Em u lat ion Han dbook
Musahsi / Eiji Yoshikawa
Th e n ovel M u sash i st ar t s w it h t h e m ain ch ar act er Tak ezo,
t h at w ak es u p in a f ield af t er t h e bat t le of Sek igah ar a. Af t er
t h at even t h e t r ies t o cr oss t h e bor der bu t w h ile doin g so h e
k ills a gu ar d an d becom es an ou t law.Tak ezo t h en t r ies t o go
back t o h is village bu t f ails becau se t h e village h ead w an t s
h im dead so h e get s ch ased ou t an d is con st an t ly bein g
h u n t ed. Even t u ally h e w as f ou n d by a m on k an d w as lef t t o
h an g on a t r ee f or days, bu t som eon e decides t o let h im
dow n so h e can escape. Af t er h e escapes h e is f ou n d sh or t ly
af t er by t h e m on k again bu t h is pu n ish m en t ch an ges t o
bein g lock ed in a r oom f or 3 year s w it h n ot h in g bu t book s.
Wh en h e f in ally com es ou t of h is con f in em en t h e decides h e
is a n ew m an an d r en am es h im self M u sash i of M iyam ot o.
Nar r at ion
Wh at 's t h e im pact on t h e
r eader ?
Th is elem en t m ak es t h e r eader f eel
lik e t h ey act u ally k n ow w h at 's goin g
on in t h e book . If t h e r eader cou ldn't
get a pr oper view of t h e w or ld in t h is
book t h en it w ou ld be disast r ou s in
t h e w ay t h at it s w r it t en . It is obviou s
t o t h e r eader t h at t h e au t h or 's
in t en t ion is t o m ak e su r e h e gives a
clear per son alit y t o each ch ar act er in
t h e book . Th r ou gh t h is m et h od t h e
au t h or is able t o m ak e t h e r eader f eel
lik e t h ey ar e act u ally em ot ion ally
en gaged in t o t h e book an d n ot losin g
in t er est becau se t h ey f eel t h at t h e
ch ar act er s ar e n ot f lesh ed ou t
en ou gh .
¨ Th e
8 you n g
sam u r ai
gave t h e
im pr ession of
h avin g pr act iced sw or d
f igh t in g all day.¨ pg 108
?Desper at ion set in . M u sash i cou ld n ot
bear t h e idea of leavin g w it h ou t
accom plish in g h is object ive.
For h is cr ow n , h e w an t ed a
br illian t st ar of
vict or y ?pg 209
Wh at 's t h is elem en t ?
In t h e n ovel t h e au t h or is u sin g t w o t ypes of n ar r at ion
st yles t h at ar e bot h om n iscien t , m ean in g t h at t h e
n ar r at or in t h e book k n ow s ever yt h in g t h at is goin g
on , bu t t h e n ar r at or h as t w o dif f er en t w ays of goin g
abou t it . In t h e f ir st qu ot e t h e n ar r at or is f ocu sin g on
m u lt iple people, in t h is case it is 8 you n g sam u r ai. Th e
secon d w ay t h e n ar r at or does it is f ocu sin g on ju st 1
ch ar act er . Usu ally t h e au t h or on ly sw it ch es t o t h e
view of m u lt iple people w h en t h ey ar e abou t t o
dir ect ly in t er act w it h t h e m ain ch ar act er . In t h e f ir st
qu ot e above t h e 8 you n g sam u r ai even t u ally go on t o
get in t o an alt er cat ion w it h t h e m ain ch ar act er
M u sash i .
Wh y does it m at t er ?
Th e f act t h at t h e n ar r at or sw it ch es bet w een t h e m ain
ch ar act er an d ch ar act er s t h at ar e abou t t o be im por t an t or
w er e im por t an t , is ver y im por t an t t o t h e book . Th e r eason f or
t h is is becau se t h e am ou n t of ch ar act er s in t h e book is h igh er
t h an aver age an d t h e n ar r at or n eeds a w ay t o k eep t r ack of
t h em all w it h ou t t h e r eader get t in g con f u sed. For exam ple in
t h e begin n in g of t h e st or y w h en t h e m ain ch ar act er w ak es u p
h e m eet s an ot h er su r vivor an d a lit t le lat er t h ey split bu t
sin ce h e is on e of t h e m or e im por t an t side ch ar act er s in t h e
book t h e n ar r at or visit s h im lat er dow n t h e r oad. Wh en t h e
n ar r at or even t u ally goes back t o h im t h e f act t h at t h e
n ar r at or is om n iscien t is ver y h elpf u l w h en t h e book is t r yin g
t o cat ch t h e r eader u p w it h t h e ch ar act er s cu r r en t st or y.
