Monday, August 23, 2010

Japanese Literature

Rashomon
Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927)

It was a chilly evening. A servant of a samurai stood under the Rashomon, *waiting for a break in the rain. No one else was under the wide gate. On the thick column, its crimson lacquer rubbed off here and there, perched a cricket. Since the Rashomon stands on Sujaku Avenue, a few other people at least in sedge hat or nobleman's headgear, might have been expected to be waiting there for a break in the rainstorm. But no one was near except this man.

            For the past few years the city of Kyoto had been visited by a series of calamities - earthquakes, whirlwind, and fires- and Kyoto had been greatly devastated. Old chronicles say that broken pieces of Buddhist images and other Buddhist objects, with their lacquer, gold, or silver leaf worn off, were heaped up on roadsides to be sold as firewood. Such being the state of affairs in Kyoto, the repair of the Rashomon was out of the question. Taking advantage of the devastation, foxes and other wild animals made the dens in the ruins of the gate, and thieves and robbers found a home there, too. Eventually it became customary to bring unclaimed corpses to this gate and abandon them. After dark it was so ghostly that no one dared approach.

            Flocks of crows flew in from somewhere. During the daytime these cawing birds circled round the ridgepole ofthe gate. When the sky overhead turned red in the afterlight of the departed sun, they looked like so many grains of sesame flung across the gate. But on that day not a crow was to be seen, perhaps because of the lateness of the hour. Here and there the stone steps, beginning to crumble, and with rank grass growing in their crevices, were dotted with the white droppings of crows. The servant, in a worn blue kimono, sat on the seventh and highest step, vacantly watching.

            His attention was drawn to a large pimple irritating his right cheek. As has been said, the servant was waiting for a break in the rain. But he has no particular idea of what to do after the rain stopped. Ordinarily, of course, he would have returned to his master's house, but he had been discharged just before. The prosperity of the city of Kyoto had been rapidly declining, and he had been dismissed by his master, whom he had served many years, because of the effects of this decline. Thus, confined by the rain, he was at a loss to know where to go. And the weather had not a little to do with his depressed mood. The rain seemed unlikely to stop. He was lost in thoughts of how to make his living tomorrow, helpless incoherent thoughts protesting an inexorable fate. Aimlessly he had been listening to the pattering of the rain on Sujaku Avenue.

            The rain, enveloping the Rashomon, gathered strength and came down with a pelting sound that could be heard far away. Looking up, he saw a fat black cloud impale itself on the tips of the tiles jutting out from the roof of the gate.    He had little choice of means, whether fair or fouls, because of his helpless circumstances. If he chose honest means, he would undoubtedly starve to death beside the wall or in the Sujaku gutter. He would be brought to this gate and thrown away like a stray dog. If he decided to steal... His mind, after making the same detour time and again, came finally to the conclusion that he would be a thief.         But doubt returned many times. Though determined that he had no choice, he was still unable to muster enough courage of justify the conclusion that he must become a thief.

      After a loud fit of sneezing he got up slowly. The evening chill of Kyoto made him long for the warmth of a brazier. The wind of the evening dusk howled through the columns   of the gate. The cricket which had been perched on the crimson-lacquered column was already gone. Ducking his neck, he looked around the gate and drew up the shoulders of the blue kimono which he wore over his thin underwear. He decided to spend the night there if he could find a secluded corner sheltered from the wind and rain. He found a broad lacquered stairway leading to the tower over the gate. No one would be there except the dead, if there were any. So, taking care that the sword at his side did not slip out of the scabbard, he set foot on the lowest step of the stairs.

A few seconds later, halfway up the stairs he saw a movement above. Holding his breath and huddling catlike in the middle of the broad stairs leading to the tower, he watched and waited. A light coming from the upper part of the tower shone faintly upon his right cheek. It was the cheek with the red, festering pimple visible under his stubby whiskers. He had expected only dead people inside the tower, but he had only gone up a few steps before he noticed a fire above, about which someone was moving. He saw a dull, yellow, flickering light which made the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling glow which ghostly way. What sort of person would be making a light in the Rashomon... and in a storm? The unknown, the evil terrified him.

