Abstract
The short stories and novels written by Kenzaburō Ōe in his early years often feature the topic of World War II. Yet, it is brought up in a different way and from a different angle than we have seen up to then in works by sengoha authors.
Looking closely at Prize Stock, Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids, and The Youth Who Came Late it becomes obvious that these pieces are narrated from the "I" perspective of a child protagonist. In further analysis C.
G. Jung's 'child motif theory' is applied, as well as Ōe's own comments on his work.
Finally, and as a result, there are three types of shift described: a shift from Ōe's boy protagonist to a youth protagonist, a shift in time (wartime settings vs. present) and a shift in setting of the plot (countryside vs. city).