The Portrayal of the Supernatural in Through the Arc of the Rainforest

In her PowerPoint presentation, Professor Dasgupta asked the question of how Yamashita incorporates the supernatural into her novel Through the Arc of the Rain Forest.  From my reading of the text, Yamashita’s use of magic realism portrays those who possess supernatural characteristics as perfectly normal beings, who are advantageous over those who are considered normal.  The best and earliest example of this technique is seen through Kazumasa’s spinning ball that had become attached to him after his encounter at the beach into his adulthood.  Other people’s reaction to Kazumasa’s oddity slowly “became a thing of general acceptance.  Most people forgot it was there, just inches away from his face…” (6). Another character that has a supernatural appearance is Jonathan B. Tweep, who has a third arm.  Jonathan’s has a relatively positive attitude towards his extra appendage.  Jonathan “was far from ashamed of his extra appendage…” and he “even speculated that he was the result of Nobel prize-winning sperm.  He was a better model, the wave of the future.”  (19).  Although Yamashita structures the abnormal appearance of these characters to be perceived as standard and normal, she also ensures that their abnormalities bring them special advantages.  With the help of his spinning ball, Kazumasa is able to detect track work that needs to be done throughout the Japan’s elaborate railway system, and he becomes well known and respected for his gift.  Similar to Kazamusa, Jonathan Tweep’s abnormalities give him advantages over the majority of people who only have two arms.  The narrator of the story conveys Jonathan’s benefit from his third arm when they state “He could float three consecutive runs on the keyboard or bang out three octaves, all at the same time…was asked to leave the [baseball] team because there were no rules for a two mitt player, and…no one could get a ball past him…he threw his fellow workers down the line, who were unable to keep up with such a pace…” (31).  For Kazumasa and Jonathan’s characters, not only do they as well as others come to accept and accommodate to their abnormalities, Yamashita structures Kazumasa’s and Tweep’s supernatural characteristics to be advantageous for them in their lives and occupations.