Part 1, Chapter 5

In this chapter we get to know more about Norboru and how he is with his friends. He and his friends are up to no good that morning and they ran away from their duties and went to the pier. We see Noboru disobey his mother, be submissive to the "chief" of the group, kill a kittten and become a man and worthy member of the group. To some extent we can say we saw the "beast" in the young man.

Noboru is growing up which means, he get sexually curious, friend oriented, possibly more agressive and feel the need to prove he is a man and not a cowered. He is so consumed by all these new feelings, that he would kill a kitten without hesitation. This also suggests he has numbed out compassion from his system. In the beginning of the chapter Norboru is telling all his friends about the sexual activities he witnessed in his house the night prior to their meeting. This shows an immaturity in Noboru but also his admiration of Ryuji becuase he talks about the sailor as if he is some kind of hero.

This new perspective of Noboru makes us wonder just how disciplined the young man is. We can assume he is at a rebelious stage in his life which means he might not always consider the consequences. At the same time we sense a fear in him when he runs into Ryuji, suggesting that he knows he would get punished if his mother found out he had disobeyed her.

The dead kitten