The main character in the book I'm reading, Memoirs of a Geisha, is a girl named Chiyo who is taken from her family to the district of Gion to be trained as a geisha. Chiyo is the closest character in the story to being a hero.
Qualities I see starting to form in Chiyo are intelligence, and bravery. Intelligence, because, as a woman early on in the story says: "You've got a smart one here! Born in the year of the monkey I think!" Bravery, because when Chiyo first arrives at the okiya, all she wants to do is find her sister and runaway back to their hometown. When Chiyo has her last chance to escape with her sister, she tries to escape the okiya by climbing on the roof since the doors had been blocked off. Chiyo does not end up succeeding in escaping, and ends up falling into the yard of another okiya. However, she shows tenacity by trying to escape via hopping roof to roof.
Other qualities I see in this book's characters (focusing on the geisha) are confidence and wit. Wit, because geisha are out at parties to entertain men and must stay in their good humor.Confidence, because of all the socializing being a geisha entails.
"In that brief encounter with the Chairman, I had changed from a lost girl facing a lifetime of emptiness to a girl with purpose in her life." -Chiyo,Chapter 9 pg.113
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