Essay/Term paper: Kadohata's the story devils: an overview

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Book Reports

Kadohata's The Story Devils: An Overview


The Story Devils, by Cynthia Kadohata is a look into the life of a young
girl looking to protect her family in any way possible. The story is based on a
real life experience of the author and shows how we can, at times, let the devil
in ourselves come out and play. The author, now living in Los Angeles, writes
this as almost a warning; but the reader gets the feeling that she would do what
she did again, in a second.
The story takes place after World War II in the town of Chesterville,
Arkansas. It was a small town with small town problems, and had a Japanese
community living within it. The story was written in 1989 and reflect the
uncertainties of the post World War II period. Within the small community there
lived a woman that had been through a recent divorce, and was raising three
children, Kate, the author, and her brother Sean. Because the mother is having
a problem making ends meet, she begins to go to church and meets the antagonist,
Mr. Mason.
The story is told by the author in the body and mind of an eight year
old. It is a first-person narration and she is playing the part of the
protagonist. The point of view remains constant throughout the story, which
gives you only the viewpoint of the author to get facts from. Although this may
be a possibly unreliable perspective, due to selective memory, the story is told
in a straightforward manner suggesting truth and honesty.
During the story the author realizes that Mr. Mason is a violent man.
This is learned through several instances, such as when he forced the mother
into a crying fit in her bedroom in the beginning of the story. He was also
violent when he threw a rock at a young boy that had wandered over to the yard
to play. These incidents forced the author to do something that she did not
relish, but deemed necessary in order to save her family from this man; since
she new her mother was planning on marrying him. She lied to her mother and
told her that Mr. Mason had hit her. At first it wasn't believed, but when her
quiet sister Kate backed up her story, the mother sought to separate herself
from this man. The family moved to Chicago and the author never saw Mr. Mason
again.
As was stated before, the story was believable because of the author's
almost relenting of a story that she had kept inside for a long time. It was
almost as if she was sorry for what she had done, but felt that it was necessary
to eliminate her perceived threat, Mr. Mason. In this way the author could
almost be seen as an antagonist to Mr. Mason. They almost shifted roles, and
the author found herself with the power to hurt him. Another way that helped
the story to be believable, was the comedy relief offered by the author's
brother's chair crashing to the floor when the mother was telling them that she
had been baptized. It was a well timed addition to the story. I enjoyed this
story and feel that I had a connection with the author and the main character,
for I to have some devils inside.