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1. As with all great storytelling, Japanese manga, movies and literature are infused with tales of revenge. Name one. Give us a brief outline of the story; who gets their revenge on who, and for what? If you are not Japanese, tell us about a book or movie from your country where a protagonist seeks or receives his or her revenge.
2. Did you like this story? Why?
3. In the news, retaliation is a common theme. This may be between politicians, companies, sports personalities (or clubs), nations or celebrity spouses. Tell me about a real world act of retaliation or revenge.
4. Did you feel in this case that the retaliation was reasonable? Why?
5. Tell us about a time when you or someone you know has felt the need to retaliate against a spouse, sibling, parent, friend, boss, colleague or stranger. What happened? Your story can be serious or funny.
6. Do you feel in this case that you, or the person you know, struck a balance, or simply made the situation worse?

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Question 1

"The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith", first a novel by Thomas Keneally and later adapted into a film, is a powerful story of an exploited Aboriginal Australian’s revenge against an unjust and intolerant society. It is a fictionalised account of a killing spree that took place in 1900 in New South Wales. Jimmy Governor – the real-life Jimmie Blacksmith – was eventually caught and executed for the murders of nine people.

Question 2

I haven't read the book and I haven't seen the film. The fact that it is based on a true story interests me but I doubt I'll get around to reading or seeing it any time soon.

Question 3

The Internet is full of these, mostly of people getting back at cheating partners. A common one I keep seeing goes like this: "My boyfriend cheated on me so I convinced him we should get matching tattoos. He went first. I went home." There are better ones out there but this is short and to the point.

Question 4

Sure. If the revenge is clever and doesn't involve violence, I think it can be said to be justified. I think the best forms of revenge are where the recipient learns some kind of lesson. In this case, the cheating guy would have a constant reminder of what he did right there on his body. Plus he had to pay for the lesson. Well played, anonymous lady!

Question 5

I don't have a good story to tell here I'm afraid. I'm human so I'd be lying if I said I'd never had vengeful thoughts before. But all I can think of is petty stuff from when I was a kid. Name-calling, pushing someone over, that kind of thing. Nothing epic, nothing clever, nothing worthy of repeating here.

Question 6

Given my answer to Question 5, I've got nothing to add here.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
adapt	適応する
exploit	悪用する
unjust	不当な
intolerant	不寛容
killing spree	殺人
recipient	受取人
vengeful	すごい
epic	エピック
pursue	追求する