Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden captures a whirlwind of emotions for the reader. This book makes the reader laugh, cry and feel the pain of the lead character Sayuri. As a child transitioning from a normal life to the slave-like imprisonment of a geisha, I was not truly able to personally relate with the novel. However, Golden makes Sayuri seem so real that I feel pain every time she is sabotaged or manipulated. She makes me think of myself when I was younger. She is full of wonder and amazement. However, much unlike myself, she loses her childhood quickly when she is turned into a geisha. This made me feel so much sorrow for her, since everything was against her will and most parts of the novel left me squirming in my chair.
Though Sayuri and I are living two completely different lives, I still felt the same emotions she felt. We are dealing with the same emotions of adolescence, though they are caused by different reasons. While Sayuri is scared from the torment of Hatsumomo, I am scared of choosing my future and relinquishing my childhood. This connection to her made me feel as if I were in the book. When Sayuri found joy in the small things such as the kindness of the Chairman and the shaved ice he bought her, I felt a warmth in my heart and a genuine sincerity for her pleasure. Her happiness created my happiness while flipping through the pages of the novel. The words seemed to wrap around my mind and and tug at my emotions; I was entranced. Literary merit is something that makes the novel stand out.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story receives its literary merit from the clever dialogue. Words are not simply spoken by the characters, they are clumped together but flow easily. The reader can practically hear the teens bantering back and forth, since the dialogue is exactly how teenagers talk; many words are shortened into slang and other words are italicized to show how melodramatic the teens are. For instance, when Nia asks Craig what is wrong she asks, “Are you okay?” which shows how much she is concerned and adds to the overdramatized dialogue.
Memoirs of a Geisha shows literary merit in a very different way. The merit comes from the narration of the novel, rather than how the novel is written. This novel is centered around the mind of a child being thrown into maturity. The narrating is from a child’s perspective as she tries to comprehend what is happening to her. For instance, when she sees Hatsumomo being romantic with a man, she does not understand what is happening because she is too young to understand what is going on. This type of narration creates a child-like approach to something that would usually be spoken by an adult. The literary merit is earned by the approach of the unreliable narrator; the confusion and lack of understanding of young Sayuri makes this book stand out and gives it literary merit.
