Essay on Prize Stock: Exploring Ethical Ambiguities in Intercultural Relationships

One of the most important aspects of human nature is the need to relate and connect with each other. We quench our hunger for a sense of identity and belonging by seeking membership or establishing groups that that share our physical characteristics and values. On the other side, we also do the contrary; we abuse and oppress those we view as others for our personal gains. The novel Prize Stock by Kenzaburo Oe evaluates the ethical ambiguities that emanate from the interaction of two cultures. The author presents the reader with a controversial perspective that blurs the line between morality and immorality. The story serves to show the contrast between the perception of Japanese culture and the reality on the ground. Oe's work dismisses the stereotype associated with Japanese culture; a people that were considered a rising economic power were also uneducated about the rest of the world. The villagers revel at the sight of a black human being, something that is not expected of the rising Japanese culture. Traditionally, Japanese culture focuses on beauty and sensitivity to nature, this is unlike the world's assumption that they focused on humanism. Oe's story is also an illustration of how alienated the Japanese really are, so much so that they do not know people with other skin colors exist. This ignorance of skin color symbolizes the Japanese's cultural, social, and political isolation from the rest of the world during that time. The sight of a black man is incomprehensible to the marginalized villagers, and as an extension, Japanese people. Consequently, the novel provides his audience with a bad picture of humanity, one that disregards the peaceful and meaningful relationship between two cultures.

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To begin with, the story when the Frog and his young brother finish looking for bones they intended to use as play medals. They note a huge American plane with their friend Hareclip before returning home, where they lived on the second floor of the village storehouse. At dawn, the village is awakened by the sound of a huge crash in the mountains. The men in the village go to find out what had happened forbidding children from coming along. In the evening, the men return from the mountain with something absurd, a black American man who had survived the crash. Surprisingly, none villagers had ever seen such a creature, and they consider him more of a beast than an enemy. Frog, the protagonist in the story, states, "I hugged myself with both arms, I wanted to throw off my clothes and shout- we were going to rear the black soldier, like an animal!" (Oe 127). In this context, the author's choice of word "rear' is significant in bringing up a double meaning since people never speak of "rearing" slaves of war. Besides the clear implication that the black American soldier is not human, it obviously implies a certain degree of care on the villager's part. The use of the word in the story is a double-sided word. On one side, it brings the question of whether to torture or kill him. On the other hand, there is an option to take the prisoner in and treat him like an animal. The villagers were in a dilemma of the best course of action to take since the first option recognizes the humanity of the soldier, while the second view him as a beast even though it seems more lenient.

Secondly, the author also gets to learn about Japanese culture through Harelip's behavior towards the girls. At the communal spring, Harelip lets village girls play with his penis. The question of which actions embrace other people's humanity also arise in such sexual scenes in the novel. His behavior towards the girls might seem childish, but it is evident that something more profound about the Japanese culture. The scene illustrates men's domination over women, as the author suggests, "Harelip caught one of the girls and began his lewd ritual...Harelip, bright red and laughing, raised a shout each time he slapped the girl's spray-wet, shining buttocks with his open palm. We roared with laughter, and the girl cried" (Oe 152). The whole story is rife with bizarre views on human sexuality as Frog also puts out sexual statements suggesting "Dreamily I pictured myself absorbed in the odd game to which Harelip seemed abnormally attached. But whenever the girls among the children returning naked from the spring smiled timidly at me...an unstable color like mashed peaches peeking from the folds of their meager, exposed vaginas..." (Oe 123). The ideology of cultural sexuality showing abusive children might be disturbing, but the portrayal of the black American might even be more alarming. For instance, the boys who were given the task of looking after him are fascinated by his big penis. Frog speaks of how he is unimpressed by the genitalia of the bathing village girls, to the extent of throwing small stones at them but considers the African American captive soldier's penis beautiful and unworldly. As a result, they ask him to have sex with a goat which he obliges by making an attempt to penetrate, "The black soldier labored mightily, his black, rugged penis glistening in the sun, but it simply would not work the way it did with a Billy-goat" (Oe 153). Why the author decided to include such an inhuman act in the story is still unclear, but it evidently shows the levels most black people stand in the pedestal of humanity. Another question that arises from this scene is whether the black soldier acted out of a free will or the behavior of the villagers hugely influenced him. If the former is true, then maybe these events in the village can be justified. However, if the latter is the case, then the villagers changed him into such an animal. It seems like they had corrupted a fellow human to the extent that he is incapable of normal sexual relations.

