1. Describe the opening situation from “Swallowtails”. Does the author give the reader any insight into the characters of Takashi and his father? How are the personalities of these two characters revealed to us?
2. What comment does Makoto seem to be making about some mothers and their attitudes toward their children’s education on page 24?
3. Why was Takashi “pleased with himself” on page 27? What does this reveal about his character?
4. What is it about the shot- put arena that makes the narrator depressed? How could this be seen as representing a larger problem that the narrator has with the city that he lives in?
5. What is the narrator’s first impression of Takayama? Explain how this impression is created.
6. What is the cause of the narrator’s pain on pp. 30-31? What might it symbolize?
7. What is the source of the narrator’s “strange feeling” on p.32? Do you think that this is a common feeling for fathers? Comment.
8. What is the narrator’s opinion on whether Takayama is totally innocent regarding the theft accusation? Why can’t he express his opinion to the teacher?
9. What might the metamorphosis of the pupae into butterflies and their release symbolize?
10. Write a critical review of “Swallowtails”. Try to address the effectiveness of the author in constructing this short story.

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