As quietly as a lizard, the servant crept up to the top of the steep stairs. Crouching on all fours and stretching his neck as far as possible, he timidly peeped into the tower. As rumor had said, he found several corpses strewn carelessly about the floor. Since the glow of the light was feeble, he could not count the number. He could only see some of them were naked and others clothed. Some of them were women and all were lolling on the floor with their mouths open or their arms outstretched showing no more signs of life than so many clay dolls. One would doubt that they had ever been alive, so eternally silent they were. Their shoulders, breasts and torsos stood out in the dim light; other parts vanished in shadow. The offensive smell of these decomposing corpses brought his hands to his nose.

The next moment his hand dropped and he stared. He caught sight of a ghoulish form bent over a corpse. It seemed to be an old woman, gaunt, gray-haired and nunnish in appearance. With a pine torch in her right hand, she was peeping into the face of a corpse which had long black hair.

Seized more with horror than with curiosity, he even forgot to breathe for a time. He felt the hair of his head and body stand on end. As he watched, terrified, she wedged the torch between two floor boards, and laying hands on the head of the corpse, began to pull out the long hairs one by one, as a monkey kills the lice of her young. The hair came out smoothly with the movement of her hands.

As the hair came out, fear faded from his heart, and his hatred toward the old woman mounted. It grew beyond hatred, becoming a consuming antipathy against all evil. At this instant, if anyone had brought up the question of whether he would stave to death or become a thief - the question which had occurred to him a little while he would not have hesitated to choose death. His hatred toward evil flared up like the piece of pine wood which the old woman had stuck in the floor.

He did not know why she pulled out the hair of the dead. Accordingly, he did not know whether her case was to be put down as good or bad. But in his eyes, pulling out the hair of the dead in the Rashomon on this stormy light was an unpardonable crime. Of course it never entered his mind that a little while ago he had thought of becoming a thief.

Then, summoning strength into his legs, he rose from the stairs and strode, hand on sword, right in front of the old creature. The hag turned, terror in her eyes, and sprang up from the floor, trembling. From a small moment, he posed, poised there, then lunged for the stairs with a shriek.


"Wretch! Where are you going?" he shouted, barring the way of the trembling hag who tried to scurry past him. Still she attempted to claw her way by. He pushed her back to prevent her... they struggled, fell among the corpses and grappled there. The issue was never in doubt. In a moment he had her by the arm, twisted it, and forced her down to the floor. Her arms were all skin and bones, and there was no more flesh on them than on the shanks of a chicken. No sooner was she on the floor than he drew his sword and thrust the silver white blade before her very nose. She was silent. She trembled as if in a fit, and her eyes were open so wide that they were almost out of their sockets, and her breath came in hoarse gasps. The life of this wretch was his now. The thought cooled his boiling anger and brought calm pride and satisfaction. He looked down at her and said in a somewhat calmer voice. "Look here, I am not an officer of the High Police Commissioner. I'm a stranger who happened to pass by at this gate. I won't bind you or do anything against you, but you just tell me what you're doing up here." Then the old woman opened her eyes still wider and looked at his face intently with the sharp red eyes of a bird of prey. She moved her lips, which were wrinkled into her nose, as though she were chewing something. Her pointed Adam's apple moved in her thin throat. Then a panting sound like the crowing of the crow came from her throat: "I pull the hair...I pull out the hair to make a wig." Her answer banished all unknown from the encounter and brought disappointment. Suddenly, she was only a trembling old woman there at his feet. A ghoul no longer: only a hag who makes wigs from the dead- to sell, for scraps of food. A cold contempt seized him. Fear left his heart, and his former hatred entered. These feelings must have been sensed by the other. The creature, still clutching the hair she had pulled off the corpse, mumbled out these words from her harsh, broken voice: "Indeed, making wigs out of the hear of the dead may seem a great evil to you, but these that are here deserve no better. This woman, whose beautiful black hair I was pulling, used to sell cut-and-dried snake flesh at the guard barracks, saying that it was dried fish. If she hadn't died of the plague, she'd be selling it now. The guards like to buy from her and used to say her fish was tasty. What she did could not be wrong, because if she hadn't, she would have starved to death. There was no other choice. If she knew I had to do this in order to live, she probably wouldn't care."