Wit h ou t t h e n ar r at or bein g om n iscien t t h is w ou ld be
im possible t o do w it h ou t r u in in g t h e f low of t h e book , an d it
f it s in w it h t h e au t h or 's st yle per f ect ly.
Back st or y
Wh at 's t h is elem en t ?
Wh at 's t h e im pact on t h e
r eader ?
Wh en t h e au t h or adds back st or y it m ak es
t h e r eader f eel lik e t h ey 'r e con n ect ed t o
t h e st or y. Wit h ou t it , it w ou ld be a du ll
an d bor in g. Sin ce t h e st or y is abou t t h e
lif e of a m an t h e back st or y also m ak es t h e
r eader f eel lik e t h ey sh ar e em ot ion al pain
w it h t h e m ain ch ar act er .
?Th e
old m an?s dign it y
h ad gr ow n w it h t h e year s,
u n t il n ow h e r esem bled
n ot h in g so m u ch as a m ajest ic
cr an e, w h ile at t h e sam e t im e
r et ain in g t h e appear an ce an d
m an n er of t h e w ell-br ed
sam u r ai.? pg. 187
?Th e
old m an?s dign it y
h ad gr ow n w it h t h e
year s, u n t il n ow h e r esem bled
n ot h in g so m u ch as a m ajest ic
cr an e, w h ile at t h e sam e t im e
r et ain in g t h e appear an ce an d
m an n er of t h e w ell-br ed
sam u r ai.? pg. 187
In n ovels on e of t h e m ost im por t an t t h in gs is t h e set t in g.
In t h is book t h e set t in g is especially im por t an t becau se
u n lik e ot h er book s t h at ar e set in places t h at people can
act u ally pict u r e, t h is book is set in Japan du r in g t h e 17t h
cen t u r y w h ich n ot m an y En glish speak in g people decide
t o r esear ch f or t h e pu r pose of r eadin g a book , even
t h ou gh t h is book is m ean t f or t h e Japan ese. Alt h ou gh
t h e book is m ean t f or people w h o ar e n at ive t o Japan
an d som e su r r ou n din g cou n t r ies t h e au t h or does a gr eat
job of explain in g t h e set t in g t h r ou gh t h e u se of
back st or y. In t h e f ir st qu ot e t h e au t h or is u sin g
back st or y t o give t h e r eader an idea of t h e geological
f eat u r es an d in t h e secon d qu ot e t h e au t h or is givin g u s
in f or m at ion abou t a ch ar act er t h at w e w ou ld n ot k n ow
ot h er w ise an d som e con t ext on h ow sam u r ai ar e an d
h ow t h ey act .
Wh y does it m at t er ?
Wit h ou t t h e back st or y in t h is book it w ou ld be
ser iou sly lack in g becau se w it h it t h e au t h or adds so
m u ch im ager y t o t h e n ovel. Also lik e w h at w as said
above t h e au t h or u ses back st or y becau se t h e n ovel is
abou t h ist or y an d abou t som ebody 's lif e, a m ediocr e
en glish au t h or m igh t say descr ibe a place by ju st sayin g
it s n am e an d on e or t w o dist in gu ish in g f eat u r es, bu t
t h is au t h or h as t o go in t o a lot m or e det ail w h en it
com es t o w r it in g back st or y an d som et im es t h e
back st or y in M u sash i can t ak e u p t w en t y-f ive t o f if t y
per cen t of a ch apt er .
Dialogu e
Wh at 's t h is elem en t ?
Wh at 's t h e im pact on t h e
r eader ?
Lik e w h at w as said a lit t le bit above t h e r eader
is able t o h ave an em ot ion al in vest m en t in t o
t h e ch ar act er s in t h e book . In r eal lif e w h en
you list en t o som eon e t alk f or a lon g t im e you
f eel lik e you k n ow t h em a bit bet t er . It is t h e
sam e t h in g f or t h is book , becau se of t h e
am ou n t of dialogu e t h e r eader f eels lik e t h ey
k n ow t h e ch ar act er s per son ally.
