Heart of a Samurai Change Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

Manjiro told the captain how two gods, Izanami and Izanagi, had created an island—his home—out of sweet-smelling mist and fog. Something like that was happening with their friendship, he thought. It was like a tranquil island in a stormy sea. (2.8.42)

So things are starting to go a little crazy, but oddly enough, the Captain's fatherly relationship to Manjiro ("their friendship")—which is another change—brings Manjiro a sense of calm and safety. True friends and family: The only way to weather a storm.

Quote #5

Manjiro pointed to the sky. "Look," he said. Pink light rimmed the eastern horizon and ran down the sea. "Doesn't it look like the light from another world, spilling through a slightly open door?"

[…]

"It's like how I feel about America," Manjiro said. "It's as if I see this little bit of light from an open door. It promises…I don't know what! But I want to go through that door and find out what is there." (2.11.50-52)

Change is here. It comes in Manjiro's fresh perspective, one that's totally different from his friend Goemon's view of a mundane sunrise. Manjiro doesn't see a sunrise—he sees a new future. Which is why this scene precedes the moment that he leaves his friends and goes on with the captain.

Quote #6

He paused, not wanting to disturb them, and heard the captain say, "I had resigned myself to a life at sea, with a small house in Fairhaven for my few months between ships. But now, with a bright young ward, I've begun to think of a farm again. A boy should have land to roam, work for his hands to do, a pond to fish, and a horse to ride."

Who was this boy they were talking about? Was it him? Was the captain suggesting that he should have a horse to ride? (3.15.48-49)

Manjiro happens to overhear this conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Aken and the Captain about how the Captain is thinking about changing his lifestyle for Manjiro. Understandably, Manjiro's more than a little surprised. A horse and a farm? That would be a complete departure from his previous life as a poor fisherman's son.