Deep River Character Analysis

Elizabeth Tully Professor Benyousky Global Perspectives 6 March 2016 . Character Analysis of Deep River Throughout the book , Deep River by Shusaku endo , we follow four characters that all contribute a very personal story that they have to tell during the duration of the book . As we read about each character we see how their story has affected them . We watch and learn what each of them seems to want out of the holy Ganges River . We learn their personal struggles and the battles they are facing to overcome or cope with their past . In the end it seems as if they all gain something very valuable from their journey , it may have not been what they wanted but really it is what they needed . The four characters or " cases " all seem to have …show more content…
When he first found out that his wife was dying of cancer he did not tell her . Isobe has no spiritual life and takes his wife for granted , that is until she passes away and Isobe makes it a priority to find her reincarnated soul regardless of what he believes . He finds out that there is a girl who claims to of been Japanese in a prior life and sets out on a journey to India . With Isobe not being a spiritual person he does not see how this could ever work out however in the end he does realize that no matter what , His wife would always be the one he chose to marry and that all though he did not show it much while they were together and she was still alive he loved her very much . When Isobe's wife was still alive she had a nurse named Mitsuko . Mitsuko was a volunteer nurse at the hospital . She went to a French ligature college where she viciously pursued and seduced a fellow college student named Otsu . Mitsuko had no real spiritual thinking at this time …show more content…
Numada was suffering from tuberculosis and has a bird for a companion during this illness . On his last operation the bird dies . Numada believes that the bird died in his place for him . Numada while in India releases a caged bird hoping to make up for the death of his bird in some way . Numada went to India in search of Myna his bird but instead deep down he was really in search for something far greater like God . In the end all four " cases " had different situations that ultimately brought them together in some way for the trip to India . Isobe wanted to find his reincarnated wife . Mitsuko was in search of Otsu . Kiguchi wanted to hold a memorial to the fallen soldiers in World War II he fought against and with . Numada was in search of the Myna bird that died in his place . All four were in search of God in a way . The Ganges River was a spiritual connection between / to / with all four of them . Each in a way got something more out of the trip . Isobe realized that no matter what he will always love his wife and that he should of treated her better , Mitsuko gained a new sense of men and herself spiritually , Kiguchi gained a sense of tranquility in the end with his passed friend and all the other soldiers , and Numada may not of found exactly what he was looking for but he too in a way found God for himself