- Read Akinari’s short story, “Bewitched.” (The link to the story is posted here on the blog, under the readings tab. ) Once you’ve read the story, find an image that somehow corresponds to Akinari’s text. For example, this image may be a stereotype of femininity in contemporary popular culture or an image from Akinari’s culture and time period, etc. It may be a photo, other form of visual art, or even a clip from a music video or a film. Write at least 250 words explaining how you see the image you found as corresponding to “Bewitched” or reflecting the story’s central themes. Cite evidence from the text in your discussion. Please share your post on our blog by Tuesday, February 16th. Include your name and the story’s title in the title of your blog post. Comment on 2 of your classmates’ posts by Friday, February 19th. Circle back, and check your own post for comments. Respond where appropriate.
- Office Hours – Click HERE to access the sign up sheet for my office hours. Each of you should come to see me at least once during the first six weeks of the semester. Use our regular zoom link to access my Monday office hours.
- Group Projects – As part of your required work for our course, you will be working in small groups to create electronic presentations to provide context and enrichment to accompany one of our required readings. Please use this Group Preference Form to identify your first, second, and third choices, and return your form to me ([email protected]) by Wednesday, February 17th.These presentations are not about providing biographical information about the author or analysis of the text you’ve been assigned. Instead your job is to find a way to share some aspect or aspects of the author’s context. For example, a project about Moliere might have focussed on French theater of the 17th century and shared images of costumes, theaters, and set design from that period; or a project to accompany Pope might have delved into the development of astronomy during the Scientific Revolution or provided a catalogue of other scientific innovations during that period. You may want to think about these projects as an opportunity to collect, curate, and share resources about your topic.We will discuss these projects during our Zoom call on Wednesday, but if you have questions in the meantime, ask them on slack!
Assignments – Week #3
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The reason why I picked an image of looking over your shoulder is because it shows Toyo-o feels after he suspects Manago being a form of the devil, and how he has relationships with members of his family. As Toyo-o is studying to become a priest early in the story he falls in love with a beautiful young woman, whom he never has seen before, Manago. She lives in a large estate in which she claims she was married to a governor’s assistant, but he died a few years ago. She feels a similar affection with Toyo-o and asks Toyo-o to marry her. He declines because he thinks his father and older brother won’t allow it to happen, since he owns nothing and has no job Toyo-o looks over his shoulder because he feels as if his father and brother control him and that he needs their approval for anything. Manago understands and gives Toyo-o a sword that belonged to higher member of society which gets him arrested. A group of Samurai find clues on how Toyo-o steals the sword and trace it Manago’s house. They go investigate inside the house and when Manago vanishing from their sights they realize that there was some sort of witchcraft and reduce Toyo-o’s charges. Toyo-o then moves to live with his sister to try and get away from his home. Toyo-o seems that he is too afraid to live there anymore and needs to move away. For a year he lived peacefully but soon after Manago found him working in his brother-in-law’s shop. He points out the she is a form of the devil, but she manipulates the crowd and Toyo-o’s sister for her to invite her over to stay at her house. She even manipulates Toyo-o that she isn’t the devil and he starts a relationship with her. Shortly after, a priest from the temple realizes that Manago and her maid are the devil in human forms and tells Toyo-o and his family. Toyo-o again frightened by this moves again and accepts to have an arrange marry to get over this. The problem is that the woman he marries is also a form of the devil and that he can’t seem to get away from this. Toyo-o’s problem finally ends when with the help of his father-in-law and an older man, they trap the serpent and bury it underground.
When I saw the image you chose, my immediate thought was that Manago is a
“stalker” who is following Toyo-o and won’t quit until she gets what she wants, but I also like your idea about Toyo-o looking over his shoulder. What role does his immaturity or dependence on his brother and father play in his falling victim to Manago?