He sheathed his sword and, with his left hand on its hilt, he listened to her meditatively. His right hand touched the big pimple on his check. As he listened, a certain courage was born in his heart - the courage which he had not had when he sat under the gate a little while ago. A strange power was driving him in the opposite direction of the courage which he had when he seized the old woman. No longer did he wonder whether he should starve to death or become thief. Starvation was so far from his mind that it was the last thing that would have entered it.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a mocking tone when she finished talking. He took his right hand from his pimple, and, bending forward, seized her by the neck and said sharply:

"Then it's right if I rob you. I'd starve if I didn't."

He tore her clothes from her body and kicked her roughly down on the corpses as she struggled and tried to clutch his leg. Five steps, and he was at the top of the stairs. The yellow clothes he had wrestled off her were under his arm, and in a twinkling he had rushed down the steep stairs into the abyss of the night. The thunder of his descending steps pounded in the hollow tower, and then it was quiet.

Shortly after that the hag raised up her body from the corpses. Grumbling and groe ling, she crawled to the top stair by still flickering torchlight, and through the gray hair which hung over her face she peered down to the last stair in the torchlight.

Beyond this way only darkness... unknowing and unknown. 

Background Information
Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is a Japanese novelist and short story writer famous for works like Kappa, Yabu no Naka (In a Grove) and others. He was born as the first son of Binzo Shinhara in Tokyo. When his mother Fuku went insane, her family, the Akutagawa adopted him. The Akutagawa family was old fashioned and had for centuries served the shogunate in matters concerning ceremonial tea. Even under changed circumstances, the family remained dilettante, indulging in the pleasures of art and refinement. It is in this aesthetic atmosphere that the writer learned to love literature. In 1913, he entered Tokyo Imperial University and majored in English Literature. The next year, he published a literary magazine Shin-Shicho with other writers.

Akutagawa's career was brief -1916-1927, and Rashomon is a representative of the exceptional quality of all his work. During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), Japan emerged from over two centuries of feudal isolation with national policy mandating "westernization" and "modernization"- terms that seemed at that time synonymous. The Taisho Period (1912-1926) saw Japan become a major world power as its population enjoyed a postwar industrial and economic boom. Taisho writers eagerly embraced western literature and experimented with everything - from "idealism" to "naturalism", from "proletarianism" to "decadence". Akutagawa's writing too is selfconsciously literary" but in spite of his modernity, he resurrects and reworks many traditional tales.

At the age of thirty five, Akutagawa took his own life.

Notes:
Rashomon: The Rashomon was the largest gate in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. It was 106 feet wide and 26 feet deep, and was topped with a ridgepole; its stonewall rose 75 feet high. This gate was constructed in 1789 when the capital of Japan was transferred to Kyoto. With the decline of West Kyoto, the gate fell into bad repair, cracking and crumbling in many places, and became a hideout for thieves and rubbers and a place for abandoning unclaimed corpses.

Samurai: The samurai (or bush/) were the members of the military class, the Japanese warriors. Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword. Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of Bushido(\\\e way of the warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bush/do stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior. After a defeat, some samurai chose to commit

Buddhism: Founded by Gautama Buddha, who is believed to have lived from 563 to 483 B.C. It teaches that although suffering is inherent in life, one may alleviate or overcome it through mental and self-purification. The origin of suffering, he taught, is craving, which may be transcended through the "Noble Eightfold Way," a set of guidelines that lead a soul to a state of redemption known as nirvana. Buddhism teaches that such a state, achieved through a complete extinction of individual consciousness, can free a human from reincarnation, which is also central to Buddhist belief. (Webster's New Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1993).

Modernism: A comprehensive but vague term for a movement that began to get underway in the closing years of the 19th century. It has had a wide influence internationally during much of the 20th century. Some theorists suggest that the movement was at its height during the 1920s while others contend that it is not actually over.
As far as literature is concerned, modernism reveals a breaking away from established rules, traditions and conventions, fresh ways of looking at man's position and function in the universe and many (in some cases remarkable) experiments in form and style. It is particularly concerned with language and how to use it-representationally or otherwise.

