Usage of Characterization In Ryonosuke Akutagawa’s Rashomon Essay

Usage of Characterization In Ryonosuke Akutagawa’s Rashomon Despite coming from a different background than most other authors that have so far been studied, Ryonosuke Akutagawa still wrote stories that included similar ideas like internal and external conflict, sacrifice of oneself for a higher cause, murder, human flaws and many others. In addition to that, Akutagawa also used common literary elements like motifs, symbols, point of view and irony. However, one element that is prevalent in almost all of his works is characterization. In two of his short stories, Rashomon and The Martyr, characterization is used to develop their respective themes; in Rashomon, characterization is equally important in building up the theme as in The Martyr. In Rashomon, characterization is used to show the theme that the desperate situations that a person faces can result in the resorting to means that compromise morals, and can even lead to hypocrisy. Akutagawa does this through narration and behavior of the character. At the beginning of the story, the protagonist is faced with the dilemma of either being honest and dying of starvation, or to be a thief and steal from the corpses that were scattered around. However even after much consideration, he was still â€Å"unable to muster enough courage to justify the conclusion that he must become a thief† (Akutagawa 34). Through this, it is evident at this point, the protagonist was still somewhat reluctant to compromise his morals even for survival, and if possible, he would definitely consider other means. With time though, the protagonist does eventually decide to compromise his morals, and he did not even have to â€Å"wonder whether he should starve to death or become a thief. ... ...gh they may have shown approval initially. In the two different stories, characterization is used to prove the themes, and in both cases, they are equally important. However, there are similarities and differences as to how characterization is used. One similarity that they share is the fact that in both stories, characterization is mainly shown through narration. Indeed in both cases character traits can be extracted through speech, but they are more apparent in the narration. On the other hand, one difference is that in Rashomon, there was only a single person that was being characterized to prove the theme, and this character was less of a one-dimensional figure than the characters in The Martyr, whereas in that story, a whole community was being characterized through their actions, as well as through the introspection of one member of the community.