Memoirs of a Geisha In the years before the Second World War, the Gion district in Japan was a viciously 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 about happiness through love. In Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Sayuri, whose name was Chiyo before she became a geisha, tells of …showed first 75 words of 1482 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1482 total…as herself. In the ending paragraph of the book, she states, “Now I know that our world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean.” (pg. 428) At that point in life, Sayuri realizes that the traits she at first regarded highly in a person is ephemeral. Only the kindness and compassion in a person will last a lifetime, leaving a deep impression of his/her true inner qualities as a human being.