The Problem of Pain and the Expansion of Cognitive Horizons in Toji

This article analyzes the connotation of pain expressed in Park Kyong-ni's Toji by connecting it to the logic of the human domination of nature. This is a literary thematic approach to the aspects of pain and its characteristics. Simultaneously, it is a task of revealing the narrative characteristics of the work by analyzing the way it deals with the problem of pain. The meaning of pain revealed in this research can be summarized as follows: First, in Toji, the ‘Hoyeolja(cholera) incident’ is not considered just natural pain, but also moral pain for which Jo Jun-gu and the imperialists of the time must be held responsible, since the disastrous consequences of the incident were exacerbat ed because of Jo Jun-gu, who had advance knowledge about the Joseon Govern ment's 'Rules to Prevent Hoyeolja Cases,’ but intentionally concealed information in order to usurp Choi Champan's property. This is also because it was a historical event wherein the majority had to endure greater suffering due to imperialist glo balization policies that implemented the logic of natural domination in all areas of humanity. Second, in Toji, the meaning of a specific character's death is achieved through an evaluation of the people around him. This means that death is not understood as a character's individual pain, but is accepted at a universal level that all beings have no choice but to disappear, in order to maintain a balance in nature. This perception of death stems from the author's thoughts on living things, and can be said to have been consistently implemented in the author's life outside of his works. Third, although not explicitly stated in the work, the residents of Pyeongsa-ri ex panded their awareness of the world's negativity through the Hoyeolja incident and various other personal experiences. The expansion of cognitive horizons occurs at the level of the reader. Through active reading of the work, readers can recognize historicized pain, that the characters' pain is not an individual event, but is contact ed with the structural contradictions of society and the those of different periods.