아쿠타가와 류노스케의 『少年』론 - 리얼리즘과 「거짓이 아님을 보증하는 소설」 -

Published the April and May 1924 issue of the magazine Chuoukouron, Akutagawa Ryunosuke's work, A Boy is composed of six episodes of reflections on his boyhood. Akutagawa intended to explain his true realism through his boyhood expriences. But it isn't important whether his boyhood expriences are real or not, because A Boy isn't a story of his boyhood, but a story of a present problem Akutagawa faced up to. Akutagawa points out the mistake of realistic expression in the writing of personal novels in those days. He thought that true realism is not to describe outer appearance but to express one's mind sincerely for the time. Therefore through the pure eyes of boys and girls Akutagawa revealed mass misunderstandings of the realism of personal novels. The child's eye never lies, and the fantasy world they imagine is also as vivid as a real life for their mind. A Boy shows the true realism through the child's eye. Akutagawa thought true realism was found in a writer's true mind, not in his outer appearance. A Boy is Akutagawa's personal novel, does not lie and shows his true heart at that time.