The Floating World (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Cynthia Kadohata
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: The 1950’s and the 1960’s
- Setting: The United States
- Principal Characters: Olivia Ann, Obasan, Laura, Charles Osaka (Charlie-O), Tan, Andy Chin, Ben
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s
- Locales: United States
Form and Content
Kadohata’s novel is a coming-of-age story of a young Japanese American girl. Related both to the genres of the Bildungsroman (a novel of the education of its young hero) and the picaresque (an episodic novel highlighting the adventures of its hero on a journey), The Floating World casts an adolescent girl in the role of its traveling hero. Narrating her story through the point of view of Olivia Ann, Cynthia Kadohata highlights a young girl’s perception of life in a post-World War II United States, a perspective which encompasses three...
[The entire page is 2520 words long]
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