The Spiders Thread The story The Spiders Thread by Akutagawa is a story intended for children, as we gather from

the opening sentence And now, children, let me tell you a story. Literally, the story describes a God-like character deciding to pull a sinner out of Hell, based on a small choice by the sinner to allow a spider to live. The sinner is on his journey up to Paradise when he then makes a selfish decision and plummets down to the depths of Hell once again. Figuratively this story describes a proposed human cycle, what goes around comes around, good deeds are favoured, and sins are punished. Importance is placed on the contrast of punishment and reward present through the very evident contrast of Paradise and Hell, providing for the moral and religious nature of the story. There is a strong suggestion that Paradise is the favourable place to be, and that all attitudes and values related to Paradise are those that should be practiced. Akutagawa effectively shows this favourability of Paradise through a variety of literary techniques including imagery, structure and symbolism. Contrast is shown through imagery, effectively portraying that Paradise is the preferred place to be. The initial connotations of the word Paradise evoke a desired, purified, pristine sense. Furthermore, the metaphor The blossoms on the pond were like perfect white pearls is used to compare the scenery of Paradise as pure, and something that humans would naturally do anything for. The reader relates their human instinct to find perfection, allowing them to naturally like Paradise already. Paradise has fragrances which are wonderful beyond description, again provoking human desire for the unknown, a want to experience this wonderfulness. Hell, following the suggestive nature of its connotations is created as a bad place to be. Descriptions of the things in hell are Pond of Blood, only pitch darkness and the horrible Mountain of Needles. These are all things that humans do not like and are in no way attracted to. They are miserable and create a gloomy image and tone. In addition, in Hell All was silent as the grave, this immediately links to death, something that is not naturally embraced. Akutagawa effectively uses earth like imagery of both Paradise and Blind to make these supernatural places reality. For example the use of ponds and mountains. This places the reader in their comfortable world, able to make connections allowing the reader to see that the morals its portraying can be perceived in our existence. The story is structured into three separate sections, Paradise, Hell and then back to Paradise again. The story ends in Paradise which shows that Paradise has won. The author is trying to say that if you want to win, demonstrate the attitudes that Paradise endorses. In the story the Spider could be seen as a symbol for morality. When Kandata doesnt step on the spider he is acting on moral. When Lord Buddha sends the spider thread down to hell hes acting on moral.