Th e last book based elem en t is dialogu e. In M u sash i t h e
au t h or lik es t o w r it e lon g par agr aph s of ju st t ext w it h
lit t le t o n o act u al descr ipt ion of scen es, h e ju st let s t h e
ch ar act er s dialogu e t ak e you t h r ew a lot of t h e book
an d t h en w h en ch ar act er s ar e don e t alk in g h e adds a
par agr aph or par agr aph s of descr ipt ion . For exam ple
t h is segm en t ?Th e Yagyu dojo cou ld qu it e appr opr iat ely
be descr ibed as gr an d. Sit u at ed in t h e ou t er gr ou n ds of
t h e cast le, it h ad been r ebu ilt ar ou n d t h e t im e w h en air
of in dest r u ct ibilit y.? pg 196.
Wh y does it m at t er ?
Th e dialogu e is a ver y im por t an t aspect in t h e
book . Th e r eason bein g is becau se t h er e is a
vast am ou n t of ch ar act er s in t h e book . Th e
au t h or in t en ded f or t h e r eader t o be able t o
lear n h ow ch ar act er s in t h e book f eel an d
w h at t ype of per son alit y t h ey h ave.
?Yes,
Wh en h e
r ead t h e let t er .?
?An d??
?He ju st h an ded it back t o m e.?
?He didn?t look at t h e st em .?
?Not t h at I n ot iced.?
?He didn't exam in e it or say an yt h in g abou t it ??
?No.?
pg 196
?Th e Yagyu dojo cou ld qu it e appr opr iat ely be
descr ibed as gr an d. Sit u at ed in t h e ou t er
gr ou n ds of t h e cast le, it h ad been r ebu ilt
ar ou n d t h e t im e w h en air of
in dest r u ct ibilit y ? pg 196
M y Em u lat ion : Pick et s Ch ar ge
The town of Gettysburg was peaceful until July of 1864. Gettysburg is filled with luscious farms with no urban
development. The fact that the town was inside of grasslands made it the perfect target for the Confederate army.
The only high ground available lied at Little round top, Cemetery hill and Big round top.
Meade was entering camp with everyone expecting some sort of news. He started walking into the commander 's tent
where all his eager lieutenants were also waiting for what Meade would predict.
?What's the plan sir?? Asked one of the lieutenants.
?Th e plan is t o w ait ,? said M eade w it h a f ir m voice. ?Go on an d open u p t h e m ap.? Th e lieu t en an t list en s t o
t h e or der an d gr abs t h e m ap r elu ct an t ly w it h a f r ow n on h is f ace as h e k n ow s on e of t h e Gen er als f am ou s
?plan s? is abou t t o be spok en
?Halt all the artillery fire and wait for a charge I know it's coming? Meade says as he draws battle formations on the
map.
Gen er al Rober t E. Lee w as t h e leader of t h e Con f eder at e ar m y in Get t ysbu r g. Th e Con f eder at e ar m y in
Get t ysbu r g w as t ir ed an d t h ey ar e on t h e u n ion s f lan k . Lee` w as t alk in g t o Pick et w h ich is on e of h is
lieu t en an t s
?Picket what's the plan? said Lee
?The artillery has stopped I would assume there out of ammo we should do an infantry rush?
?But what if it's just a fake? ? Asked Lee
?It is a gamble but if it works we might possibly win the battle and maybe even gain momentum for the war.?
Later that day Pickett's gamble might have worked out if it wasn?t for the fact that stopping the artillery was inside of
Meade's fool proof plan.
An n ot at ion #1
For narration I'm switching between Gen. Meade and Gen. Lee so the reader can know both
characters before the climax of the story. It also impacts the story by showing the two sides of the
growing conflict that are taking place in the story. This element is marked in bold.
An n ot at ion #2
The second element is backstory and it takes place entirely in the opening paragraph. The main point
of the backstory is for the reader to be able to understand what is going on in the story because like
the book it takes place in a time period that people aren?t familiar with. This element is marked by
being underlined.
An n ot at ion #3
The third and last element takes place near the end of the story and it is back and forth dialogue. The
reason for this element is so the reader can get a quick glimpse of how the characters interact with
each other in the story. It also makes the story more interesting then it would've been without the
dialogue. This element is marked in red.
Abou t Th e Au t h or s
Eiji Yoshikawa is a famous Japanese historical
Novelist that is know for his revisions of classic
works. During his life he won many awards for his
writings but unfortunately his life was cut short
from cancer and he died at the age of 70.
James Adams is a student of the
Philadelphia school district that is know for
being that one tall guy. He has had many
accomplisments in his life such as, that one
time he slept 24 hours straight and that other
time when he played basketball.