In the years before World War II, the Gion district of Japan was a fiercely competitive place where women fought desperately for men's favor and munificent gifts , a girl's virginity was auctioned off to the highest bidder, and a woman could not even dream of happiness through love. In Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Sayuri, whose name was Chiyo before she became a geisha, recounts her struggle to survive in Gion's cruel hierarchy and her race to become one of the best geisha. In all of this, Sayuri shows the emphasis that she, as well as society, places on wealth and outward appearances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Even before Sayuri entered the geisha district of Gion, she found external appearance to be a significant factor in judging a person. From this type of judgment, develop trust and respect based on how a person dresses, talks, or how rich they are. In Yoroido, Mr. Tanaka Ichiro is a person he respected, almost worshiped. He knew things that [she] would never know and had an elegance that [she] would never have because her blue kimono was more beautiful than anything [she] would ever have occasion to wear. (p. 20) Precisely because Mr. Tanaka does not wear peasant clothes, but rather a quality kimono, Sayuri places a lot of trust in him, only to find that he sells her to a certain Mrs. Nitta, the owner of a geisha. house. For the first few days she even tries to convince herself that it was only a temporary placement, and Mr. Tanaka will return to adopt her. He fails to see that Mr. Tanaka, being a wealthy businessman, is purely motivated by the money he will earn by selling an extraordinarily beautiful girl, such as young Sayuri, to a geisha house. In his eyes, money equals compassion. Sayuri also judges herself, comparing herself to others who are richer and more refined than her. When he meets Mr. Tanaka's daughter, Kuniko, he sees that her clothes were much finer than mine but, being the village girl that I was, I chased her out into the woods barefoot (p. 27). She degrades herself, believing that she is acting ignorantly just because she is just a squalid village girl. While he understands Kuniko's genuine friendliness, he doesn't see this as the reason to want to play games and chase her. Since Kuniko has a graceful dress and she does not, Sayuri considers herself crude and rude. Raised among people who wear peasant clothes and smell of fish, Sayuri cannot help but succumb to the wonders of opulent, materialistic individuals as she humbles herself. In the geisha district of Gion in Kyoto, a woman, who is most likely a geisha, does not care if she is not beautiful or seductive and no one notices a man unless he is rich. In the okiya, another term for a geisha house, a geisha has the highest priority if she is the most beautiful or most sought after to entertain men in teahouses. When Sayuri first entered the okiya, the first geisha she saw was Hatsumomo, one of the most famous geisha in Gion at that time. He had never seen a more striking looking woman. Men on the street sometimes stopped and took cigarettes out of their mouths to stare at her. (pg. 48-49) Her beauty gives her the right to treat slaves, like Sayuri, with cruelty and to give orders to the elders of the okiya. Today, commanding the elderly would be the utmost disrespectful gesture. Once, just to get Sayuri in trouble, Hatsumomo framed her and tricked the okiya's mother, whom they call Mother, into believing that she stole Hatsumomo's expensive comb. It doesn't matter how innocent he wasSayuri, whatever Hatsumomo said was the truth. Later in the story, Mother tells Sayuri that in the past six months she had earned more than Hatsumomo and Pumpkin combined. That means, he said, it's time for you to do a room swap with them. (pg. 317) As quick as the blink of an eye, Hatsumomo is knocked to the ground and Sayuri becomes the one for whom all slaves must make way. It is only because she has grown into an exceptionally pretty young woman and earns all the money for the okiya that her mother treats her completely differently and grants her special privileges. When a danna is chosen for a geisha, it is important that the man is wealthy enough to support her and shower her with exquisite gifts. On the brink of World War II, it was Sayuri's time to choose a danna, even if it wasn't really her choice. Mother was afraid of running out of supplies in the okiya, so she preferred the idea of ​​General Tottori, the man who oversees all military resources, becoming Sayuri's danna. He ignores Sayuri's need for happiness and chooses General Tottori over Nobu, as his position could be of great help to the okiya. (p. 302) However, General Tottori's wealth proves to be only temporary, as he could not even provide a safe place for Sayuri to stay during the war, as Nobu will later. Because her mother's judgment of people is based on wealth and her own greed, Sayuri is deprived of her happiness. A person's importance in Gion is fleeting, because a person's beauty and wealth never last forever. Bombarded by teachings of materialistic values, Sayuri can't help but benefit herself by manipulating others with her superficial qualities. As a geisha, Sayuri's exotic beauty is all she needs to satisfy the lust of men who hold great power. Even one look from Sayuri is enough to make a man stumble and drop what he's holding. To achieve this seductive effect, she had to spend hours getting ready, dressing in intricately designed silk kimonos, applying thick makeup and choosing the right accessories, which meant they had to be eye-catching. When she visits a teahouse as an apprentice geisha, a man says after she leaves, I didn't have much of an impression. But she's very cute. (p. 182) The man does not pay attention to Sayuri's kindness or her intelligence in speaking, but rather feels great sympathy for her extraordinary beauty. Even the right body language fascinates a man. Pouring tea the right way makes a man happy by making him believe that he is allowed to see parts of your body that no one else can see. If an apprentice geisha [pours] tea just like a maid, the poor man will lose all hope. (p. 168) The right way, as Sayuri learns, to pour tea is to show the most beautiful part of the arm, the lower part, because in Gion a man is only interested in one thing: sensuality in a woman. In addition to attractiveness in the presentation of physical beauty, Sayuri must also portray a charm that attracts men, although it may not necessarily come from within. She puts on a show, trying her best to look as weak as possible (p. 216) so that a certain doctor, a very rich man who often visits tea houses, can notice her. While entertaining men at teahouses, Sayuri uses subtle flattery in her conversations to gain the men's favor. She mocks a Minister, complaining that you don't like me anymore! You haven't come to see me in over a month. Is it because Nobu-san was rude and didn't take you to Gion as often as he should have? (pg. 382) Of course Sayuri doesn't actually enjoy the company of.