2. How did the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki alter Japanese views of Japan's role in the war?

3. Describe how the end of the war and the new educational policies enforced by the Occupation led to widespread skepticism.

4. Why was Dazai Osamu so well suited to be a spokesman for Japan in the immediate postwar years?

5. What sort of relationship did Dazai have with his mother and father?

6. Why did writing appeal to Dazai?

7. List four ways in which Dazai failed.

8. Why did Dazai begin writing again during his student years?

9. What is ironic about the title of Dazai's first published collection of stories?