UNIT - I

IN A GROVE – AKUTAGAWA RYUNOSUKE

CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER

1 “In a Grove by Akutagawa Ryunosuke is a……Story

a) Indian
b) Chinese
c) Japanese
d) American

Ans: c

2 The wood-cutter was questioned by a

a) High Police Commissioner

Ans: a

3. The body was lying flat on its back dressed in a…

a) Reddish silk kimono

Ans : d

4. The name of the dead man was…

a) Yamashin
b) Sekiyaman
c) Kanazawano Takehiro
d) Wakasa

Ans : c

5. The second testimony was given by a…

a) Buddhist priest
b) Indian monk
 c) Chinese priest
d) A hermit in a temple

Ans : a

6. According to the Buddhist priest, the unfortunate man was walking towards

a) Yamashina
b) Sekiyama
c) Wakasa
d) Sylvia forest

Ans: b

7. The central theme of the story “In a Grove” is

a) Loyalty and honour

Ans: c

8. The writer of the story confuses the readers with

a) Similies
b) Contradictory testimonies
c) Imaginary ideas
d) Metaphors

Ans: b

9. The story “In a Grove” reflects cultural context.

a) Feudal Japan
b) Ancient Rome
c) Medieval Europe
d) Renaissance italy

Ans : a

10. The title of the story “In a Grove” refers to the

a) Passage of time
b) Location of the murder
c) Fertile land
 d) Prosperity

Ans : c

11. The Buddhist priest in his testimony said that Takehiro carried in quiver.

a) 20
b) 25
c) 30
d) 35

Ans : a

12. The name of the notorious brigand was

a) Tajudeen
b) Tajomaru
c) Tajabin
d) Tajaguru

Ans: b

13. The policeman suspected that Tajomaru must be the

a) Witness
b) Decent man in the forest
c) Murderer
d) Villager

Ans : c

14……Molested the chastity of Masago.

a) Kimono
b) Tajomaru
c) Tajokhan
d) None of the above

Ans : b

15. Tajomaru acted as a to the dead man and Masago.

a) Traveling agent
b) Friend
c) Good man
d) Well -wisher
Ans : a

16. To the eyes of Tajomaru, Masago appeared like ….

a) an angel

b) a Budhisattva

c) Buddhist

d) a rustic lady

Ans : b

17. Tajomaru said to the couple that the treasures were buried under the…

a) Cedars
b) Earth
c) Vessel
d) neem tre

Ans : a

18. The deadman’s mouth was stuffed with

a) Flowers
b) Bamboo leaves
c) Cotton
d) Buds

Ans : b

19. The whole story revolves around the murder investigation of…

a) Masago
b) Tajomaru
c) Takehiro
d) Buddhist priest

Ans : c

20.The wife of the dead mam was…..

a) Masago

b) Malia

c) Menaga
d))Mindia

Ans : a

FILL IN THE BLANKS

1.The wood-cutter found the dead body of a man in a grove

2.The body was lying flat on its back dressed in a bluish silk kimono.

3.The wood-cutter found a rope at the root of a cedar tree.

4.The Buddhist priest said that the unfortunate man was riding on his horse from Sekiyama
to Yamashina.

5. A woman by name Masago was accompanying him on horseback

6. The Buddhist priest said that the man carried some twenty odd arrows in his quiver.

7. The policeman arrested a notorious brigand called Tajomaru.

8. The brigand was groaning on the bridge at Awataguchi.

9. The policeman suspected that Tajomaru must be the murderer.

10. The old woman mentioned in the story is none other than Masago’s mother.

11. The name of the murdered man was Kanazawano Takehiro.

12. Takehiro was twenty six years old at the tirne of his murder.

13. Masago is nineteen and she is a spirited and fun loving girl.

14. Masago’s mother shed tears for the safety of her daughter.

15. Tajomaru said that Masago looked like a Bodhisattva.

16. Tajomaru told a lie that he had buried the treasure in a grove behind the moun-tain.

17. Tajomaru tied Takehiro at the root of the cedar and molested the chastity of Masago.

18. The high police commissioner investigates the murder of Takehiro in the grove.

19. The centeral theme of the story “In a Grove is love and betrayal.

20. The ambiguity arises in the story due to the conflicting testimonies.

SHORT ANSWERS

1.What is the central plot of the story “In a Grove”?

2.What was the testimony given by the wood-cutter?