Literary devices:

Metaphor - The word metaphor comes from the Greek for transfer (metaand transmeaning across; phorand /ermeaning carry): to carry something across. Hence, a metaphor treats something as if it were something else. Money becomes a nest egg', a person who fails, a washout. Metaphor and simile are both means of comparing things that are essentially unlike. In simile the comparison is expressed by the use of some word or phrase, such as like, as, seems, than, similar to or resembles", in metaphor the comparison is implied - that is, the figurative term is substituted for or identified with the literal term.*

Symbol - A symbol is something that means more than what it is. It has a literal meaning but suggests or represents other meanings as well. It can have more than one layer of further meaning. The more profound the symbol, the greater the complexity of the layers of meaning (although the symbol itself may be quite simple). In literature, symbols add to and reinforce the meaning of a story, or they can, in fact, be the key to the story's meaning. When symbols or images recur throughout a piece of fiction they are called motifs. Tracing the pattern of a motif often offers meaningful clues to the theme of a piece of literature.

By Jayson with 32 comments

32 comments:

The golden rule of Confucianism can be best apply in this selection that is "Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you". The selection emphasizes that the servant treated the old woman as what she consent to being treated in the same situation she had done to the corpse of a woman.
The setting was perfect for the scene. It was on along the stairway leading to the tower of the gate Rashomon. Along the rain,on the place fell into darkness and abandoning unclaimed corpses.It was ghostly that no one dares approach.And an old woman pulling the hairs from a corpse.
The helpless servant could not do anything but to to steal and become thief. Only he got no choice but to do it to the old woman, a hag who makes wigs. A hag who takes advantage to corpse (woman with beautiful black hair). This woman who was also a deceiver. So, it reflects that anyone had done something bad to others and as a result, bad karma. - maria alma chua-

‘,. The story “Rashomon” depicts the reality that indeed life is a continuous struggle for survival in which only the fittest will most likely to survive, an extraordinary tale that hides another account behind the symbolisms that were used not to mention a part of the history which was integrated with it.
The Rashomon itself in the story I perceived did not only pertains to the ancient Japanese structure but also to the world as a whole and the sufferings of the characters were not exclusively theirs but as well as of all the people from various society of the world. It portrays the cruelty in Japan way back many years ago, the misfortunes experienced by the people during those times and the sad reality which still exists today that no matter how man strives for goodness, given with no choice at all will really resort to do things out of good moral and rules of conduct as a person just like what the characters of the story did in order to survive. And if I were to ask who among them was the most evil, all of them will be my answer for as what one of the famous philosophers of China said “man is evil by nature, we only became good because of our struggles to do so”. Hence even if we do not do what the characters of the story did, we are still evil because whether we accept it or not it is our nature and will remain so until we die and we have no right to judge the characters of the story for we are all alike, , , , ,.,’ – mariel b.tecson bsdevcom 4a=)

..., the story Rashomon gives me a bigger vision of reality that people tend to do things beyond what is right, moral and accepted in society specially when survival is at stake. They become selfish and become unreasonable.
As what other people said that" ang magnanakaw ay galit sa kapwa magnanakaw," simply because they 're action can be reflected to their actions to.
In this world everything is a choice so we should choose the right path because we are the ones will suffer for the consequences of our action. As what people said that when reasons ends faith begins but when faith ends evilness exists. But nasa tao ang gawa and nasa Diyos ang awa.


-Vis Rios-

*Encountering fear is challenging in the part of us. It's because you are just like engaging in a battle where you can't escape anymore and nevertheless in your mind you have no choice where to go but to fight for it. If you don't fight then you are to be called by someone a "loser" for your entire life. That's why people in this world trying to defense or protect their own selves for some circumstances they are facing.
*From the situation of their corpse, they are just letting them laying down in so many days and years passed as compare to Filipino corpse there is really a big difference because we let let our beloved corpse be in safe and proper place not letting somebody touched inside on it for some purposes.
*Elders must be respected and gave importance not like in the story, the old-woman teared and kicked by the servant for he don't really know what is the situation all about.
-jonna may d. gines bsmath 4-A ....

