Discussion of characters in 'Out'
...ferred to, numerous times as a ‘cold fish’. Masako feels isolated from her family, as her son had refused to talk to his parents for the past two years, and her husband, hating his job and resenting his family for be connected with the corrupt outside world, hides away in his own room (not even sleeping in the same room as his wife). She also feels isolated from the world in general, as she herself, has no one to turn to, yet everyone relies on her. The oldest of the group, in her late fifties is Yoshie Azuma, nicknamed ‘the Skipper’ out of ‘grudging respect’ as she was the fastest worker on the line, with nimble fingers. Yoshie is a widow, who looks after her invalid mother-in-law as well as her daughter and grandson, and often feels like ‘a spin-cycle on a washing machine with no clothes inside’, repeating her work over and over again, for nothing. The only thing that keeps her going is the fact she is respected at work, whereas at home, her dignity is drained from her, as she cleans her mother-in-law’s excrement and changes her. The ‘outsider’ of the group is Kuniko Junouchi, a self absorbed, overweight, two faced individual, who buys designer labels, and imported cars, creating a mountain of debt, paying only the interest, thus showing her naivety about life and the financial world. During the course of the book, her husband leaves her, and she feels even more isolated since her financial situation together with her looks make her feel unattractive to others. She does not like the others, yet still socializes with them as she thinks ‘good things are bound to happen to people who stick close to Masako’ which only emphasises how naďve she is about the world. She is also described as having a ‘…sloppy, self-indulgent nature’ which ‘was all too obvious’. Her self-absorbed nature is also evident when she approaches Masako to borrow money: “She lent money to Yoshie, so obviously she’d lend me some.” The last person in the group is Yayoi Yamamoto, young, attractive and lonely. Her loneliness is derived from the fact that she has to look after her two young boys while her husband gets drunk, gambles away their savings and pays for prostitutes. She finally cedes her morals (under stress), and strangles him. Yayoi seems sweet and innocent, yet she herself relished the fact she was hurting her husband as she strangled him: ‘It feels so good, she told herself. Strange she had never known she had such cruelty inside. Still, she found this thrilling. During the course of the book, the author tries to emphasise the fact, that the way you look, doesn’t change who you are, an example is the Yakuza, a Japanese gangster, by the name of Soga: ’Soga occasionally came out with the odd intelligent remark, despite the way he looked.’ Masako is an extremely enigmatic character. Throughout the book, our conception of the character changes, as parts of her life are revealed and her thoughts and emotions become apparent. At first, she appears as a strong, reliable woman with no feelings, and, but as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that she hides her feelings, as she feels she is not close to anyone, that people have shut off, and so she locks herself away in her own solitary world. Something is wrong with Masako, she cannot have an intimate relationship, and the reason for this is not made apparent why in Out. Masako is a very judging person, she constantly criticises Kuniko and Yayoi for being weak, naďve, being liabilities, and would break down and confess their crime. She is also very critical of herself, as if she makes one simple mistake, such as trusting Kuniko enough to get rid of a few bags, filled with Kenji’s limbs; She feels a deep disappointment in herself, even though it is not her fault. She is also a very, thorough person, taking everything in and trying to solve any problem that rears its head. When they have finished removing Kenji’s anatomy from him, she counts the bags exactly, and begins to divide between them the g...