Problem:
Write a review on one of the stories from One World: A Global Anthology Of Short Stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Jhumpa Lahiri and 21 other authors. ISBN: 978-1-906523-13-8
The story is "Melancholy Nights in a Tokyo Cyber Café" by Sequoia Nagamatsu (US).
What is this story about? What themes are being elaborated in this story? What aspects of globalization are being critiqued, here? In what ways can we use this story to both support Friedman's argument and at the same time make an argument that the story is showing us negative aspects of globalization and, especially, technology? Do you think characters in the story are isolated? If so why? How does technology both enable this isolation and simultaneously provide for connections? Are connections made via technology as good as interpersonal ones? Does the story make any comment about that? How is this isolation connected to the constant evocation of suicide groups in Tokyo? There is a mention of fear after the Sarin gas attacks in Tokyo in 1995. Read about it a bit on the internet and see how it has shaped the world being represented in the short story. What does the juxtaposition of the old man with his printer and fliers with the cyber cafe suggest to the reader? Why doesn't Akira ever talk to Yoshiko?
The story opens with some vivid descriptions of the city and Akira? What particular words, images and symbols are used throughout the story to flesh out the theme of isolation, fear and desolation that the characters seem to feel (at least three of them)? What do you make of the story's ending? Does it reveal hope? If so how and why? If not, how and why? If you choose to pick this up make sure you focus on particular words etc to make a convincing argument. So much of the story is about watching--watching the screen; watching the people; Akira watching Yoshiko; Akira watching Yoshiko and her daughter's body being taken out on television etc. What do you think all this emphasis on watching means in an age of technology? Does actually bring people closer as Friedman suggests? The old man is the only person who seems to act even though he too is all about the apocalypse and the end of the world scenarios. Why doesn't Akira ever act, or does he? Make sure the paper has a thesis and that you develop your argument properly with support from the story.
Summary
The question belongs to English/Linguistics and it is about writing a summary for one of the stories from One World, A Global Anthology Of Short Stories. One of the stories by Sequoia Nagamatsu, "Melancholy Nights in a Tokyo Cyber Café" has been reviewed in the solution.
Total Word Limit: 780 Words