Sometimes, we can't help but took advantage on the others, even how good we are, but if needed by the time and we do not have any choices, our other personality which is not good will be shown. Just like what happened in the story of Rashomon, that the servant of the samurai, took advantage to the old woman, not knowing the consequences that may happened to that old woman. He did not care, if he got hurt somebody, as long as he will be in good condition.We really have seen in this story how selfish is the servant. He did even think the condition of the old woman who was so very sickly and thin, to the point that he got hurt her physically.
We could also saw how miserable are the people there, as the Kyoto had been visited by the a series of calamities just earthquakes, whirlwind and fires. But look at they now, they are one of the countries now who are so progressive.

Every human being has different perceptions about life.
We have our own rules in life that was being followed.
Each one of us has a unique personality/quality deep within ourselves.
Our experiences in life make us stronger in order to survive and live on.

The story "Rashomon" was a common story that everyone can relate with because it can really happen in real life.
The character of the servant in the story was an honest man that has a good principle in his life.
Hence, poverty forces him to do wrong things in order to survive, he has no choice but to do it.
The servant in the story became cruel, violent and unreasonable person as what he did to the poor old woman.

As a good citizen in our country, we should respect dead people.
The old woman in the story, her only resources to live on, to survive and will not starve to death is that she is making a wig out of the dead people and we all know that she is depriving the rights of the dead people. Because of what the old woman did the servant became angry to her then in return she robs the poor old woman.

The theme in the story is that "Do not do unto to others what you do not want others to do unto you".
It means that one should treat others according to how one would like others to treat one's self.

The author in the story is Ryunosuke Akutagawa his story was all about human dilemmas and struggles of conscience tinged with gothic darkness. As a writer he was very brilliant.

*CHERRY ROSE G. GADAPAN*
*BSMATH IV-A*

The story discusses the moral ambiguity of thieving to survive. This story portrays such human beings—the kind who cannot survive without lies to make them feel they are better people than they really are. It offers an interesting moral topic on a reflection on the aspects of life.

Akutagawa very effectively illustrates the servant’s psychological dilemma with the line “He had little choice. His mind, after making the same detour time and again, finally came to the decision to be a thief.” We see the servants continuing struggle as, even after making the decision, he returns to re-examine it “many times.” Logically, the servant knows he must change; he must reject his old beliefs and adopt the new values, “he was still unable to muster enough courage to justify the conclusion that he must become a thief.” The word “courage” is particularly descriptive of the mental process the servant is going through. The “courage” to face the change, to do the opposite of what he believes, is very difficult and Akutagawa gives us the distinct impression that even though the servant has made the decision, he cannot follow through with the necessary actions because his old beliefs are just to strong and ingrained. We are, at this point wondering, if he will survive and how he will find the strength to do what needs to be done.

Tiro,Charizza P.
4-A BS Math

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.
In a helpless circumstances in life, that's come along the way and the only choices that left are a fear to die in a hunger or to turn a thief what would we choose? In the case on the story of Rashomon this signifies the attitude of some Japanese people that do not do unto to others what you do not want others to do unto you because its always come back whether it is bad or good.The servant in the story he is selfish and judge mental person he let his anger than to understand to the old woman right away knowing that they were just the same that has a plan to steal though he did not do it yet and then later he did to the old woman it was a sucks to imagine what kind of ironic life he and the old woman that beyond this way only darkness... unknowing and unknown if only darkness that's left we might do it in order for us to survive in what we call life.
So in reflection to my self i would not do as the servant do to the old woman i would try to understand her and so with if there's only darkness will be left I would take it even to become a thief but i wont lost hope for a change and found a light in my life .

Marivic C. Alesna
4-A BSMath

The story shows of how we are deceived by our first impression, without knowing its real stories or the background of that certain things.
Sometimes evil takes place of the goodness of an individual if he come up with no where to go or nothing to choice aside from doing such things that could result him to an unease person.
In the story the servant hesitates to steal and become a thief but he had no other choice than to steal because he want to live rather than starve to death. Surviving from death is also the reason of the old woman, that is why she pull the hair of the corpse inorder for her to make a wig. It was also stated that the corpse also selling dried snake flesh to the guard pretending that it was a dried fish when it was still alive. The things that made them similar is that, they all trying to get possible way inorder for them to live.
Talking about how evil partakes the three characters, will, it would be easy to say that, evil is in everyone of us, given that in all goodness, there should be a little evil on it, and in all evil, there should be a little goodness on it for sure.
The story reflects on how man acts and reacts. "What goes around, comes around".
...JASSON S. JABONITE BSMATH IV-A

This comment has been removed by the author.

