The entire novel is an allegory for the situation following Japan's defeat after World War II. This can be seen by the characters and their representation of the different components of Japan that surfaced following the war. Noboru and his ‘gang’ represent Mishima's values and ideals. Noboru's mother, Fusako, represents post-war westernization of Japanese culture. Ryuji represents old Japan, and he is attracted to the sea, something that represents glory and a special destiny for him. Mishima himself was a Japanese nationalist who hated seeing Japan influenced by the Western world after World War II. This is comparable to Ryuji's eventual “fall from grace with the sea” by marrying Fusako. In effect, their marriage represents Ryuji capitulating to post-war westernization. Noboru's killing of Ryuji for marrying Fusako can be seen as a foreshadowing for Mishima's own attempted coup d'état of the Japanese government, an attempt to regain some of Japan's heritage and tradition lost because of post-war westernization. At the end of the novel, Mishima explores the choices that Ryuji has made. Ryuji seems to regret his decision to give up the sea and ‘majestic, acclaimed, heroic death,’ which is likened to glory. Instead, he has been ‘abandoned,’ condemned to ‘a life bereft of motion.’ The ‘life bereft of motion’ refers to the surrender of Japan to western values, and the ‘majestic, acclaimed, heroic death’ refers to sticking by Japanese traditions and values.