TITLE:
Interrupted Truth: From the Narrative Distortion of in a Grove
AUTHORS:
Qihan Chen
KEYWORDS:
In a Grove, Truth Interruption, Narrative Strategy, Human Psyche, Reality Distortion
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.12 No.7,
July
22,
2025
ABSTRACT: Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s In a Grove fuses the “call of the Wild” and the “call of the West” to deconstruct the singularity of truth through seven contradictory testimonies. Departing from the life-or-death dilemma in Rashōmon, this work exposes how shame and despair distort humanity. While Akira Kurosawa’s film implants a “quasi-truth” to bridge narrative gaps through humanistic hope, Akutagawa’s skepticism reveals language’s opacity and truth’s relativity—an enduring modern predicament.