I have a very brief question, how is を貫き通せる meant to be interpreted in the
following line?

> […]我が道を貫き通せるほど拳が硬いわけでもない。

Dictionary definitions of "貫き通す" includes the following:

>   1. to go through; to pierce; to penetrate
>   2. to persist; to stick to; to enforce (one's) will​
>

I asked a friend who is native Japanese, and she says it should be interpreted
as something like - to make someone "carry out" or "put into practice" -
(though there's a language barrier here so we could be misunderstanding each
other and there's only so much she can teach me in English.) Doesn't this seem
a bit different to the dictionary definitions?

So assuming my friend is correct, how does a phrase like "carry out" fit into
the above example sentence? I can't seem to parse it naturally e.g. " he
didn't really have fists that were so strong it could carry out its own way"
??

So basically how is を貫き通せる being used/it's meaning in this context, and with
that in mind what is a more natural sounding way to parse the above sentence?
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2017-09-05T22:44:55.947
53067
2023-05-17T20:05:55.663
25699
question
meaning parsing
Understanding the use of "を貫き通せる"
Original sentence.

"我が道を貫き通せるほど拳が硬いわけでもない。"

Your translation attempt or:

**he didn't really have fists that were so strong it could carry out its own
way.**

Is it so strange?

**he didn't have so strong fists that it could carry out his own way.**

or

我が道 sounds strange? His own way sounds like the path with no end?

**he didn't have so strong fists that it could carry out his own plan.**

or

I am not sure though, 我が道を貫く might indicate "his own way of doing something."
In such case,

**He didn't have so strong fists that it could carry on something in his own
way.**
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2017-09-07T23:21:20.467
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2017-09-07T23:21:20.467
53067
answer
Base on `大辞林` the suitable explanation of `貫き通す` shall be:

> 信念や信条などを最後まで変えずに持ち続ける。

So the understanding of `我が道` in the context might be `my faith` `信念` in
spiritual `心`.

> 我が道を貫き通せる
>
> my persistent faith

Next, the fists are not phsycial, but the metaphor to describe the front
phrase. In this sentence, you can consider it's hard as stone.

> 拳が硬い

in the opposite, it's hard but not 100% positive, maybe 95% or 97%.

> ほど...でもない

Simply combine together:

> My faith is persistent but not unbreakable like the hard fists.
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2018-03-08T00:48:43.680
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2018-03-08T00:48:43.680
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer
So basically how is を貫き通せる being used/it's meaning in this context, and with
that in mind what is a more natural sounding way to parse the above sentence?

＊

I believe '[貫]{つらぬ}き[通]{とお}す' is connecting with the idiomatic phrase
'[我]{わ}が[道]{みち}を[行]{い}く(literal translation is 'to go my way').  
'道' in '我が道を行く' suggests (his/her) way of doing things, or (his/her)
principle.  
For '貫き通す', definition 2. in your dictionary applies here. The phrase has
connotation of 'till the end', too.  
So what '我が道を貫き通す' amounts to is like, 'to stick to his/her principle
unbudgeably, and till the end.'  
Please note that '我が道(my way)' points not to the speaker's way of doing
things, but to that of the subject in the sentence.  
Taking these into consideration, your line should be parsed :

His fists are not strong enough for (him) to stick to (his) principle.

I have let 'he' the subject of the sentence in accordance with your version of
the line in English. This should be a reasonable interpretation, though we
need more information to be certain of the pronouns that I have parenthesized.
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2018-07-08T11:52:44.353
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2018-07-09T04:17:03.447
2018-07-09T04:17:03.447
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answer