![]() ![]() When describing the despair of their situation, Ranpo (2008) mentions that “even in the midst of misery,” they “managed to be happy” (p. Moreover, the author employs subtle irony when talking about poverty, which makes the audience sympathetic to the two young men. The coin, the code, and other elements of the story make it more Japanese, thereby increasing the interest of the reader. In his story, Ranpo managed to revolutionize the Japanese detective genre by mixing the concepts of a traditional Western detective with the features pertaining to his national culture. In the course of the narration, the detective story becomes more and more intriguing up until the end when it becomes clear that what Matsumura considered as luck appeared to be nothing more than a joke. The narrator describes an occurrence of some notorious robbery and explains that it has something to do with his and his friend’s lives. ![]() When the narrator’s friend, Matsumura Takeshi, says “that thief makes me jealous!” the reader understands that the young men are in a miserable financial situation (Ranpo, 2008, p. The first sentence of the narration immediately draws the audience’s attention. The narrator of the story is one of the two poor young men living on the periphery of Tokyo (Ranpo, 2008). ![]() The story covers several crucial aspects: poverty, people’s ability to adapt to harsh life circumstances, wit and wisdom, and the desire to obtain others’ property. ![]()
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