Snow Country

Does Shimamura love Komako? Using textual evidence, explain why or why not. Your essay should include an explanation of how “love” is defined within the context of Snow Country.

Snow Country is full of symbolism and motifs not discussed in this guide. Select one of them and explain how you interpret its significance to the story.

In The Moon in the Water, Petersen explains that much of Kawabata’s meaning gets lost in English translations of his work. Identify a moment in the text where you sense this loss and investigate the intended meaning in the original Japanese. Why is this moment difficult to translate, and how does the translator attempt to do so?