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Crickets and Kelp

This week in class, we discussed Kawabata's "The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket". Last week, we discussed a poem about kelp. In both cases, relationships/people are compared to these mundane creatures. This begs the question: how do you know if you're a cricket or kelp? Essentially, a cricket is something truly special; it's the end all be all person that you've been searching for and are lucky to have. Kelp means you allow someone to take what they want from you, leave, and come back as they please. Basically, kelp=doormat. But, how do you know if you're being treated like this? How do you know when you're a kelp when you think that you've been giving yourself freely but you've really been "being gathered" in a way? And what if you spend all your life thinking you're a cricket but you're actually a grasshopper? Or vice versa? And which would be worse? What if you really are a cricket and you end up with a grasshopper that treats you like kelp? I know that these are somewhat silly comparisons, but the sentiment is a true concern. I personally don't want to spend my life looking for a cricket, thinking I've found one, and eventually realizing that they've been a grasshopper that's been stealing my kelp. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is don't be a kelp thief. Yeah, I guess that's what I mean.

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