Egotism in kokoro by natsume soseki
Egotism in kokoro by natsume sosekiIB Essay: Kokoro by Natsume Soseki
"What we are." -- A phrase that causes a number of thoughts to cross my mind. What makes us who we are? From the light of events of Kokoro by Natsume Soseki, I did some research to find an answer to this question. One aspect of all human behaviors is egotism. In Kokoro, events take place primarily around the relationship of Sensei and "I". Sensei and "I" are both attracted to each other for they share some common characteristics. We, in human nature, all do things that will improve our lives, even if that means becoming egotistical. Sensei and "I" both fall into this black hole of egotism from which they will never return. They are egotistical just like us. Although they both graduated from the prestigious University of Tokyo, they are not satisfied with their sophistication. They attempt desperately to convince others that they are the righteous. When they encounter a belief that they do not accept or understand, they become paranoid for they fear that they are wrong. In Sensei's case, he becomes very insecure when K contradicts Sensei's explanation of his denial about love to an opposite sex. He fears that K is more sophisticated than him. This causes him to believe that he will not be able convince K that his feeling to Ojosan go against his own belief about manhood. "I" on the other hand struggles, for he cannot fully understand why Sensei acts in the way he does until he receives Sensei's testament.
Sensei in his college years, was very machismo. He did not believe in love until he met Ojosan. Therefore, Sensei was very sensitive in Ojosan's attitude towards anybody. When he found out that K shared the same feelings to Ojosan as Sensei did, he became very worried, for he was not confident that he would make much of a rival to him. He attempted to take K out of the game; the game to get Ojosan first. He utilized the argument that K is wrong to feel love for her because he had denied the idea of love in the past saying, "People with no spiritual aspiration is stupid." Sensei felt defeated by K's explanation to why he contradicted his past idea about Love, for K did not give into Sensei. Sensei then became very paranoid and did everything that he possibly could to win Ojosan from K. As a result, he ended up marrying Ojosan by manipulating her mother Okusan. But as Sensei mentioned himself, "I was wrong�c I was wrong�c," he realized and admited that he was responsible for K's suicide. He then spent the rest of his life accompanying his wife in order to keep the truth away from her. He felt that her understanding of Sensei should be kept...
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