47 pages • 1-hour read
Heaven: A Novel
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Themes
Solidarity Versus Apathy
As a novel of ideas, Heaven makes the case for compelling yet conflicting views of the world. As a coming-of-age story, it also makes the tension between these philosophies part of the internal conflict that allows its central character to mature.
The first worldview is represented by Kojima, who views human frailty as something to be understood and appreciated. In Chapter 7, she refers to the “beautiful weakness” she feels responsible for protecting, which puts many of her actions into perspective. Kojima maintains a messy appearance that her classmates mock, assuming that it reflects her poverty and class; however, Kojima’s family is relatively affluent. She also adopts a defiant attitude in the face of her bullies: Though she does not stand up to them outright, she welcomes their harassment as if she understands their need to inflict it. Kojima understands that the narrator’s lazy eye makes him vulnerable, and she tells him that he must protect it. All of Kojima’s appeals for solidarity and understanding fundamentally stem from her witnessing her father’s loneliness. Having been rejected by Kojima’s mother and after losing custody of Kojima, her father is forced to live out his days working as a driver to pay off his business debts. Kojima is deeply affected by the knowledge that though her mother once pitied her father, she no longer feels anything for him. Her mother’s newfound apathy shocks and disturbs Kojima. Therefore, Kojima strives to be different by making solidarity the driving force behind her social life. It is in this context that she tries to affect the narrator’s perspective, showing him that his lazy eye can define him in a positive way that clashes with what society has taught him to believe. To Kojima, vulnerability is the defining characteristic of being human.
The second worldview is represented by Momose, who shuns the concept of moral duty in favor of personal well-being. Although he never directly opposes Kojima and her worldview, the implications of his philosophy fail to fit with the basic assumptions of solidarity. Momose thinks it is moot to argue and convince other people to adopt his philosophy. To him, what matters most is fidelity to his personal truths and desires, even if they contradict social norms and beliefs. In this sense, bullying fulfills a personal objective: the need to inflict aggression, which becomes more pronounced among adolescents as they react to the growing complexity of the world around them. As the narrator is faced with this philosophy, he doesn’t think it excuses bullying. However, it galvanizes his desire to take a step for his personal well-being and do something about his lazy eye, especially when an opportunity presents itself immediately after he confronts Momose at the hospital. However, Kojima’s reaction to the idea prevents him from fully committing to it. She sees his lazy eye as a manifestation of his human vulnerability and believes she can no longer see the narrator as sympathetic if he chooses to rid himself of the one thing that she believes sets him apart from the crowd. On the other hand, the narrator finds it difficult to accept what Kojima is asking him to do. His lazy eye makes him feel self-conscious, and he doesn’t want to suffer for the rest of his life.
In the end, the narrator realizes that solidarity with humanity is not completely incompatible with the philosophy of personal well-being that Momose represents. The narrator also realizes that Momose is sympathetic in his own way, especially as he supports his friends, despite the fact that they are all bullies. Momose shows him that what matters is self-determination and the commitment born out of self-acceptance. The narrator realizes that, fundamentally, this is what Kojima has practiced all along with her approach to solidarity.
Navigating Adolescent Friendships
The friendship between Kojima and the narrator is central to the novel. It upends the status quo of the narrator’s largely friendless middle school experience and plays a significant role in advancing his character development. The narrator and Kojima mark the start of their friendship with letters that revolve around what the narrator describes as “useless things”—snippets of information about their lives and their thoughts—and the narrator’s offhand description belies his excitement that someone is interested in what he has to say. Their friendship grows out of their curiosity about each other’s ideas, and it goes to the heart of human connection. However, the narrator and Kojima also face problems that are particular to adolescents, which complicates their relationship.
For one, the fear of peer judgment plays a significant role in shaping the dynamics of their relationship. In this way, it is unlike childhood friendships and, to some extent, adult friendships. The narrator and Kojima keep their friendship a secret from their peers, and early on, it exists only in the notes they hide in each other’s personal spaces at school. At first, they never even attempt to acknowledge each other outside of their notes. When the narrator eventually tries to talk to Kojima, they perceive it as a breaking of convention between them. Both Kojima and the narrator accept peer judgment as a condition of their relationship. They know that if their friendship becomes public knowledge, it will be used against them and give their bullies more reasons to pick on them. This is the case when Ninomiya and the other bullies lure the narrator into a trap with one of Kojima’s letters. While Kojima and the narrator perceive their friendship as a respite from their social difficulties, they are always wary of the external world infringing on their own “heaven.”
