Character Analysis of Mr. Abe in Toshio Mori's Abalone

Introduction

"Abalone, Abalone, Abalone" is a short story by Toshio Mori that explores the relationship between the narrator, Mori, and his neighbor Mr. Abe. Mr. Abe is a Japanese man who grows carnations and collects abalone shells. The story focuses on why these shells are important to Mr. Abe and, eventually, to Mori himself. This essay presents an analysis of Mr. Abe's character and examines the aspects of the story that support those conclusions.

Mr. Abe comes across as a friendly, thoughtful man who enjoys collecting abalone shells and carries a slight sense of mystery about him. Mori writes, "At noontime I used to go to his front porch and look at his collection of abalone shells... I was curious as to why he bothered to collect them... but he did not tell me why he collected these shells" (Mori). Rather than offering a simple explanation, Mr. Abe seems to want Mori to understand the value of the shells in his own time and on his own terms.

Mr. Abe's Personality and Mystery

It also appears that Mr. Abe was lonely and had little in his life outside of his shell collecting. The story describes him spending hours polishing the shells. His porch was covered with them, and he always had new ones to add to the collection. This quiet, repetitive devotion suggests a man who had found deep personal meaning in a solitary pursuit.

Mr. Abe was also very fond of Mori and spent time with him every day. They would talk about the shells, and Mori would try to understand why Abe collected them. The story notes that Mr. Abe "would watch for me every noon hour. When I appeared he would look out of his room and bellow 'Hello young man'" (Mori). It is clear that Mr. Abe was pleased by Mori's interest in the shells and genuinely wanted Mori to appreciate them.

Loneliness and Devotion to the Shells

When Mori found a shell in his greenhouse, Mr. Abe was the first person he told. The act of finding and polishing the shell was significant not only to Mori but to Mr. Abe as well. Mr. Abe seemed to delight in the fact that Mori had found one, sensing that Mori was beginning to understand why collecting them mattered.

The Bond Between Mr. Abe and Mori

The pivotal moment in the story comes when Mori runs to tell Mr. Abe that he finally understands. Mori recounts: "I remember running to his place, looking for him. 'Abe-san,' I said when I found him, 'I know why you are collecting the abalone shells...' 'Alright,' he said, 'Do not say anything. Nothing, mind you. When you have found the reason why you must collect and preserve them, you do not have to say anything more'" (Mori).

Mr. Abe understood the importance of letting Mori arrive at his own conclusion. He was teaching Mori a lesson in patience and in looking beyond what is immediately observable. This approach reflects a quiet form of wisdom — the kind that resists easy explanation and insists on personal discovery. As scholars of Japanese American literature have noted, Mori's stories frequently convey meaning through restraint and implication rather than direct statement, a quality that is central to this story.

The Lesson of the Shells

When Mori found additional shells, he concluded that he had to keep them all. Even though they looked similar, they were, as he put it, "very much alike and very much different" (Mori). This observation signals that Mori has genuinely absorbed Mr. Abe's lesson — that things which appear ordinary on the surface may each hold their own distinct significance. The idea resonates with broader aesthetic principles about finding beauty and meaning in everyday objects.

When Mori shared this insight with Mr. Abe, it was clear that Mori had truly understood — in his own way. Mr. Abe never explicitly told Mori what the shells meant to him personally, so the exact significance they held for Abe remains unknown. It is entirely possible that the shells carried a different meaning for Abe than for Mori.

Conclusion

The truth of the matter is that we really don't know what the shells meant to Abe, because he never told Mori. The importance of the shells could have meant a totally different thing to Abe. Nevertheless, Mr. Abe appears to have taught Mori that there is value in things that seem frivolous — a lesson Mori carried with him throughout his life. When Abe eventually left and took his shells with him, it is as if he had completed what he set out to do, and perhaps had someone else to teach. The story ultimately affirms that some of the most lasting lessons are the ones we are allowed to discover for ourselves, a theme central to coming-of-age narratives across literary traditions.