Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea explores
the vicious nature of youth that is sometimes mistaken for innocence.
Thirteen-year-old Noboru is a member of a gang of highly philosophical
teenage boys who reject the tenets of the adult world -- to them, adult
life is illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental. When Noboru's widowed
mother is romanced by Ryuji, a sailor, Noboru is thrilled. He idolizes
this rugged man of the sea as a hero. But his admiration soon turns to
hatred, as Ryuji forsakes life onboard the ship for marriage, rejecting
everything Noboru holds sacred. Upset and appalled, he and his friends
respond to this apparent betrayal with a terrible ferocity.