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characteristic of Shigeru into three groups as Oscar Brocket has outlined in Benedetti 1997: 129. They are physical traits, psychological traits, and social
traits. Physical traits are related to the physical appearance of the character, such as handsome, beautiful, thin, fat, tall, short, and straight hair, etc. Psychological
traits concern with the emotion, intellectuality, feeling, and motivation of the character. Social traits are related to the character’s role in society, e.g. the
relationship with groups or institution that are recognized by society.
1. Physical traits
The writer of the novel had described the physical traits of Shigeru in the novel. Physically, Shigeru is a thirty year old white man, well above medium
height and has a broad shoulder. His hands were light-skinned, almost white, well formed, and with long, restless fingers that seemed made to shape themselves
around the sword’s handle p. 7.
2. Social traits
The following is a little information about his life: Shigeru is the legal heir of the Otori clan after his father had surrendered in the battle of Yaegahara. Although
Shigeru is the legal heir of the Otori, he cannot be the leader of the clan. The reason is because his father had surrendered in the battle instead of being killed.
The leader of the clan is taken by Shigeru’s uncle then.
Shigeru’s mother had died from the plague and his brother, Takeshi, had been accidentally killed by the Tohan which is led by Iida Sadamu. Shigeru also had a
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wife and a baby but unfortunately both of them died when Shig eru’s wife was
having childbirth. Sometimes, all of those griefs make Shigeru sad. Takeo, the main character, has said this fact in one occasion. For example,
“Lord Otori was as grief-
stricken as I was” p.6.
3. Psychological traits
a Calm
Shigeru is a calm person, often expressionless. It was described by the other characters in various conditions. For instance, Takeo has said
“When I did sneak a glance at him, his face Shigeru in repose was calm------ not exactly stern, but
expressionless”. Moreover, Takeo also said “He said it without emotion, as if simply stating a fact”. The words: calm, expressionless, and without emotion,
clearly state that Shigeru is a calm person. In some conversation which talks about Shigeru, those words usually came up. It is clear that Lian Hearn, the writer of the
novel, wants to show that Shigeru is a calm person and does not easily put emotion into what he is doing.
b Responsible
Shigeru is responsible. Almost in every event that involved Shigeru to defend his ideas, he always tells that he will be responsible for what he has said or what
he has done. Many conversations show that Shigeru is a responsible person. For example, when he are talking with the household, the household do not accept
Takeo to be with them at the first time but Shigeru is persistent about his idea to
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take Takeo with them and later adopt him. There is not much the household can do but obey on what Shigeru has said. The next quotations supported that Shigeru is
a responsible man, “I have given my word to protect this boy, and nothing will make me
change my mind. Besides, I have grown fond on him.” p.15. “They told me Iida was after that boy. That was enough to make me want to protect
him.” p. 32. “I have obligations to this boy and he to me, that must be fulfilled.” p. 49. “I’ve given my word to these arrangements and set my
seal on them. I have plunged into the river now and must go where the current tak
es me.” p. 66
c Manipulative
According to Anne Barnhill, the term manipulation suggests that the victim is treated as though he were some sort of object or machine. It is as though the
manipulator controls his victim by adjusting his psychological levers. There are three main “levers” that a manipulator can operate. They are belief, desire, and
emotion. This is the characteristic that Shigeru has, to manipulate every fact, emotion, and belief; makes it become the advantages for him. He can convince
Takeo that Iida must be responsible to the chaos in the country. Shigeru also makes Takeo feel he is the servant of Shigeru, and every words which Shigeru
said to him is an order. Takeo had said “I was useful for my master” p.82. That
shows Takeo has dedicated his life for serving Shigeru. Shigeru in this case can order anything to Takeo, even to avenge Shigeru’s grief. In some occasions,
Shigeru also manipulates the facts about Takeo; it is when he first meets Ando and Iida. He said
“He is a distant cousin of my late mother’s; it was her desire that he be adopted into our family, and after her death I carried out her wishes.” p. 71
and p. 92. The truth is Takeo is the boy who he rescued from Iida’s man, his
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mother had not have a wish to adopt Takeo and she did not even know who Takeo was.
d Introvert
The introvert’s main focus is within hisher head, in the internal world of ideas and concepts Myers Myers, 1980. Myers reminds in their book that
introverts typically hide their inner worlds and rarely let others into them, which may lead people to make erroneous decisions about them and their needs.
