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Essay / The theme of despair in Rashomon by Akira Kurosava
The title of the story Rashōmon is the name of an entrance to Kyōto, the largest gate in Kyōto, in fact. Regardless, Kyōto has fallen into dire circumstances, and our protagonist is a recently ownerless samurai who has sought the refuge of the gate from the heavy downpours. There he wonders whether he should embark on an existence of wrongdoing, which is obviously his solitary method of surviving in today's economy, given the range of his abilities. The door has become an archive for the carcasses. Inside the portal he finds an old lady who loots bodies professionally. His conversation with the elderly person encourages him to choose his own destiny. The purpose of this literary analysis is to highlight how the theme of despair is represented through the character, setting, and plot sequence of the short story. In “Rashōmon,” 12th-century Kyoto is transformed into a picture of destruction, decay and death: the entire city was tormented by catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tornadoes and fires and by famine, but the deep “starvation” is no less. significant. In order to last, individuals crushed Buddhist symbols and sold the pieces to light the fire. As a result, at this point, it can be seen that in urgent circumstances, individuals turn to despair and abandon the ethical quality and use and adventure with it as they would any other material within their reach. Given his need to endure, the servant who took the kimono simply behaved as the people of the town would have acted. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Meanwhile, the theme is represented through the humble servant. In order to justify his actions, he stole the old lady's kimono. The humble servant is portrayed as a hypocritical, critical and ruthless individual. He stripped the old lady of her dress and when she tried to grab his lower legs, he kicked her which sent her sprawling onto the carcasses. As noted in the text on page 9, the humble servant said: “So you will not blame me for taking your clothes. This is what I have to do to avoid starving. On the other hand, the old lady also represents the theme of despair. She is portrayed as a selfish and deceptive person. She legitimizes her body-snatching actions by claiming that when these individuals were alive, they also committed a considerable number of misdeeds. So they deserved what they received. This happens on page 8, when the old lady says. “I know, I know, maybe it’s a mistake to pull out the hair of the dead. But these people here deserve what they get. Both characters had to resort to theft to survive. Their need to survive reflects the selfishness of humans in desperate times. The humble servant, although he was a samurai, had to abandon his standards by taking from the old lady. The old lady, on the other hand, had to stoop to the point of taking corpses because that would also be her only method of survival. Additionally, these themes may be related to our society, for example, desperate individuals are often willing and able to do things they would not otherwise consider, for example, breaking the law or extreme circumstances such as commit suicide, depending on the importance of the goal sought. Additionally, the theme is presented against the backdrop of the demolished city of Kyōto and the Rashōmon Gate. Faced with this general picture of significant physical destruction is Rashōmon, who speaks to the city..