Comparative analysis and methodology

¶ … Country" by Yasunari Kawabata

"The Dead" by James Joyce and "Snow Country" by Yasunari Kawabata are literary works that uses the technique of imagery in depicting the occurrence of death. "The Dead" by Joyce is a short story that depicts life in Ireland and the unfulfilled love between Gabriel and Gretta Conroy. "Snow Country," meanwhile, illustrates the gloomy life of Shimamura and Komako, as they lead dissatisfying and unfortunate lives, respectively. Death is a common theme between the two works, and through the characters of each story, readers are able to identify the meaning of death for Joyce and Kawabata. In "The Dead," snow serves as a symbol and image of dead, primarily because of the attached meaning given to snow -- it represents stillness and coldness, characteristics that are apparently found in death. Furthermore, through the characters of Misses Kate and Julia, death becomes even more evident. It is through their characters that death is defined concretely, and the story's final line, which states, "It had begun to snow again ... Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland ... " demonstrates how death surrounds the gloomy disposition of each character in Joyce's story. Death in the gloomy lives of Shimamura and Komako in "Snow Country" is figuratively illustrated with the end of their affair -- that is, "romantic death" or "death of love" for both of them. Once again, snow signifies the gloominess of the end of affair between the two, wherein the snow is characterized as " ... breaking down into something warm and shapeless ... " While Misses Kate and Julia embody death because of their old age in "The Dead," Komako and Shimamura embody death through their 'cold' characters, wherein the former is described by Kawabata as "at center cool," masking all her feelings and emotions behind her snow-white facade, blending in with the coldness and stillness of her snowy environment.