Post by Airy Yeh on Oct 29, 2015 0:50:36 GMT
select one of the customs or practices in Kappaland and write what aspects of the modern world you think the author is trying to criticize (or mock)
In Chapter 12, the narrator meets the skinny Kappa who had stolen his fountain pen. A police Kappa passes by conveniently and the narrator stops him in hope that the thief will be given some form of consequence as would be given in Japan (the modern world). However, to the narrator's surprise, the thief admits he had stolen it a month ago. The police asks the thief the reason why he had stolen the fountain pen, to which the thief replies he had thought it would be a nice toy for his child. They find out that the child had died a week ago. The thief Kappa had the child's death certificate. The police says the thief is innocent because he took the pen to be a toy for child and now the child is dead. It is in their Penal Code 1,285. The narrator, not satisfied, asks Judge Pep to clarify. Judge Pep says, "whereas the Kappa in question, at the time when the said offence was committed, was a parent, he is now no longer such. Ergo, his offence, too, ipso facto, is to be regarded as void." (Akutagawa, p. 107) In Kappaland, a Kappa "who is a father" and a Kappa "who was a father" are separate and the Japanese law that regards the two as the same are considered illogical. The narrator says that in Japan, a capital punishment is hanging, whereas Judge Pep says that there is no hanging in Kappaland but an electric chair is seldom used. The electric chair is really words of offence, which can kill a Kappa by inducing one to suicide.
I think the author is critical of the logic of the modern world and the extent to which we place value on it. Logic is greatly shaped by culture. To one person in a culture, their logic may sound perfectly logical, but it may not to someone from another culture who considers another logic to be perfectly logical. Hence, logic is deeply influenced by one's culture, which consist of many aspects such as beliefs, values, environment, the time, and so on. In Chapter 11, Mag's Book, Words of the Fool, we read, "In the final analysis, our life cannot escape from such vicious circle. There is consistent illogicality." (Akutagawa, p.102) In the modern world, we may place great value on the existing logic of our organized systems of society that it feels only natural to follow it. However, what may feel natural to us may not be the best answer, and the logic that we believe to be logical may not always be the most conscientious and ethical logic that we believe it to be. For example, the criminal system is a topic of debate today. Is it ethical to allow life-sentence or death penalty? One person may say that no human has the right to end another's life, while another may say it is necessary to protect the lives of many from a serial killer. Both are logical, so the ultimate question is what is the true value of logic? Logic is not greater than the questions of ethics and morality, for lives are not black and white, and logic is always under the scrutiny of such questions.
Discussion Question: I interpreted the electric chair in Chapter 12 as words of offence that can kill a Kappa by inducing one to suicide. Judge Pep says it is used in the Kappa judicial system as form of punishment, but it can also be used by murderers. The book isn't explicit in what it is. How did you interpret it?
In Chapter 12, the narrator meets the skinny Kappa who had stolen his fountain pen. A police Kappa passes by conveniently and the narrator stops him in hope that the thief will be given some form of consequence as would be given in Japan (the modern world). However, to the narrator's surprise, the thief admits he had stolen it a month ago. The police asks the thief the reason why he had stolen the fountain pen, to which the thief replies he had thought it would be a nice toy for his child. They find out that the child had died a week ago. The thief Kappa had the child's death certificate. The police says the thief is innocent because he took the pen to be a toy for child and now the child is dead. It is in their Penal Code 1,285. The narrator, not satisfied, asks Judge Pep to clarify. Judge Pep says, "whereas the Kappa in question, at the time when the said offence was committed, was a parent, he is now no longer such. Ergo, his offence, too, ipso facto, is to be regarded as void." (Akutagawa, p. 107) In Kappaland, a Kappa "who is a father" and a Kappa "who was a father" are separate and the Japanese law that regards the two as the same are considered illogical. The narrator says that in Japan, a capital punishment is hanging, whereas Judge Pep says that there is no hanging in Kappaland but an electric chair is seldom used. The electric chair is really words of offence, which can kill a Kappa by inducing one to suicide.
I think the author is critical of the logic of the modern world and the extent to which we place value on it. Logic is greatly shaped by culture. To one person in a culture, their logic may sound perfectly logical, but it may not to someone from another culture who considers another logic to be perfectly logical. Hence, logic is deeply influenced by one's culture, which consist of many aspects such as beliefs, values, environment, the time, and so on. In Chapter 11, Mag's Book, Words of the Fool, we read, "In the final analysis, our life cannot escape from such vicious circle. There is consistent illogicality." (Akutagawa, p.102) In the modern world, we may place great value on the existing logic of our organized systems of society that it feels only natural to follow it. However, what may feel natural to us may not be the best answer, and the logic that we believe to be logical may not always be the most conscientious and ethical logic that we believe it to be. For example, the criminal system is a topic of debate today. Is it ethical to allow life-sentence or death penalty? One person may say that no human has the right to end another's life, while another may say it is necessary to protect the lives of many from a serial killer. Both are logical, so the ultimate question is what is the true value of logic? Logic is not greater than the questions of ethics and morality, for lives are not black and white, and logic is always under the scrutiny of such questions.
Discussion Question: I interpreted the electric chair in Chapter 12 as words of offence that can kill a Kappa by inducing one to suicide. Judge Pep says it is used in the Kappa judicial system as form of punishment, but it can also be used by murderers. The book isn't explicit in what it is. How did you interpret it?