Every human being needs a range of basic necessities, such as water, clothing, shelter, education, health care, and food,for his or her daily life.

The story of Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa reminds me of the current situation here in the Philippines. People hurt other people in order for them to live or to stay alive.. even the closest people they have and even relatives kill each other just to suffice their needs and just not to die because of hunger. We are forced to do things that we hate to do just to taste this so called "kaginhawaan".. maybe this is also one of the reasons why people become selfish..

And that I've realized that no matter how rich you are when you're still alive.. you're nothing when you die..you're bones will be abandoned everywhere.. and people will soon forget you.. so now I already believed that nothing last forever and that we should be contented and happy on what we have right now and follow what our heart tells us but always do what is right..ignore what other people say because what they say will also soon be forgotten.. =D

Ma. Theresa Natalio Mariano, BSDEVCOM IV-A

It shows how life is hard when bad circumstances arose and you have no choice but to do unethical ways just for you to survive life.
The character of the Samurai portrays how a good person, who have self-discipline and was trained to do ethical behaviors, can be changed when a certain circumstances say so.
Ergo, every human being is originally evil, it’s just that the nature of man that becomes him evil is that he continues to supply the needs of his body and wasn’t able to struggle to do it so that he becomes good.

-IRIS JANE L. NABLE BSDevCom 4-A

Rashomon, by Ryunosaki Akutagawa provides great insight into the psychological discord that the Japanese culture was undergoing in the early part of the twentieth century. Japan was in the throes of a common transformation, from a traditional, religious-based society, to a newly adopted weternized culture. Japan was rapidly assimilating industrial and scientific techniques and philosophies that were in conflict with, and were replacing traditional ways of life.

In the story , each one of us has different way of survival. Some people can do bad things in term of survival. The reason why they can make it because they don’t have any choice. You can compel to do things in order to subsist even though you don’t like it. In the case of the old woman in the character, they make the corpses as her livelihood. She doesn’t even respect the corpses. Same with the servant he don’t have doubt to steal the food of the old woman which whom he don’t exert effort to get the foods.

We see the servants continuing struggle as, even after making the decision, he returns to re-examine it “many times.” Logically, the servant knows he must change; he must reject his old beliefs and adopt the new values. Psychologically, however, “he was still unable to muster enough courage to justify the conclusion that he must become a thief.The “courage” to face the change, to do the opposite of what he believes, is very difficult and Akutagawa gives us the distinct impression that even though the servant has made the decision, he cannot follow through with the necessary actions because his old beliefs are just to strong and ingrained. We are, at this point wondering, if he will survive and how he will find the strength to do what needs to be done.


^_^ JUNA V. YLAYA ^_^
=*= Bs Math IV-A =*=

Each one of us has its own ways on how to survive in our everyday life whether it could be bad or good.

The story of Rashomon reflects what is really happening in our society. It is not only the country of Japan having this kind situation but as well as in other parts of the world especially in our own country, the Philippines.

There are so many Filipinos who are suffering from poverty which some of them are doing bad things that could lead them to risk there own life just to survive.

This kind of situation could be prevented if, each one of us would change for the betterment.


-LORYDITH A. VILLAREAL-
BS DevCom 4A

The story Rashomon is all about the goodness and the badness of a person. It relates the lives of many people in our country nowadays because of a series of calamities in life such as financial problem due to our economic crisis and corruptions. That's why we have a lot of crime her in our country. In order to survive some of us tend to become a thief. There are also people going abroad become a servant to other countries so that they can support the financial needs of their families. Those people doing bad, we can't judge them just because they steal. Maybe we don't know the reason why they do such things like this.

The lesson in the story simply we want us to inculcate our mind that we must finish our studies and have a degree or profession so that we can have a nice carrier. Then work so hard and forget being a lazy one. Lastly, “do not judge the book by its cover .”

