Elements of the Story/Fiction

Group 2
 WARNING!
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Title
CHARACTERS
 Characters
• Light Yagami ( 夜 神 月 Yagami Raito) is a bored
intellectual dissatisfied with the Japanese justice system.
When he finds a Death Note dropped by Ryuk, he
envisions to create a world without crime and rule over it
as its "god". His alias Kira (キラ), derived from the English
word killer, is quickly popularized and draws the attention
of the Japanese police and L. Though initially sensitive to
the pain of others, Light's descent into his role as Kira
marks a dramatic change in his personality as he becomes
comfortable with manipulating people's lives.
Light Yagami
 Characters
• L Lawliet (Ｌ・ローライト Eru Rōraito), known solely as L,
is the world's greatest detective. He takes on the task
of tracking down and arresting Kira. He only ever wears
shoes in public, just to take them off as soon as he sits
down. His dishevelled appearance and constant playing
with his food, which usually consists of candy or fruit,
causes people to doubt his position as L. He lives in
solitude, and only his manager Watari is able to contact
him directly. L suspects that Light is Kira almost from
the beginning, but cannot confirm his suspicions,
although they are right.
L Lawliet
 Characters
• Ryuk (リューク Ryūku) is a bored Shinigami
that drops a Death Note, a notebook that
allows you to kill anyone simply by knowing
their name and face, into the human world in
order to have fun. It is picked up by Light
Yagami, a young genius who uses it in an
attempt to create and rule a world "cleansed
of evil" as "God".
Ryuk
EVENTS
 Events: Exposition
• Light Yagami is a genius high school student who discovers the
"Death Note", a notebook that kills anyone whose name is
written in it, as long as the writer has seen that person's face.
After experimenting with the notebook, Light meets
the Shinigami Ryuk, the notebook's original owner, who
dropped the notebook to the human world out of boredom.
Light tells Ryuk of his plan to rule as a god over a new world
free from criminals, where only people he deems morally fit
to live remain. Light becomes known to the public as Kira (キ
ラ), which is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the
word "killer". Ryuk, invisible save to those that possess the
Death Note, follows Light around and takes enjoyment from
Light's meticulous actions as Kira.
 Events: Conflict
• Kira's killings catch the attention of Interpol and
world-famous detective "L". L, who is highly
intelligent, has surmised that Kira can kill anyone
by knowing their face and name, and tricks Light
into revealing his location in the Kanto region of
Japan. L creates a small anti-Kira task force from
the local police to help discover who Kira is,
including Soichiro, Light's father, requiring Light
to take several measures to keep the Death Note
secure. Light and L begin a game of cat and
mouse to try to further their own ends.
 Events: Resolution
• In the end, Light Yagami ultimately died as
Ryuk himself took his life by writing his name
in his Death Note just before Light suffered
from a bullet wound. Ryuk had promised Light
that if such a situation ever happened, he
would set Light free by writing his name in
his Death Note.
SYMBOLS
 Symbols: Apples
• Apples are symbols incorporating a variety of meanings
within a variety of contexts. They can mean knowledge,
wisdom, luxury, joy, and/or death. In Greek mythology,
apples appear repeatedly: the goddess Hera received
an apple as a gift of fertility upon her engagement to
Zeus, King of all Deities. Apples, in regards to the
Garden of Eden, were the first symbol of temptation
and Original Sin. In secular ideology, apples function as
a symbol for totality, as in the "cosmos" or "universe,"
due to their nearly perfect spherical shape.
 Symbols: Lady Justice
• Lady Justice has many underlying meanings.
The blindfold represents objectivity, in
that justice is or should be meted out
objectively, without fear or favour, regardless
of money, wealth, power, or identity;
blind justice and impartiality. In her left
hand, Lady Justice holds balance scales,
which represent the weighing of evidence.
THEMES
 Themes
• Much of the story is spent waffling on about
"justice" and "righteousness", and all of the
characters seem to believe that, because
"Right makes Might", their ideals will cause
them to be victorious. They all, particularly
Light and L, stick very closely to this mindset
for most of the story. Then we get this
statement from " If we catch Kira, he is evil. If
he succeeds, he is justice. "
 Themes
• That is, justice will prevail - but not because it is good or
right. Justice will always prevail, but only because whoever
wins will claim it. There is no true justice; it's not Right
makes Might, but Might makes Right. Then, at the end of it
all, nobody prevails; they're almost all dead, and nothing
changes. Nobody was saved by this ordeal. That's because
the entire concept of justice is fundamentally flawed,
particularly in this series' Grey and Grey Morality. There is
no 'good' or 'evil'; everything simply is. That's why there's
no heaven or hell, and that's why neither Light or L made it
to the end alive. They were fighting against an evil that
never existed to begin with. They were doomed from the
start, because their entire frames of thinking were wrong.