The wood-cutter said that the body was lying flat on its back and dressed in a bluish silk
kimono. A single sword-stroke had pierced the breast of the man.

3. What was the testimony given by the Buddhist priest?

According to the Buddhist priest’s testimony, the unfortunate man was walking towards
Sekiyama with a woman accompanying him on horseback. The man was armed with a
sword as well as bow and arrows.

4. Who was Tajomaru?

Tajomaru was a notorious robber and a vulger minded fellow. He was hunting women for
his sexual thirst.

5. What was the testimony of old woman?

The old woman said that the dead man was none other than her son-in-law. He married his
only daughter, Masago. He did not come from Kyoto. He was a Samurai in the town of
Kokufu, in the province of Wakasa.

6. What kind of girl was Masago?

Masago was the nineteen year old daughter of the old woman. She was beautiful, spirited
and a fun-loving girl. She did not know anyone except Takehiro.

7. What was the confession of Tajomaru?

Tajomaru confessed that he had killed Takehiro but he did not know what happened to
Masago. Moreover, he said that he had no idea about where she had gone.

8. How did Tajomaru induce the mind of the couple?

Tajomaru told the couple that the treasures were buried in a grove behind a mountain. As
the man was blinded by greed, they followed him to the lonely grove.

9. How did Masago try for her suicide attempt?

Masago stabbed her own throat with the small sword. Then she threw herself into a pond at
the foot of the mountain. All her suicide attempts came to failure.

10. How does the story “In a Grove” impact the readers?
The story invites the readers to question their own perceptions and judgements. It reflects
on the complexities of human nature. The truth remains obscure till the end.

Paragraphs

1.Describe the testimony of the wood-cutter regarding the death of the young man.

The wood-cutter was questioned by the high police commissioner regarding the mysterious
death of the young man by name, Takehiro. The wood-cutter admitted the fact that he had
found the body in a grove. It was 150 metres away from the Yamashina stage road. The
whole area was covered with bamboo and cedars. The body was lying flat on its back and
dressed in bluish silk kimono. It was pitiable that someone had stabbed him on his breast.
The fallen bamboo leaves were stained with his blood The wood. Cutter further said that he
had noticed a rope at the root of the cedar tree along with a comb.

2. How did the Buddhist priest respond when he was questioned by the high police
commissioner?

The Buddhist priest said that he had seen the unfortunate man with a woman and a horse
in the noon of the previous day. He was on the road from Sekiyama to Yamashina He further
said that he could not see the face of the lady because a scarf was hanging from her head
and it hid her face. She was wearing a lilac coloured suit. Her horse was a sorrel with a fine
mane. The man was armed with a sword as well as with a bow and arrows. He guessed that
the man would have carried some twenty odd arrows in his quiver. He concluded his
testimony with a philosophical note that human life is as evanescent as the morning dew or
a flash of lightning.

3. What was the testimony given by the police man?

The police man said that he arrested a notorious brigand called Tajomaru. When he
arrested him, he had fallen off his horse. He was groaning on the bridge at Awataguchi He
had escaped in his previous attempt to arrest him but he was helpless at the present
moment. He was wearing a dark blue kimono and held with him a large sword He got a bow
and arrows which looked like the one that belonged to the dead man. The police man
suspected that he would be the murderer. He was a cruel man giving trouble to women in
Kyoto. Previously, he had murdered a woman along with a girl who came to the Toribe
temple. He was a mean fellow and his mind was filled with sexual pleasures.

4. How did the old woman express her sorrow in her testimony?

The old woman said to the high police commissioner that the dead man had married her
daughter, Masago. He did not come from Kyoto. He was a Samurai in the town of Kokufu in
the province of Wakasa. His name was Kanazawano Takehiro and he was twenty-six years
old. He was very innocent and did nothing to provoke the anger of others. Her daughter,
Masago was a young girl of nineteen. She was a spirited and fun-loving girl. She had never
known any man except Takehiro. She was very beautiful and had a mole at the corner of her
left eye. She further said that Takehiro had taken her daughter to Wakasa, the previous day.
After knowing the death of her son-in-law, she was highly worried for the safety of her
daughter.

5. How did Tajomaru make his confession?

Tajomaru confessed that he had killed Takehiro but not his wife. He met the couple, the
previous day and he was attracted by the beauty of Masago. He made up his mind to
capture her and satisfy his sexual thirst. He acted as their travelling companion and told
them that he had buried a treasure in the grove behind the mountain. He wanted to sell
tnem at a low price. The greedy man followed him to the lonely place with his wife, Masago.
It was a convenient spot for his purpose. All of a sudden, Tajomaru pushed him and tied
him at the root of a cedar tree with the help of a rope. He stuffed his mouth with bamboo
leaves and raped Masago. Thus Tajomaru confessed his guilt.

