Botchan: Analysis of Major Characters
"Botchan" is a novel by Natsume Sōseki that explores the life of a young man from Tokyo who takes on a teaching position in a junior high school in a small town on Shikoku Island following his parents' death. The protagonist, known as Botchan, grapples with the challenges posed by unruly students, dishonest colleagues, and ineffective administrators, which ultimately clash with his values and ideals. Throughout his tenure, he encounters characters such as Kiyo, a devoted family servant who serves as a moral compass, and Badger, the principal who struggles to embody the leadership he demands from others.
Key antagonists include Red Shirt, who employs deceit to undermine fellow teachers and create discord, and Clown, who flatters authority figures while manipulating Botchan. Porcupine, a strong and honorable mathematics teacher, initially becomes a temporary rival due to misunderstandings but ultimately earns Botchan's respect. Other significant characters include Koga, a mild-mannered English teacher ensnared in Red Shirt's schemes for romantic gain, and Mrs. Hagino, Botchan's aristocratic landlady who provides local insights. The narrative highlights themes of honor, integrity, and the complexities of human relationships within the educational environment. Through Botchan's experiences, the novel offers a critical view of societal norms and the struggles of maintaining personal values in a corrupt system.
Botchan: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Sseki Natsume
First published: 1906 (English translation, 1918)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Tokyo and a castle town on the island of Shikoku, Japan
Plot: Satire
Time: 1894–1895
Botchan, a very impulsive, unsophisticated young man from Tokyo. Sometime after the death of his parents, he accepts a job as a mathematics teacher in a junior high school in a small town on the island of Shikoku. His innocence is threatened repeatedly by the school's rambunctious students, devious and fractious teachers, and cravenly weak administrators. His personality and values conflict with those of the small town, and he lasts less than a year at the school. Botchan gets into one scrape after another but leaves with his honor and innocence intact after giving Red Shirt and Clown a well-deserved physical drubbing with the help of his friend, Porcupine.
Kiyo, a longtime servant of Botchan's family who dotes on her young master and wants to keep house for him. She advises Botchan, sends him money, and serves as his mother figure and standard of values.
Badger, the principal of the school. He studiously assumes an air of superiority and encourages Botchan to become a model teacher and mentor. He cannot live up to the ideal he requires of others, however, and is easily manipulated by Red Shirt.
Red Shirt, the school's head teacher, a two-faced man who lies and connives to ruin other teachers and force them out of the school. He engineers Koga's transfer to another school to steal Miss Toyama's love, makes Botchan believe that Porcupine has stirred up the students against him, and involves both Porcupine and Botchan in a student riot to bring about their resignations from the school.
Yoshikawa, nicknamed Clown by Botchan, a drawing teacher who slavishly flatters the educational establishment, Badger, and Red Shirt. He connives with Red Shirt to manipulate Botchan into joining their faction.
Hotta, called Porcupine, the senior mathematics teacher and Botchan's immediate superior. A physically strong, gruff man with a sense of honor, he befriends Botchan on his arrival but becomes his temporary enemy as a result of the lies of Red Shirt and Clown. His behavior at a faculty meeting earns Botchan's respect, as does testimony about him from Mrs. Hagino.
Koga, a mild-mannered English teacher nicknamed Hubbard Squash by Botchan because he is pale and fat. Once betrothed to Miss Toyama (the Madonna), he is tricked into allowing himself to be transferred to another, distant, even more isolated school by Red Shirt, who is courting Miss Toyama.
Ikagin, Botchan's first landlord, a dealer in antique art who constantly, but unsuccessfully, tries to sell bogus artworks to Botchan and Porcupine.
Mrs. Hagino, Botchan's refined, aristocratic landlady, recommended by Mr. Koga. A local gossip, she informs Botchan of Koga's broken engagement to Miss Toyama and that he is unhappy about being transferred.