The Boy Who Drew Cats (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Lafcadio Hearn
- First Published: 1898
- Type of Plot: Fable
- Time of Work: The seventh to eighteenth centuries
- Setting: Rural Japan
- Principal Characters: The boy, The old priest
- Genres: Fable, Short fiction
- Subjects: Folkloric or magical people, Art or artists, Rural or country life, Cats, Farms, farmers, or farming, Gods or goddesses, Pictures, Japan or Japanese people, Priests, Religious life, Fables, Drawing, Temples, Goblins, Shinto
- Locales: Japan
The Story
The protagonist, the youngest son of poor, hardworking farmers, lives in a country village of old Japan. Because he is small, weak, and bright, his parents send him to the village priest to be trained for the priesthood. The boy learns well and pleases his master in almost all ways, but he persists in one act of disobedience—drawing cats whenever he can. Although warned to stop, he continues, as if possessed by a spirit, to draw cats in every color, pose, and mood.
The boy's disobedience causes the old priest to send him away with the advice to stop trying to...
[The entire page is 1405 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
