Psychological Fear Of Death In Bel Canto By Ann Patchett
660 Words3 Pages
In the novel “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett, the characters are kept under captivity by terrorists, with the psychological fear of death that makes them live passionately and civilize according to their circumstance. The story mainly revolves around Katsumi Hosokawa, Roxanne Coss, Gen Watanabe, and Carmen. Katsumi Hosokawa is the CEO of Nansei a major Japanese electronics company, who finds inner peace while listening to opera. Roxanne Coss is an internationally renowned American soprano. Gen Watanabe is the translator and assistant of Mr. Hosokawa, who speaks all major languages fluently and some minor languages passably. Carmen is a terrorist who remains camouflaged among all the male terrorists but falls in love with Gen and reveals her true…show more content… In the beginning Mr. Hosokawa is portrayed as a man with a tidy and conventional life. At the party, to which he was bribed to attend, Mr. Hosokawa is taken captive. Mr. Hosokawa obeys the terrorists by sleeping on the floor, in fear of being shot and does not raise his voice via Gen Watanabe for his rights. While captive Mr. Hosokawa desires to speak to Roxanne Coss and is unable to because of the rules implemented by the terrorists and language restrictions. After one week of being trapped within the mansion, Mr. Hosokawa removes his shoes, as he feels it is unethical to wear shoes within a home. Any time Mr. Hosokawa sees Roxanne Coss preform he feels passion for both opera and life, unlike before. Once Mr. Hosokawa and Roxanne begin to communicate via Gen Watanabe, both set aside their career related issues and acquaint with one another, as they realize life, in their current situation is not going to last forever. One night Mr. Hosokawa is invited into Roxanne Coss’s room for unknown reasons, and although he is unable to climb stairs, he does because he feels the passion to live. Mr. Hosokawa experiences a major transformation as a man that once only felt passion while appreciating art to a man who feels passion for art while experiencing