My Thoughts on “No Longer Human” by Osamu Dazai
Disclaimer: S*xual assault, suicide.
“Mine has been a life of much shame. I can’t even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.” With these powerful words, Osamu Dazai sets the tone for his novel, No Longer Human. It succinctly captures the agonizing and alienating atmosphere of the 160 pages that follow. This novel is a deep dive into the psychology of a troubled man, from his childhood to his late twenties as he struggles to exist in society.
The author, the legendary Osamu Dazai is one of Japan’s most influential and internationally renowned writers. Published in 1948, No Longer Human is a partly autobiographical work as it loosely traces Dazai’s life through the eyes of the fictitious protagonist Oba Yozo. Like Dazai, Yozo also hailed from a moderately affluent family in northern Japan and like Dazai, Yozo also lived in Tokyo and became involved with leftist organizations. Most importantly, though, also like Dazai, Yozo attempted suicide in a similar manner: taking pills and jumping into a body of water with a girlfriend. And tragically, like Dazai, Yozo also survives the attempt alone, living with the guilt of their partner’s death. These series of events outline a life of tragedy and despair which we experience throughout the novel. This short novel, merely 166 pages, is highly recommended. It was so good I finished in less than 24-hours as I was glued to its beautiful passages.
The book is divided into four notebooks, each narrating a portion of the protagonist’s life. The main theme of the story is an ever-present sense of alienation from all humans. As the opening passages and the very title say, Yozo Oba does not see himself as a human as he is incapable of understanding people or relating to them. Fundamentally, Oba is afraid of being seen by others for he truly is. As such, he does his utmost to hide his true self from others.
Oba recounts that early in his childhood he created the persona of a ‘clown’ in order to fool everyone, servants, family, peers, and teachers alike. Early in the book Oba tells us that at school he constantly acted like a fool in order to elicit laughs from his classmates and teachers. For example, take this passage from him during physical education class: “Deliberately assuming as solemn a face as I could muster, I lunged overhead at the bar, shouting with effort. I missed the bar and sailed on as if making a broad jump, landing with a thud on the seat of my pants. This failure was entirely premeditated, but everybody burst out laughing, exactly as I had planned.” Despite being a highly intelligent kid who always succeeded academically, getting high grades without paying attention in class, he acted like an idiot. This disconnect between his true self and the self he shows the world is present throughout.
One of the most important aspects of the book, particularly during his adult years, is his relationship with women. During his childhood years, one of Osamu Dazai’s only friends delivers a prophecy: “I’ll bet lots of women will fall for you!” How true these words were. Once Yozo arrives in Tokyo to attend university, we see him engage in a highly destructive cycle in his relationship with women. Apparently, Yozo is not only physically attractive but he has a je ne sais quoi that enthralls women. Given how psychologically damaged our protagonist is, it seems to me that he constantly elicits an ‘I can fix him’ response in women and in that regard, some things never change. Then like now, there is no fixing someone and you are bound to get hurt yourself.
First to be hurt is Tsuneko, who bonds with him through their shared lack of will to live. They eventually agree to commit suicide together which, as I mentioned earlier, Yozo survives but his partner does not. This scene sets the tone of all his relationships because they are all tragic.
Near the end of the book Yozo eventually becomes engaged with a young girl called Yoshiko. What our protagonist finds most alluring about Yoshiko is her trusting nature and her virginity: “What a holy thing uncorrupted virginity is, I thought.” For a short while, they seem to have a happy enough life until Yoshiko is sexually assaulted by a neighbor, an act which Yozo personally witnessed but did not intervene in. This event changed Yozo’s perception of his wife: “It was less the fact of Yoshiko’s defilement than the defilement of her trust in people which became so persistent a source of grief…” Yoshiko, now traumatized, is no longer appealing to Yozo who turns to alcohol and eventually morphine to deal with his grief. To top it all off, he begins an affair with the pharmacist who supplied him the drug.
In retrospect, the book’s greatest strength is that it makes the reader very uncomfortable. The thing is, I don’t really know how to feel about Yozo. Given that it is all from his perspective, it is easy to sympathize with him as he is clearly a person in need of help from others and who has gone through trauma of his own, most notably he hints that he was sexually abused by his servants during his childhood. Yet, on the other hand, Yozo is both parasitical and destructive. Encouraging a woman to commit suicide with him and watching his wife get raped without intervening. Not only that, he proceeds to emotionally neglect her and eventually cheat on her. These acts alone make it hard to sympathize with him since he never really tries to change or be better. He just exists, wrecking havoc as he goes.
Ultimately, I don’t think we are meant to sympathize or hate Yozo. Throughout the film all I felt was pity. Dazai does an excellent job of evoking emotions in the reader, and for me the best art is that which makes us feel something, whether they are good feelings or bad is secondary.
Personally, I would be very curious to hear from people who can relate to the experience Dazai is sharing through Yozo. To people with mental disorders, such as depression, perhaps this book would have a deeper meaning but I wouldn’t know.
Do not let my harsh words against Yozo confuse you, I absolutely love this book. I sped through it, letting my soul be dragged into the story by his beautiful prose. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants a short yet powerful read, provided you are emotionally prepared for the heavy-hitting themes that permeate throughout.