In the years before World War II, the Gion district of Japan was a place of fierce competition where women fought desperately for the favors of men and generous 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, who was named Chiyo before becoming a geisha, recounts her struggle to survive in Gion's cruel hierarchy and her race to become one of the best geishas. Through it all, Sayuri shows the emphasis she, and society, places on wealth and outward appearances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Even before Sayuri enters the Gion geisha district, for her, a person's exterior is an important factor in judging a person. From this type of judgment, it develops trust and respect based on how a person dresses, speaks or how rich they are. In Yoroido, Mr. Tanaka Ichiro is someone she respected, almost. He knew things she would never know and had an elegance she would never have because his blue kimono was finer than anything she would ever have the opportunity to wear. (p. 20) Just because Mr. Tanaka does not wear peasant clothes, but rather a quality kimono, Sayuri places great trust in him, only to discover that he sells her to a Mrs. Nitta, owner of a geisha . House. The first days, she even tries to convince herself that it is only a temporary placement, and Mr. Tanaka will come back to adopt her. She fails to see that Mr. Tanaka, as a wealthy businessman, is solely motivated by the money he will make by selling an extraordinarily beautiful girl, like young Sayuri, to a geisha house. In his eyes, money means compassion. Sayuri also judges herself, comparing herself to other people who are richer and more refined than her. When she meets Mr. Tanaka's daughter, Kuniko, she sees that her clothes were much fancier than mine but being the village girl that I was, I chased her barefoot into the woods (p. 27 ). She degrades herself, believing that she is acting ignorantly only because she is just a poor village girl. Although she understands Kuniko's true kindness, she doesn't see that as a reason to want to play and pursue her. Because Kuniko has a graceful outfit and she doesn't, Sayuri considers herself rude and ill-mannered. Growing up among people who wear peasant clothes and smell like fish, Sayuri cannot help but succumb to the wonders of opulent and materialistic individuals while demeaning herself. In the Gion geisha district of Kyoto, a woman, who is most likely a geisha, does not matter if she is not beautiful or attractive and no one notices a man if he is not rich . In the okiya, another term for a geisha house, a geisha has top priority if she is the most beautiful or in demand to entertain the men in the teahouses. When Sayuri first entered the okiya, the first geisha she saw was Hatsumomo, one of the most famous geishas in Gion at that time. She had never seen a more astonishing woman. Men on the street sometimes stopped and took their cigarettes out of their mouths to look at her. (p. 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, ordering seniors around would be the ultimate disrespectful gesture. Once, just to cause trouble for Sayuri, Hatsumomo tricked her and brought the okiya's mother,that they call Mother, as if she had stolen Hatsumomo's expensive comb. No matter how innocent Sayuri was, everything Hatsumomo said was the truth. Later in the story, Mother told Sayuri that she had earned more in the last six months than Hatsumomo and Pumpkin combined. Which means, she says, it's time for you to trade rooms with them. (p. 317) As quickly as the blink of an eye, Hatsumomo is overthrown and Sayuri becomes the one to whom all slaves must give way. It is only because she has grown into an exceptionally pretty young woman and earns all the okiya money that her mother treats her completely differently and grants her special privileges. When a danna is chosen as a geisha, it is important that the man be wealthy enough to support her and give her exquisite gifts. As World War II dawned, the time had come for Sayuri to choose a danna, even though it wasn't really her choice. Mother was afraid of running out of supplies in the okiya, so she favored the idea of ​​General Tottori, the man who oversees all of the army's resources, becoming Sayuri's danna. She disregards 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 turns out to be only temporary, as he could not even provide a safe place for Sayuri during the war, as Nobu would later do. Since 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, as a person's beauty and wealth never last forever. Bombarded by teachings of materialistic values, Sayuri cannot help but benefit herself by manipulating others with her own superficial qualities. As a geisha, Sayuri's exotic beauty is all she needs to obtain the desire of men who wield great power. Even a glimpse of 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 heavy makeup and choosing the right accessories, which meant they had to be showy. When she visits a teahouse as an apprentice geisha, a man says after she leaves: I didn't have a great impression. But she is very pretty. (p. 182) The man pays no attention to Sayuri's politeness or her speaking skills, but rather greatly appreciates her stunning beauty. Good body language is also captivating for a man. Pouring tea correctly makes a man happy by letting him think he has the right to see parts of your body that no one else can see. If an apprentice geisha [pours] tea like a servant, the poor man will lose all hope. (p. 168) The correct way, as Sayuri learns, to pour tea is to show the underside of the prettiest part of the arm, because a man from Gion is only interested in one thing: sensuality of a woman. Besides attractiveness in presenting physical beauty, Sayuri must also present a charm that attracts men, even if it doesn't necessarily come from within. She puts on a show, doing her best to appear as weak as possible (p. 216) so that a certain doctor, a very wealthy man who often visits teahouses, will notice her. While entertaining men in teahouses, Sayuri uses subtle flattery in her conversations to gain the men's favor. She teases a minister by complaining that you don't love me anymore! You haven't come to see me in over a month. Is it because.