The Burden of Loneliness: Imagery, Motifs, and Messages in Kitchen Anonymous College

In the Japanese novel, Kitchen, translated by Megan Backus, the author, Banana Yoshimoto, manipulates the motif of light in constructing ups and downs in Mikage’s life to show that loneliness leads to despair, while a connection to others induces happiness. Firstly, Yoshimoto indicates times of joy with light, and times of despair with darkness. Secondly, Yoshimoto draws parallels between Mikage being alone and feeling despondent. In contrast, Yoshimoto shows correspondence between a connection to others and pleasure. Essentially, the motif of light and dark is very carefully interwoven with the themes of loneliness and relationships with others in demonstrating the ebbs and flows of life.

Yoshimoto contrasts light and dark to denote the good and bad times in life, respectively, and how swiftly they occur in succession. For example, following her grandmother’s death, Mikage states that she is alone in the “blackness of the cosmos” (Yoshimoto 4). Yoshimoto’s vivid imagery points to the idea that Mikage is in fact extremely in despair over her grandmother’s death, especially since she was Mikage’s last surviving family. However, in contrast to Mikage’s sadness, Yoshimoto introduces Yuichi as someone “glowing with white light”...