Introverts get their energy from themselves and are drained by people.
According to Jill D. Burruss and Lisa Kaenzig 1999, some characteristics of
introverts are territorial: desire private space and time, happy to be alone, they can be lonely in a crowd, become drained around large groups of people; dislike
attending parties, need time alone to recharge, prefer to work on own rather than do group work, act cautiously in meeting people, are reserved, quiet and
deliberate, do not enjoy being the center of attention, do not share private thoughts with just anyone, form a few deep attachments, think carefully before speaking
practice in his head before he speak, see reflection as very important, concentrate well and deeply, become absorbed in thoughts and ideas, limit their
interests but explore deeply, communicate best one-on-one, get agitated and irritated without enough time alone or undisturbed, and select activities carefully
and thoughtfully. In some conversations and dialogue, Shigeru’s ways of act and speaking
show what type of person he is, either introvert or extrovert. Shigeru often hides his feeling from others. Even his closest friend, Kenji, didn’t know what Shigeru’s
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feeling was. The only way to know his feeling is by his expression. Takeo in his first meeting with Shigeru has said,
“He was silent man himself, wrapped up his own though
t”. Shigeru was a silent man, he keeps his own thought and never lets anyone know what he is thinking and what is his feeling.
Shigeru is a strict and careful person. He is often strict, very discipline. This characteristic also makes him very carefully on what he is doing. Some
conversations in the story show how strict and careful he is. For example, “There
is a common name among the hidden, better get rid of it” p. 5. “You can’t do that”, “Eat” p. 6, “We must move on quickly” p. 7. Takeo also has a feel that
Shigeru is very careful on what he is doing. For instance, “He Shigeru seemed
not to want me out of his sight” p. 6, “Lord Otori had warned me against giving myself away
” p. 9. There are a lot of Shigeru’s characteristics that meet up with the
characteristics of an introvert person. The characteristics are: often hiding his feeling from others, strict, very careful and think carefully before speaking, and
deliberate and do not enjoy being the center of attention. Therefore, it can be concluded that Shigeru is an introvert person.
e Curious
Actually Shigeru has a willingness to learn many things. In one event with Takeo, Shigeru told him everything about his land, the irrigation, the method that
farmer used, and the way they extracted salt from the sea. The household also
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once said that Shigeru had tried out new methods and experimenting with different crops. The following quotation shows this,
“He also told me about countryside, pointed out the farming methods used, the dikes built for irrigation, the nets fishermen wove, the way they
extracted salt from the sea. He was interested in everything and knew about
everything” p.12. “… Shigeru trying out new methods, experimenting with different crops” p.23.
Another conversation also support that Shigeru has a willing to learn many things, Shigeru said it when he talked to Takeo and Kenji. After the battle in
Yaegahara, he started to learn many things. He learned about the networks of the tribe, and how they controlled warlords and the clans. The quotation is:
“Since Yaegahara, I have had time to learn many things. I was just boy then, a typical warrior’s son, with no ideas beyond the sword and my
family’s honor… I discovered something about the networks of the tribe, how they controlled warlords and the clans.” p.68
Everyone that sees Shigeru’s face has same feeling about him. He is
generous, openhearted, impulsive, and warmhearted. His calmness also takes a part in people thought about him. For instance, the words following illustrate this
trait, “Everyone took him at face value: impulsive, warmhearted, generous”.
p.34 In summary, Shigeru is an introvert man. He is calm, warmhearted, generous
and responsible. Shigeru also has something in him which makes him different. Shigeru can manipulate the facts and person to act like what he wants. He
manipulates the facts about Takeo’s identity and takes a chance when he knew Takeo has a unique ability. Shigeru is very curious about things that he does not
know. When he was teenager, it was the first time for him heard about the tribe and from then he gathered any information that related to the tribe. After a long
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time, he knew what the tribe is and the system of the tribe. All of those characteristics can be seen from conversations and others
’ opinion about him. His expressions often show what type of person he is.
B. Shigeru’s Motivation in Adopting Takeo as His Son
