When I reached the middle of Osamu Dazai’s novel ‘No Longer Human,’ I was struck by how much influence a person’s childhood can have on their identity as an adult. Yozo Oba, the protagonist, demonstrates that.
From a young age, the author depicts Yozo as suffering from depression, a direct consequence of the sexual abuse he suffered from at the hands of his family’s servants. He chose to stay silent about everything, which exacerbated his depression. He masks his depression with a technique he calls “clowning,” where he presents himself to his classmates and even family as a funny and uplifting person. He is very worried about upholding his clown image to the point that he goes out of his way to befriend anyone who he sees as hostile to his clowning. For example, when he is in school, Yozo befriends a boy called Takuchi, who is able to see through Yozo’s clowning. Yozo fears that Takuchi would expose him and so he attempts to befriend him to prevent the possibility of getting exposed by him.
The pandemic exacerbated mental health issues among young people. Moreover, according to reports, more NYC teens are showing up high to class. Young people can benefit from reading ‘No Longer Human’ along with my book review and gain a clear understanding of how school related, societal and relational stress can lead a young person toward drugs. This novel shows how difficult life with an addiction is and the importance of seeking help early on.
“Learned Helplessness”
In ‘No Longer Human,’ we see that one’s childhood trauma can affect their decision making in many ways. One of these ways is that the brain will try to replicate behavior from a past situation in another one. As children, we don’t often have control over what happens to us. But sometimes, adults with trauma practice “learned helplessness,” where they choose not to interfere in something because they feel they don’t have control over it, even when that’s not true. Also, adults with childhood trauma can sometimes make decisions that grant them short term pleasure over them being beneficial in the long term.
Young people can benefit from reading ‘No Longer Human’ along with my book review and gain a clear understanding of how school related, societal and relational stress can lead a young person toward drugs.
Yozo tries to escape his traumatic past by engaging in substance abuse, which makes him feel better in the short term. In the book, Yozo befriends Horiki, with whom he shares similar interests. In the early days of their friendship, Horiki accompanies Yozo in indulging in excessive drinking, smoking and occasionally visiting brothels. Yozo loses sight of why he moved to Tokyo in the first place, which was to pursue art professionally.
If Yozo had a supportive father, things may have been different. Once he realized that Yozo wanted to pursue art as a career, his father, a successful politician in Tokyo, disowned him. This further enhanced the isolation that Yozo felt from his family and therefore contributed to his bad decisions.
Yozo makes poor decisions to escape feeling his emotions. By participating in these activities, Yozo is temporarily able to forget his past trauma and the emotional turmoil that he faced in his adolescence.
Yozo’s growing addiction to morphine also illustrates how his traumatic childhood negatively affected his life. Morphine is a drug which numbs emotions and brings a feeling of euphoria. The sexual abuse Yozo experienced made him feel powerless and he wanted to feel emotionally numb. To him, the feeling of euphoria caused by morphine acted as a temporary wall of safety. However, in reality, this addiction only harmed his life.
To him, the feeling of euphoria caused by morphine acted as a temporary wall of safety. However, in reality, this addiction only harmed his life.
For instance, he engages in a sexual relationship with a pharmacist in order to get more of the drug. He gets caught in a vicious cycle because the more time he spends with the pharmacist, the more morphine he consumes.
Yozo also becomes addicted to alcohol, and neglects attending his classes. Yozo spends his monthly allowance provided to him by his mother on alcohol, which hampers his finances as well.
Yozo realizes how much his alcohol addiction has taken hold of him when tries to buy groceries and realizes he is unable to afford it. This mere act serves as a turning point for Yozo, because he realizes that if he keeps living as usual, then his life would just be a waste.
Sick of it all, he attempts suicide with Tsuenko, his girlfriend at the time, by jumping into the sea from a high platform. This results in an unexpected outcome as Yozo survives but Tsunkeo dies. This shows how addiction affects you as well as everyone around you.
‘No Longer Human’ by Osamu Dazai is more than a mere novel. It also speaks to the experiences of the author. Dazai was addicted to the drug Pavinal, a morphine based pain-killer. Dazai also attempted suicide before completing the novel. The novel first caught my attention because of how depressed the protagonist was. I figured that the novel’s protagonist and I would differ greatly in terms of our childhood and our perspective on the world. It would help me see the world from another angle.
To me, it teaches the reader to be appreciative of the things they have in life. Many readers have parents supporting them in their life plans. Yozo did not have this, as his father disowned him for wanting to become an artist. I feel grateful that my parents are generally supportive of my future career plan and life decisions.
Bhone Kyaw is a senior in high school. In his free time, he likes to read fictional novels and watch television shows.
- Book Review