Melanie E. Villaver
BS Dev Com 4-A

The story depicts the famous golden rule “don’t do unto others what you don’t want others do unto you”. Life is an echo everything thrown will bounce back. If you’ve done something wrong to others expect the worst consequences.
The story also portrays how people fight for their own survival. Life is a battle, and people living in the world are like soldiers who fought not just for their own selves but also for those people whom they loved.
Human in nature has its goodness but it also has its evil side. Especially when they are force to do things in order to live or when they think they should do it.
The story is about how cruel the history of Japan was, but the good thing is, we can see that Japan right now have learned from their history , we can see their great improvement and the people living there is already united. Their history also reflects not just to Japan alone but it is also happening in the whole world. Cruelty exists because of the so called survival of man kind and that’s the price we have to take in living in this cruel world.

Julie May A. Pintor
4-A Bs DevCom

The story tells us that ego is naturally within us and that there is a part of our human characteristic that we will really strive hard in order to get our heart's desire. However, on the process of doing what we aim we tend to take lies for our convenience. People tell lies in order to hide the sad truth and this lies becomes true to those who believe on it. On my side I could tell that people have different reasons of doing things, of which reason we do not know. In this case it pays that we will be more observant and careful with our deeds because as individuals we can't avoid certain instances that may put us to harm or we may be blame because of what we are doing. Let's just always put in our mind that what we do to others will just come back to us. Karma is the best explanation in this matter. What we do to others will be of the same thing that others will do to us too whether its good or bad...

mary jane cortes
bs devcom
4-a

This comment has been removed by the author.

As what is being depicted in the story Rashomon , life is full of challenges that might lead to a great choice. Whether it is good and bad, if what have been done, one must learn to
deal with it.

The story was exceptional. It shows the reality of life, the fight for the ultimate challenge of every humankind- survival. Some people tend to do scurvy things just to survive even if it is their freewill or it's against their conscience.

Life is not fair- that is the universal truth. You've got nothing to do but just to deal with it. In this complicated world, only those who has the courage to fight and make things possible are capable of living. As what the old woman did in order to survive and though it means terrorizing dead body. On the other hand, the servant established the cruelty of a man. He disrespect the old lady leaving his morals behind. He used the old lady as an excuse to fully accomplish his atrocious plan.

Ergo, the story implies how people struggle with unjust disposition in this world.

-PEARL HOPE J. RUELAN, BS DevCom IV-A-

Human beings are unable to be honest with themselves about themselves that the story emphasize. They cannot talk about themselves without adore. The story portrays such human beings—the kind who cannot survive without lies to make them feel they are better people than they really are. Egoism is a sin the human being carries with him from birth; it is the most difficult to redeem .

The story tells about on how to be devotes his life to a desire which he is not sure will ever be fulfilled.We laugh of our stupidity ,after all, no more than mere spectators of life.

Rulda Rhica Calma

4-A Bsdevcom

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The story Rashomon merely implies how it is imperative not to judge/misinterpret other
people’s doings. It is true that people occupy different status in the society. There are those
whom we considered rich, middle class and also those who are underprivileged. People tend
to do everything in order to live. There are some who take risk just to give the needs
of their families. I’ve also come to realized that it is important for us to always and always
think the consequences of our actions because sometimes we tend to become insensitive and
unreasonable just for us to survive in this world.
The story also makes me learn the significance of history in every country. Like
Japan, they are now progressive because they’ve learned from their history unlike here in our
country.
GENEVIEVE TENIO BSDC 4A

The story Rashomon reflects individual's different ways and strategies in order to survive.
The story also reminds us that in this game we called life we have given two choices on which play were going to involve ourselves - the good play or the bad play.
It is emphasize in the story that if we choice to be in the bad side we are not totally bad its just that there are some happenings in our lives that are beyond our control specifically when it talks about survival.
Another emphasis of the story is that " Do not do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you".
"Rashomon" tells us that if we do good to our neighbors surely someone will do the same unto us, but if you do bad to others for sure you will receive REVENGE.

