Akutagawa Themes Worksheet

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

1. What is going on in this quote? Use context to describe what is happening (what is said and unsaid) in this exchange. (p. 66)

Describe succinctly (~4-5 sentences) the incident that happens in section 5: pp. 67-70.

In section 5, Horikawa commissions the eponymous “Hell Screen” painting. In section 6, our narrator describe one particular aspect of the painting as particularly horrifying. What is it? How might this be viewed as foreshadowing? (2-3 sentences)

In sections 7-11 (pp. 73-86), the narrator relates several incidents that are supposed to characterize Yoshihide’s artistic practice. Describe Yoshihide’s craft using two such instances as evidence for your characterization (~4-5 sentences).

5. What do you think happens in sections 12-13 (pp. 87-91)? How does that event relate to prior events in the story (use textual evidence)? What does the report of this incident tell us about the narrator? (~4-5 sentences)