human becoming the second best-selling novel in Japanese history although this book is Osamu Dazai’s last book that he published before he died.
1.2 Summary
No Longer Human is told in the first person by a young man called Oba Yozo who was grow in a little town. The story devided into five parts, start with a prolog which is the character ‘I’ who is an observer gets three notes and three photos. Then in the first note, Oba Yozo appeared as a youngest child of a large well-to-do family in the north of Japan, Yozo is a good-looking and intelligent child but deep down in his mind he was metally suffering and lack of self-confidence. In the second note until last note Oba Yozo grows up and lives outside the village to attend school, many exteral problem come to Yozo insistently such as when he started living a toxic life. With his friend, he change his life from a student into a criminal who like alcohol, morphine, prostitution, and suicide.
1.3 Character
a. Obo Yozo
Yozo is the main character in this novel, described as a smart man who doesn’t know what he wants in his life. Yozo is affraid of humans, he separated his personality from human life and saw other humans as a different species because he never understand them even his own family. He fail find the same expression, behavior or response like a normal human in general, he just simply didn’t feel like any human.
b. Yozo’s father
Discribed as a dominant and though individual and his decicions are inviolable, so there is not only respect that Yozo give to his father but also a fear.
c. Takeichi
Yozo’s friend in highschool.
d. Horiki
Horiki is Yozo’s friend when he attended an art school in Tokyo. Horiki is an intersting person and someone who is able to undestand Yozo. He is a figure who has brought Yozo to his toxic life, he taught Yozo many things even though most people think what did they do is totally negative things such as drunk, cigarettes, communist group, prostitution, and how to get money in pawnshop.
e. Tsuneko
A prostitute who had a close relationship with Yozo and had a same plan as Yozo to commit suicide together.
f. Yoshiko
A naive girl who had a crush to Yozo and became his wife. She is the one who helped him to break free from alchohol.
1.4 Settings
This novel use Japan’s old era as a setting where there is an impact of western ideas that become a tradition. It is transitional era to modern era.
“On another occasion I assembled all our men and
women servants in the foreign-style room.”(Osamu,32)
The story devided into three Yozo era, whean he still a child, a student, and adult. The author didn’t add a spesific time in this novel.
1.5 Plot
Actually No Longer Human has a chronological plot, which chronicle the life of Oba Yozo from his childhood to adult. There is five part which is devided as first part for prologue where the book begins with an unnamed narrator called ‘I’ finding three notebooks and photos. Second until fifth called ‘Memorandum’ or ‘the notebook’, First memorandum/the first notebook told how little Yozo had a intense feeling of social alienation, it is imposible for him to understand the people around him, he try to cover himself as a clown and hide behind a cheerfulness which is actually fake. Also he get a sexual abuse by a servant during his childhood but he never report it because he thought it would be useless.
“Already by that time I had been taught a lamentable thing
by the maids and menservants; I was being corrupted.
I now think that to perpetrate such a thing on a small child
is the ugliest, vilest, crudest crime a human being can
commit. But I endured it. I even felt as if it enabled
me to see one more particular aspect of human beings.”(Osamu, 35)
The big conflict came from second memorandum/the second notebook When he continue his study to university, he neglects his studies influenced by his new friend called Horiki and enetred a toxic life until he commited suicide with his close prostitute but in the end he saved.
“I soon came to understand that drink, tobacco
and prostitutes were all excellent means of dissipating
(even for a few moments) my dread of human beings.”(Osamu, 63)
In third memorandum part one/the third notebook part one, In this part the conflict is rising when Yozo is expelled from university, he start to work and had a relationship, at the time he immersed in his thoughts about many things and tries to believe in the meaning of society, he drinks heavily. Later, he falls into a relationship with Yoshiko a naive girl who fallen for him. into the climax in next Memorandum.
The last memorandum, third memorandum part two/the third notebook part two. The conflict climax, Yozo become a worse self-destructive when he met Horoki again. He become a morphine addict and isolated at mental institution. Then this novel ended with epilouge which an unnamed narrator called ‘I’ appeared again.
1.6 Theme
The main theme of this novel was “fiction” and “Alienation in society”, as you know that Oba Yozo always anxious with many question inside his head but he never said that to anyone else and he was afraid with human because he find that the people in his life are all fake and egoistical. Then he avoid become offensive infront of other and turned his life into a joke in order to protect himself.
“Disqualified as a human being.
I had now ceased utterly to be a human being.”(Osamu, 167)
Part II
2.1 Evaluation/Analysis
This novel so masterfully written, the author is capable to expressed his detailed view on many aspect and Donald Keene success give the reader expresive translation. It is not boring although the story take a an outspoken controversial theme, as a reader i enjoyed this depressing story and various quotes that enough to smack hard my brain for hit myself to look back at my own life. It is written by the first person, this point of view gives an intimate mood and more feels into its psychological depth. I found amount of autobiographical elements if this novel linked to a real life story of the autor, Dazai Osamu. Both of Dazai and Yozo are born in privilaged family, neglectes his studies, have a same interest to comminusm, addicted to morphine, and committed suicide. I’m interested to a quotes in last memorandum:
“Now I have neither happiness nor unhappiness.
Everything passes.
That is the one and only thing I have thought
resembled a truth in the society of human beings
where I have dwelled up to now as in a burning hell.
Everything passes”(Osamu,169)
Life is not about happiness but there is an unhappiness in this world and we have to adapt.
2.2. Conclution
This well-written novel is the second best-selling novel in Japanese history. Described the life of Oba Yozo from his childhood to adult with many controversial conflict inside the story. I highly recommended you to read this novel because some of important topics showed such as mentall illness, human nature, social relation, and many more.
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