ごんと兵十

あなたは「ごん」が好きですか?
「ごん」のことをかわいいと思いますか?
ペットにしたいですか?

兵十はどうでしょう?
あなたは兵十が好きですか?兵十の気持ちや行動に共感できますか。

兵十が「ごん」を撃ったことを許せますか。

Do you like Gon?
Do you think Gon is cute?
Do you want to have him for a pet?

How about Hyoju?
How do you like him?
Can you sympathize with his feeling , his way of thinking , and his behavior ?

Can you forgive Hyoju for shooting Gon?

6 件のコメント:

  1. Berry

    At first I did not much like Gon. He seemed to be the typical mischievous character who does not think much of others. There are a lot of characters like this in children's stories. A character is either good or they are bad. But as Gon went on he became more real and we saw that he did not have only one side to him. After witnessing the funeral he felt sorry for what he had done and wanted to atone. Soon I found myself liking Gon and I did feel very sorry when he died at the end. I did not expect my feelings to change so much in a short book.

    I'm not sure I'd want Gon as a pet . . . but I would like to have a friend that was caring like Gon and wanted to make up for mistakes.

    As for Hyoju, at the beginning I did not really care about his character. After we see his mother has died he becomes more interesting as we are asked to think about how he is like all people, and faces sadness. Also, he is a good example of how people can easily make mistakes when they do not understand the intentions of others. He shot Gon because her thought Gon was going to mess with him again and once he did understand it was too late. We all make these kinds of mistakes in life and like Gon and Hyoju, we all have regrets.

    I can't really blame Hyoju for shooting Gon. He did not understand what Gon was doing. But, I think it is sad. I think Hyoju was sorry and I think that Gon knew that. So, I think at the end, Gon and Hyoju were able to understand and forgive each other.

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  2. Do you like Gon?
    I liked Gon. I think he behaves like a young uncontrollable child. His mischiefs are the ones of a child left to run alone outside. I couldn’t blame it even when he lets escape the fishes. We can see here that he is not w completely wild animal otherwise he would have eaten them. But it’s also not said that he did it to do bad towards Hyoju. He was just playing and didn’t consider his actions had consequences.

    Do you think Gon is cute?
    As I see lots of children’s characteristics in Gon, yes I found him cute.

    Do you want to have him for a pet?
    I have never considered it before reading the question, for 2 very different and opposed reasons. Gon is 1/ a wild animal; 2/behaving like a human
    It’s an antithesis very common in children’s literature. Maurice Sendak’s book Where the wild things are, is based on this double conception, that is according to psychologist existent in children’s mind: behave according to the human society for acceptance; and refusing it and following wildly one’s desires.

    How about Hyoju? How do you like him?
    I liked him. He is a patient and strong man, enduring his mother’s death, not upset when he got beaten by the fish salesman, but reflecting on why it happened, and how they could have been mistaken.

    Can you sympathize with his feeling, his way of thinking , and his behavior ?
    The only think that I didn’t like from him is how he takes advice from someone else to know what to do for all those presents he receives. He seems easily convinced by others.
    His behaviour of quickly deciding to shoot Gon is for me reflecting more a countryside behaviour (protecting one’s living) than revenge.

    Can you forgive Hyoju for shooting Gon?
    Because Gon forgave him (unazukimashita), we cannot avoid forgive him.
    Hyoju reaction is also based on ignorance. He believes in a God, and didn’t consider what he was told to be otherwise.

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  3. Gon and Hyoju were equally likable to me. Both of them were equally innocent and equally at fault.

    Gon was indeed cute! He was curious about everything around him and tried to do his best all the time.

    Hyoju as well was.. well, he wasn't "cute" :P But he seemed to be a decent fellow; at the very least he did nothing that made him unpleasant. Hyoju had a hard time of things.. from his viewpoint, his fish were stolen, his mother died, he was made to look like a thief and then strange things start happening to his house which could possibly be done by a god (a good thing, but also a scary one.. who knows what gods want?). All-in-all, Hyoju has been having a hard time of things. By the end he is probably exhausted, confused, sad and frustrated. Naturally, he blames the only one who has been present at all these times.

    Gon, while meaning no harm, does much harm by making assumptions about a world he does not understand. He is sweet and innocent and wishes only the best. He is very much like a human child as well. He notices similarities between himself and Hyoju and feels closer to him because of this. When Gon does things that end up making things harder for Hyoju, he realizes it and tries to make up for it. When he brings the fish, chestnuts and pinecones(?), he wants to signal that he sees them as two in the same boat and that he's sorry. When Gon overhears them talking about a god probably putting the chestnuts in Hyoju's house, he is offended! This final act just proves his childishness.. he wants to prove them wrong, unable to take the slight of being neglected.