Essay

1.How does the story present multiple conflicting testimonies ?

Introduction:

“In a Grove” by Akutagawa Ryunosuke is a captivating short story that immerses readers in
the world of ambiguity and moral complexity. The story is set in Feudal Japan. It has the
exploration of truth and human nature. The characters are questioned by the high police
commissioner to investigate the murder of a young man in the bamboo grove. Each
character offers different version of events surrounding the murder.

Testimony of a wood-cutter:

The wood-cutter said that he had found the body of the young man when he went out to cut
wood from the cedar trees in the grove. It was nearly 150 metres away from the Yamashina
stage road. The body was lying flat on its back and dressed in a bluish silk kimono. He was
stabbed by someone and the blood was flowing out. The fallen bamboo leaves were
stained with blood. He further admitted that he found a rope at the root of the cedar tree.

The testimony of a Buddhist priest:

The Buddhist priest offered his own testimony to the high police commissioner. He said
that the unfortunate man was walking towards Sekiyama with a woman ccompanying him
on his horse back. Her face was not visible to him because a scarf as hanging from her
head and it hid her face. She was wearing a lilac coloured suit. Her orse was a sorrel with a
fine mane. The man was armed with a sword as well as with a bow and arrows He
concluded his testimony with a philosophical note that human life is as evanescent as the
moming dew or a flash of lightning. He expressed his uttermost sympathy for him.

The testimony of a police man:

The testimony given by the police man was closely connected to the murder Ha had
arrested a notorious brigand called Taiomary When he arrested him he had fallen off his
horse. He was groaning on the bridge at Awataguchi. The police man had a nice time to
capture him at the present moment because he failed to capture him in his previous
attempt. He was wearing a dark blue silk kimono. He carried with him a plain sword, bow
and arrows. They looked like the arms of the dead man. Finally the police man concluded
that Tajomaru must be the murderer.

The testimony of the old woman:

The old woman admitted the fact that the dead man had married her daughter The name of
her daughter was Masago and she was nineteen years old. The name of the dead man was
Kanazawano Takehiro and he was twenty six years old. He did not come from Kyoto. He was
a Samurai in the town of Kokufu in the province of Wakasa. He left for Wakasa with her
daughter, the previous day. After knowing the fate of her son-in-law, she was highly worried
about the safety of her daughter.

Confession of Tajomaru:

Tajomaru openly confessed that he had killed Takehiro but not his wife. He said that he had
met the couple in the noon of the previous day. He was very much attracted by the beauty
of Masago and she appeared to him like a Bodhisattva. He made up his mind to satisfy his
sexual thirst with her. He was ready to do anything for it and even to kill her husband for his
personal reason. So, he managed to lure the couple into the mountains.

Greediness leads to grief:

Tajomaru acted as their travelling companion. He assured that he would take them to the
place where he had buried the treasure of aristocrates. He would like to sell them for a lov
price. Takehiro was blinded by greed and followed him to the lonely place in the grove.
Tajomaru suddenly tied him at the root of the cedar tree and raped Masago.

Masago’s state of mind:

Masago was in a desperate state. There was a sudden change in her attitude She asked
Tajomaru to kill himself or her husband. She also assured that she would be with the one
who survived. Tajomaru immediately untied Takehiro and challenged him for a sword fight.
Tajomaru stabbed him in the chest on his twenty third thrust. In the meantime Masago
escaped and Tajomaru also left the forest. He took with him, Takehiro’s weapons and rode
Masago’s horse until he was caught by the police man. Masago tried to commit suicide
along with her husband but she embraced failure in her suicide attempt.

The spirit of Takehiro:

The final testimony was delivered by the spirit of Takehiro. He was disturbed by the sudden
change in the character of Masago. He became completely exhausted. He took Masago’s
dagger and stabbed himself. He slowly bled and watched the sunset over the grove. In the
darkness, an unidentified character walked up to him and withdrew the knife.

Conclusion:

The story challenges the readers to confront the subjective nature of reality. The readers
are left without a clear idea of how Takehiro died. The story “In a Grove” is considered as a
timeless master piece of Japanese literature.