Additionally, the narrator, who struggles with teenage insecurities and self-consciousness, often second-guesses himself, which puts a strain on his friendship with Kojima. Kojima instigates the relationship, but the narrator questions Kojima’s letters when they first appear, assuming they are a trick. He cannot understand why anyone would ever want to be friends with him, and this initially holds him back from opening himself up to Kojima. When they aren’t in touch for a part of the summer, the narrator’s insecurities begin to act up, and the friendship starts to feel illusory to him. He overlooks the intimacy of their conversations and Kojima’s complete honesty with him, as well as his own tender offer to allow her to cut his hair when she feels emotionally shaken.
As a result of his teenage insecurities, the narrator is afraid of losing Kojima, and his behavior becomes dishonest and self-destructive. For instance, when he wants to see Kojima over the summer, he comes up with a plan to see her, but he doesn’t want to seem too eager for her company; so, he stages their encounter as an accident. His fear continues to affect his interactions with Kojima, often forcing him to withhold his honest responses from her, especially whenever she discusses her background or her worldview. Later, when the narrator wants to undergo corrective surgery for his lazy eye, Kojima’s negative reaction causes him to drop the idea. Though he personally values the benefits of the treatment, he doesn’t want to lose Kojima’s friendship so he changes his decision to please her. He spends the remainder of the novel trying to reconcile with her, restoring her approval of him.
The arc of the narrator and Kojima’s friendship shows that adolescent friendships are often fraught with fear of judgment. This resonates with Kojima’s observation that many of their classmates are likely afraid of being judged as well, which is why they choose to side with the bullies instead. A significant milestone in maturity is the decision to overcome that fear of judgment by committing to a self-defined set of principles, which aligns with the narrator’s character growth in the novel.
Peer Pressure Versus Self-Determination
The narrator’s internal conflict is marked by the tension between the comforts of peer pressure and the grueling work of self-determination and self-acceptance. He must choose between adopting the popular attitudes that define his environment or embodying an approach that accepts suffering as a given.
Kojima represents the path of self-acceptance, and she looks down on those who possess a herd mentality. She describes the majority of the classmates who bully her and the narrator as blind followers. She says they do not pursue bullying as an end that satisfies their desire for aggression but as a means to maintain their popularity in the eyes of those who bully for the satisfaction it brings them. She later adds that none of these bullies actually understand what kind of effect their actions have on the people they are bullying. To reflect on their actions is something they fear because it would force them to feel shame and guilt, which is why they would rather avoid thinking about it. Kojima even accuses the narrator of being afraid of self-reflection when he tells her he is thinking of treating his lazy eye with corrective surgery. Kojima thinks the narrator would rather be part of the crowd than singled out for something that distinguishes him.
Though Kojima and Momose are very different characters, they share the worldview that people’s behavior should be completely self-determined. Since all sorts of contradictory ideas exist, people have the freedom to adopt whatever ideas they believe in, even if other people believe in opposing creeds. The narrator sees this philosophy as a contradiction to Kojima’s because Momose presents it as an argument for bullying and the license to harass the narrator. In fact, what Momose proposes is less of an argument for apathy than it is an argument for self-determination and willpower.
By the end of the novel, the narrator starts to see that Kojima and Momose’s philosophies coalesce into a singular worldview. In doing so, the novel portrays self-determination as a process of combining the ideas that others have imparted into a complex, coherent, yet wholly unique approach to the contradictory issues of the world. The narrator discovers a more complex worldview that allows him to hold on to his sympathy for Kojima while also encouraging him to stand his ground against the issues that affect him. Although he is never able to utilize this worldview in an act of retaliation against his bullies, it does guide his decision to ultimately pursue corrective surgery. The novel shows how self-determination allows people to act in their self-interest in the face of opposition, as long as they have discerned that their course of action is something they truly value.
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