Symbolism, Setting, and Objects from The Rape of Nanking

Object Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major objects in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Objects

Nanking - This location is a city in China that endured a brutal occupation by Japanese troops during World War II.

Yangtze River - This location surrounds the site of the Japanese occupation and was the site of multiple mass murders by Japanese soldiers.

Shintoism - This is the philosophy of many Japanese people; it states that the emperor is the true ruler of the world; the philosophy may have been what allowed Japanese soldiers to torture and kill Chinese civilians with little or no remorse.

Samurai - This group is made up...
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