The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket

The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket

Written by Yasunari Kawabata

“The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket” is very philosophical, using a lot of euphemisms and symbols suggested in its economic writing. A visual piece of literary work "The Grasshopper and The Cricket". Rich in content yet concise in expression, Yasunari Kawabata leads us into a whole new culture in which we have never experienced before. At first glance, it seems simple enough, until you realize that it goes on a deeper level. The author also illustrates the love for Japanese tradition by referring to that of making lanterns. The author’s use of euphemism and symbolism is shown at once in the opening paragraphs. The narrator saw a group of children on an insect chase with varicolored lanterns. This implies that there are different kinds of people.

As the narrator observes from a distance, he speaks from his own experience as though preparing the children for a sight they may not see because of their youth. The narrator goes on to explain that they may have had what they were looking for the whole time. “Even if you have the wit to look by yourself in a bush away from the other children, there are not many bell crickets in the world. Probably you will find a girl like a grasshopper whom you think is a bell cricket”. According to the author's interpretation, these two creatures are different not only in their outward appearances, but also, perhaps more importantly, in the meanings they represent. Bell cricket stands for the precious things in life that are worth treasuring, whereas grasshoppers are symbolic of most of the mediocre events in life that we often neglect.

The narrator’s words of wisdom are his warning to the children, not to take anything for granted. If the children take certain situations for granted, they may miss a great opportunity that was in front of them the whole time.

There were crimson, pink, indigo, green, purple, yellow and one that glowed with five colors at once. This showed the different characteristics of the children carrying the lanterns. The ones who were carrying red lanterns have the tendency to lean towards having intense emotions. Contradicting it is pink, which shows gentle emotions. Yellow shows wisdom and intellect. Green has been known for social stability and even greediness. Indigo is of dignity and high aspirations and violet is of noble spiritual aspirations, honor, spirituality and self-esteem. While the one carrying the lantern that glowed with five colors showed well - roundedness of Yasunari Kawabata, the laureate of the 1968 Nobel Prize for Literature, has conveyed us via his surrealistic and impressionist writing style, Although unfamiliar with the cultural practices, it's not hard for us, the exotic audiences of this very indigenous literature reflecting distinctiveness of the Japanese culture, to form the wondrous picture displaying the beauty of innocence of childhood through expressions like "Then these wise child-aristists, cutting out cartons, coloring each little window a different color, with circles and diamonds, red and green, made a single and whole decorative pattern." and " Each day, with cardboard, paper, brush, scissors, pen-knife, and glue, the children made new lanterns out of their hearts and minds. Look at my lantern! Be the most unusually beautiful!" The scene is so animate and pure in which it is completely independent of any kind of influences from the distorted human nature of the adults, that the author, intolerable of disturbing its purity, is "wide-eyed" because he is afraid of missing any part of its innocence and chooses to "loiter near them." Of course, this is not just a story of innocence; it's far more significant than that. In the last part of the story, Yasunari Kawabata states that "And finally, to your clouded, wounded heart, even a true bell cricket will seem like a grasshopper." The grasshopper and the bell cricket, which is more important?

The experiences of growing up have often been accompanied by the distortion of our perception toward the world in which our abilities to discern what is precious and what is not have been deteriorated. Always preserving a crystal-clear heart that is as pure as that of the children's, as the author may suggest, will enable us to differentiate preciousness from mediocrity in which treasureable moments, events and experiences will forever be attained.

In his short story, “The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket,” Yasunari Kawabata shares words