Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Consider the role that shame plays in human behavior. How might social concerns regarding this emotion regulate a person’s emotions and decision making?

Teaching Suggestion: This Short Answer question provides an opportunity to introduce a variety of novel elements, including its themes, setting, and primary conflict. The protagonist Yozo grapples with the feeling of shame over the course of his 27 short years. He struggles with his understanding of humanity throughout the novel, often resorting to substance use in order to deal with the shame that he feels. Culture and location can impact the way a society contends with shame; after first responding to the general question above, students then might speculate about the novel’s setting of Japan and the cultural expectations and norms that Yozo experiences and that affect his mental health. These and similar resources may be helpful in establishing additional context.

• Huffman’s 2005 “Japanese Society in the Twentieth Century“ explores the nuances of culture in Japan during the setting of Dazai’s novel.
• Scientific American offers a modern look at the connection between shame and mental health in “
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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