War and suicide: a comparative analysis of Yukio Mishima and Ernest Hemingway in the context of existentialism and Emile Durkheim’s Study of Suicide

Abstract

Literature reflects its time and serves as a time capsule that encompasses pivotal experiences of the world and society. This paper will focus on an important timeline in human history and that would be the two World Wars, and how the macabre and bleak disposition of the war abetted the rise of despair and hopelessness in society. This paper will particularly analyze the interlaced themes of war, existential angst, and suicide and will do a side-by-side comparison of Ernest Hemingway from American literature and Yukio Mishima from Japanese literature. In this study, the primary aim is to bridge a link between these two authors, who have written numerous post-war novels about the war itself and society. Arcane to the West, Yukio Mishima shares many parallels with Ernest Hemingway due to his struggle with masculinity and World War II. While there are significant parallels between the themes of these two authors, there are also important differences in their method of writing, which this paper will be highlighting. The novels that will be analyzed are A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, Confessions of a Mask, and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.