Additionally, the characters used in the novel are not only exploitative but they also dehumanizing. The author suggests that "othering" and dehumanization are the means through which humans rationalize their exploitative behavior. For instance, one can justify the actions of the children to treat the soldier like an animal as child play since they appear to have a positive interaction with him. On the flip side of the coin, he is exploited as a tool that the children can use for entertainment. The author's employment of imagery while analyzing the summer of the black soldier clearly establishes this concept. "To us, it seemed that the summer that bared those tough, resplendent muscles, the summer that unexpectedly geysered like an oil well, spewing happiness and drenching us in black, heavy oil, would continue forever" (Oe 153). It is apparent that oil and muscles are not symbols that are normally associated with the summer. In the real sense, muscles often represent the struggle and power in the community. Natural selection among humans often reminds them to look out for their own interests, to take advantage of this kind of power to dominate and exploit. This is what the black soldier and the village children do during the summer since the concept applies to both collective entities and individuals. Furthermore, the symbol of black oil can be used to symbolize corruption. The antagonist of the story, Frog is introduced into the cruel and abusive world of adults, which he unwittingly takes part in it even though he gained insight into that world by the end of the story. "The black soldier had transformed into the enemy, and my side was clamoring beyond the trap door. Anger, and humiliation, and the irritating sadness of betrayal raced through my body like flames, scorching me" (Oe 157). Frog finally starts to understand human behavior to exploit others when he is taken captive by the soldier. That is circumstances make a situation beneficial, then someone who seems to be a friend may somehow become an enemy.

Oe's tries to bring out the fact that at the end of the day, everyone is in for himself as evident in the story. People do not speak about the injustices that the black American soldier went through until those injustices were inflicted upon them. The author implies that even though we may find it difficult to relate to other people's experiences, even though we collectively experience the same things. For instance, all communities have fought at least one war, and they understand the devastation that comes with it. However, as long as the wars are happening somewhere else, people only view it as a conflict and do not put so much consideration into it. Additionally, the fact that suffering exists everywhere in the world makes some of these instances feel like they are part and parcel of humanity. Throughout the history of humanity, humans have failed to relate to other cultures. Instead, they have only noticed their differences rather than similarities. One statement by Frog is a clear indication of the reality of this concept when he suggests that it is not his hand that is smelling, but "...the nigger's smell" (Oe 165). Despite all the things that he had made the soldier do, he declines from taking responsibility for the part he played those events. His epiphany that he is no longer a little kid is not a justification of why humans act unjustly, but a grim acceptance of the status quo. The author also explores the importance of language in the formation of bonds and "othering." The villagers' perception of the African American soldier is reinforced by the fact that they cannot communicate. It is only after the soldier repairs Clerk's artificial leg and the bear trap that he establishes his humanity as a fully functional feeling human being. The language barrier often hampers his humanization process, making it a slow, gradual process, unlike what would have been the case if he could communicate with them.

Over the last 200 years, scholars have tried to incorporate a focus on humans over the supernatural, which is a western view. New thought that encouraged people to think about the human aspect more, learn about tolerance and the fragile human state. These efforts were an attempt to dissuade the alienated Japanese from waging war against the rest of the world. According to various Japanese scholars, theirs is a polarized Culture split between two ambiguities, some people are oriented towards the west, while some others defer to the traditions. This ambiguous orientation is reflected in decisions like invading its neighbors. Japan's ambiguity stems from its history of isolation at every level, including culturally, socially, and politically. Japan saw a culture shift in the aftermath of world war two. The profoundly wounded japans wanted a rebirth following their catastrophic losses in the war. The post-war generation tried to make amends for the wrongdoings committed by Japanese forces all over the world. The post-war culture was characterized by the unwillingness to reconcile. Seeking reconciliation with the world the modern society is ambivalent. During the Second World War, Japanese culture was peripheral, marginal, and off-center, according to world-renowned scholars. From the outside, Japan was considered a rising power, but on the ground, things were different. The people were in a permanent impoverished state full of want; for example, they lacked knowledge of the current world affairs. At the same time, the people had a knack for brotherhood since they were under attack. The prevailing environment at the time pit the Japanese against the world, reflected in the novels account of how the survivor would not have lived long would he have been black.

Conclusion

The world had a part-reflection of the ways of Japanese people, of those living in cities and metropolitan areas, a small subsection of the country. During the time depicted in the novel, there were stark contrasts between the minority population in developed regions and the rest of the rural population. Being an island na...