Responsibility of a Citizen of the Floating World

             Once educated and informed on certain things a person usually takes that information and uses it. Being a college student I have learned lots of information, ideas, theories some of them I use, some of it I do not. However, being enrolled in a multicultural literature class this semester has opened my eyes and given me the knowledge on what it is to be a citizen of the floating world. Being a part of a citizen world it is important to recognize your identity and the role that you play. I am still defining my identity and will continue to do so as my life goes on. There are two important points when looking at the responsibility of being a citizen in the floating world. I am going to use two points from Robert Burton’s book “Artists of the Floating World” and apply these points by using examples from two novels we used over the semester and relate these to my understanding of being apart of the floating world.

            The first point made is to look at your life as a narrative. . I have only began to take a step back and look at my life as a narrative. When you stand back and look at your life as if you are a character in a novel you realize that you are also the author and the decisions you make in life are going to determine the results and outcomes of your life. When becoming a citizen of the floating world and creating your identity it is important to look at life as your narrative Without taking the time to sit back and really think about the consequences of your actions you may find yourself unhappy with who and where you are in life. Most of the decisions we make are with good intentions and at the time we make these decisions they seem to be they best choice to make.  When a person is able to stand back and look at the big picture, they then have control to make decisions that write and can also re-write their lives. “to be a citizen of the floating world is to recognize and acknowledge the narratives that constitute our identity; furthermore, it is understood that these narratives are constantly in the process of being reshaped and re written” (Burton 131). 

            “An Artist of the Floating World” by Kazuo Ishiguro  is a narrative of Japan during it’s pre-war and post-war years retold and remembered through the eyes of Masuji Uno an retired artist and art teacher. He used his arts to create propaganda to show his patriotism during a time of war with Japan. Ishiguro’s novel takes a look at the decisions made and how it creates Ono’s identity. When taking a look outside one can “come to realize the extent to which our choices are compromised both by values consciously or unconsciously adopted by ourselves and by the communities to which we belong. The narrative that we compose for ourselves may or may not agree with the mainstream narratives around us” (Burton 131).  Ono sees his contribution to his country as being a good and honorable thing, and at the time of war what he was doing was the right thing. However after the war, many of those in high political positions committed suicide because they felt responsible and guilty for the outcome of the war. Younger generations felt that the war was a waste and anyone who had anything to do with the war was in the wrong. Ono’s narrative does not got along with the mainstream narrative post war. Ono found himself floating between the worlds and beliefs of pre and post war. Bharati Mukherjee is another example with in her novel “Jasmine” takes a step back and writes the a narrative on the life of an immigrant trying to settle into the United States lifestyle. Jasmine tries to lose her Indian identity to which culture she originated from to fit into that United States culture. Being able to stand back and look at the big picture Jasmine decides that she will be the one to decide what she becomes, no one else.

            The second point I am going to use is “to be a citizen of the floating world is to make ethical choices when framing our understanding of the world, to be aware that while a frame can afford an important structuring device for understanding the world, it can also prove to be severely limiting and restrictive” (Burton 131).  Throughout my education I have been taught to have an open mind, I have also been taught different views that I would not have been able to learn or know about. When being a part of the floating world, you have to understand that the world is always and forever changing. Political views, and beliefs, and in general just how people live their life changes. Especially with technology and the ability to be more interactive with communities from other worlds. Finding ones identity also involves realizing what your view and take of the world is, but also having an open mind to have this view challenged and to understand that there are other views out there. Interacting with others in an ethical way is very important. Our frames start from our family, religion, nationality all of these things frame our identity. As we create our own identities it is important to recognize other identities and interact with them in an ethical way. It is important to keep an open mind and learn from other cultures so if needed we can reshape our identities using the new information we have learned.  Using Ishiguro “An Artist of the Floating World” to support this is Ono’s problem agreeing with and understanding the beliefs and culture of the generation after the war. Opinions and interests change throughout generations. It is hard for older generations to understand the younger generations especially politically. This can be a restriction and limiting, Ono had a hard time relating to his children and grand children because of his inability to understand their political views. An example from Mukherjee’s novel “Jasmine”, is Jasmine ability to change her roles and identity to be able to fit in with the beliefs of the world she lived in.

            In conclusion, in order to responsibility be a citizen of a floating world you have to first define what role you play in the world. You do this by taking a step back and looking at yourself as a character in a narrative and see how you are able to write your life by the decisions that you make. It is also important to know what certain frames that create and have and impression on our identity. Being open minded is one of the most important things to have when trying to be apart of the floating world. Reading the two novels by Mukherjee and Ishiguro has helped me see different ways of defining one’s self. Taking the multicultural literature class has helped me by introducing me to literature that I would not have read otherwise and me walking away with knowledge and how to better myself as a citizen of the floating world.