    It's important to note, I think, that Gon and Hyoju are from two different worlds and neither of them properly understands the other. As a result, they both react incorrectly to eachother's gestures.

    I don't know if Hyoju can be forgiven for shooting Gon, but I understand why he did it. Gon was foolish and so was Hyoju. In the end, Hyoju seemed to understand, so in that way, he is forgiven.

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  4. このコメントは投稿者によって削除されました。

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  5. 話の最初には、いたずらをしているごんが可愛いとは思いませんでした。「このきつね、酷くない?」と思っていました。(確かに姿はかわいいのですが、個性的には可愛くはないですね。)
    しかし、ごんは非を悟ったら、好きになりました。なぜかというと、もっといい狐になれたからです。「ごん狐はやっぱりいいキャラだね」と思っていました。(得に、キャラが違ったことが分かったのは行161-163です。感謝されていないごんは、栗をあげるのを続けているからです。)
    でも、ごんはいい狐になっても、ペットにはしたくないです。狐というものは野生的ですからね。

    逆に、最初には兵十と共感しました。助けられないお母さんが死んでしまって、かなり悲しくて寂しい人だったでしょう。
    でも、ごんを撃ったというのはやっぱり共感しにくいことですね。兵十のお母さんが死んじゃったからこそ「死」という悲しさを分かるはずだったのに・・
    最後に兵十も(ごんのように)非を悟ったから、感情的には苦しいのですが、兵十を許せるでしょう。気持ちとは共感できますが、生きているものを殺すなんて、共感するのには酷すぎますね。

    At the beginning, I didn’t think Gon, who had done such a cruel thing to Hyoju, was very cute. Rather, I thought he was mean. (Of course, he appears cute, but his personality was quite rotten.)
    However, after Gon realized the error of his ways, I began to like him. He became a better fox, and thus, a better character. (One passage where it’s evident how Gon has changed are lines 161-163. Although he doesn’t receive any thanks or recognition from Hyoju, he continues to do good deeds.)
    Even after he became a better fox, though, I never wanted to keep Gon as a pet. He’s a fox, and thus deserves to stay in the wild.
    On the other hand, at the beginning of the story, I sympathized with Hyoju. He wasn’t able to do anything for his mother, and so she died, leaving him a very sad and lonely man indeed.
    But when it comes to his killing Gon, I don’t think I can sympathize with that. Since his mother died, you would think he would be able to understand how painful death is, but swept up in his rage, apparently Hyoju was unable to think straight.
    At the end, Hyoju, too, was able to realize the error of his ways. Because of that, I’d probably forgive him. Although I sympathize with his feelings of hurt, however, I cannot sympathize with his decision to kill another living being.

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  6. Nachanさん、日本語と英語でコメントをありがとう!お疲れ様でした。

    優しいNachanさんのことですから、誰か(動物も含めて)が死んだり傷ついたり苦しんだりするのを見ていられないのでしょうね。

    実は私も子供のころ、この「ごんぎつね」の最後がかわいそうすぎで、話としては好き半分、嫌い半分といったところでした。他の人が「ごんぎつねが好きだ。いい話だ」というふうに言っているのがすごく不思議でした。

    貧しい農民が「害獣」の狐を殺す。これは昔は当たり前のことだったと思います。動物を殺す側の人間には同情なんて、特になかったかもしれません。非常に厳しい現実ですね。「受け入れられる/られない」などと考えている暇はなくて、人間の方も必死だったと思うんですね。そういう厳しい現実を、作者はそのまま作品の中に描こうとしたのではないかと思います。

    そうです。兵十は自分の過ちを認めました。でも、だからといって、彼がごんを殺したという現実は、心優しい読者にとってはショッキングすぎますね。ごんというキャラがかわいければかわいいほど・・・

    ある学生が「ごんぎつね」を読んで「人間は悲しい話から学ぶのです」と言いました。「ごんぎつね」は「このことを学びなさい」というふうには書かれていませんが、読者はそれぞれ感じて、学ぶところがあるでしょう。

    私の子供も秋に学校でこの作品を習う予定です。子供たちがそれぞれ何を学ぶのか、とても興味深いですね。

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