The title of the story Rashōmon is the name of an entrance to Kyōto, actually the largest gate in Kyōto. In any case, Kyōto has fallen on hard times, and our protagonist is a recently ownerless samurai who has sought the refuge of the gate from the heavy downpour. There, he ponders whether he should take up a life of wrongdoing, which is by all accounts his only way to survive in the current economy given his range of abilities. The gate has turned into an archive for carcasses. Inside the gate he finds an old lady who loots corpses professionally. The conversation with the elder encourages him to choose his own destiny. The purpose of this literary analysis is to highlight how the theme of desperation is represented through the character, setting, and plot sequence of the story. In "Rashōmon", 12th century Kyōto is transformed into an image of destruction, decay and death: the entire city has been plagued by catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tornadoes and fires and by hunger, but the profound "hunger" does not it's less. significant. To resist, people crushed Buddhist symbols and sold the pieces to light them. Consequently, at that point, it can be seen that in urgent circumstances individuals turn to desperation and give up on the ethical quality, as well as using it and venturing as they would with any other material at hand. Given his need to resist, the servant who took the kimono simply behaved as people in the city would behave. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Meanwhile, the theme is represented through the humble servant. To justify his actions he stole the old lady's kimono. The humble servant is described as a hypocritical, critical and ruthless individual. He stripped the old lady of her robe and when she attempted to grab his lower legs he kicked her which sent her tumbling onto the carcasses. As stated in the text on page 9, the humble servant says, “You will not blame me, then, for taking your clothes. This is what I have to do to avoid starving." On the other hand, the old lady also represents the theme of desperation. She is depicted as a selfish and deceitful person. She legitimizes her actions of stealing from corpses by claiming that when these individuals were alive, they too had a considerable amount of wrongdoing. So, they deserved what they received. This happens on page 8, when the old lady says. “I know, I know, it might be wrong to pull the hair of the dead. But these people here deserve what they get." Both characters had to resort to theft to survive. Their need to survive reflects man's selfishness in desperate times. The humble servant, despite being a samurai, had to give up his standards by taking from the old lady. The old lady, on the other hand, needed to stoop to the point of taking from dead corpses because that would also be her only method of survival. Furthermore, these issues can be linked to our society, for example individuals who are in the throes of desperation are often willing and able to do things they would not otherwise consider, for example breaking the law or facing extreme circumstances such as taking a life , depending on the importance of the purpose. Furthermore, the theme is presented in the settings of the demolished city of Kyōto and the Rashōmon Gate. This general picture of physical and significant destruction is contrasted with Rashōmon, who speaks to the entire city. With its peeling paint and sections.