The story shows that you have to work hard in order to survive. And you should respect others, because if you did something wrong on them it will certainly comes back to you and maybe in double. So if you don't want this to happen to you "do not do unto others what you don't want others do unto you..


wella pearl amante bsdc 4-a

Thank you guys.. nothing follows this post... enjoy reading...

The story Rashomon portrays us whats the reality.Though every people has their owm strategies in order us to live in this world.But sometimes we can make a crime to satisfy our wants.Though there are someone get hurts of what youve done.


This story remind us to the selection "Do not do unto to others what you do not want others to do unto you".Each individual should respect each other so that no one could sacrifice.
I know no one is perfect,the character in the story has a chance to change,maybe not this time but tommorrow.

ABATAYO JONA R.
BSMATH 4A.

“Rashomon” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa tells how the people live and sruggle specially in the times for survival. However, it also reflects the effect of a negative cause towards the premises.
The characters portray the animalistic instinc of a man for its own survival without minding it’s outcome towards himself and to others. In the other spectrum, the setting of the story was perfect in the sense that it goes right along with the fellings or emotion of the characters.
Negative certainly results to a negative one, which the characters do to other people. Though,a man might survive however hard is it to be, but what will count most is that how you end up winning or lossing the game by doing what is right.
-adelyn a. llorca

There is always a good and bad side in every human being.
The Rashomon story tells that it is only you who can decide for yourself whether you go for bad or for good. The story also strengthen my belief that in every bad things you do to others it will surely done back to you.
The story can be applied in real life it implies that in real world people do everything in order to survive without knowing that what they do is a mistake and possibly can be a crime.
For me the lesson I learned after reading this story is that... life is a gift and in order for you to manage it you should know yourself first for you to play a good play in life's journey, and doing bad things to others all you have to do is to wait and be ready because what you have done sooner or later will be done back to you.

The story “Rashomon” portrays the reality of human life in which man tend to be selfish in order for him to survive. With regard to the main character of the story which is the servant of the samurai, at first I admires him because he is a good and faithful servant but I was a little bit discouraged because in the end he turned out bad/ cruel because he killed the old woman. The story also reflects to the saying “ Do not do unto others what you don’t want others do unto you.” It means that if you don’t want other people to harm you, it would be better for you not to harm them as well. Better stay and be good to everybody. And as regards to the author of the story, I could say that I like the way he wrote the story because I have really learned something in which I could apply in my daily living.

Cherry S. Beldad BS DevCom 4-A

The story “Rashomon”simply depicts the reality that human as we are. We are not perfect sometimes we violate lies and the worst is that we do things without thinking the consequences.
Like the servant in the story, he was good at first but since he doesn’t have any choice on what to do he became evil just to get what he wanted and for his survival. Like us human,not every time that are good person. We tend to do something for our own good without thinking others. We became selfish and cruel.
In the golden rule”don’t do unto others if you don’t want others do unto you”. It stated that if you don’t want other people maltreated you, you should not do that to them.

Jonaline L. Gerona
BS DC 4-A

The story “Rashomon” is about the cruelty of man in times of despair. Man can do bad things to others to satisfy his own, poverty driven people can do harmful things to others. Just like in the story, the hair from the corpse which was pulled by the old woman uses it to make wigs. When the servant of the samurai asked why, the old woman answered "I pull the hair...I pull out the hair to make a wig." It only shows how miserable she is, for she too, is selling the woman’s hair as a wig in order to survive and earn money. The old woman narrated that the owner of the hair which was pulled out to make a wig, was once “used to sell cut-and-dried snake flesh at the guard barracks saying that it was a dried fish. This shows that man is cunning and wise, for the woman was able to trick her buyers. The servant who is also in starvation, vain and despair said "Then it's right if I rob you. I'd starve if I didn't." Sometimes, man has to be cruel to enable to survive.
I can conclude that life is a game of survival and one must be fit to survive in this mean and pitiless world, and in this story the survivor is the servant of the samurai for he said "Then it's right if I rob you. I'd starve if I didn't.”

APRIL LOVE S. JUANICH
BS DevCom 4-A

will anyone help me! please! what is the theme of this story? conflict? point of view? and style? thank you for answering my question. god bless us!

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