From Totto-chan / Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

 In Totto- chan, Kuroyanagi goes through accounts of her time in school right before the events of WWII in Japan. She describes a few short passages in her passage that represent her character as a child and the kind of experiences and interactions that she had in school. One passage that I found amusing was how The headmaster, Mr. Kobayashi allowed the students to draw musical notes on the floor with chalk (473). The absence of Ryo-chan is probably due to enlisting in WWII or being drafted which was very common during this time in Japan. People of all ages in this story seemed to comprehend that they will most likely never see Ryo-chan again, but the kids do not expect the effects of war the way the adults do due to their age and ignorance as children. Adults understand, for the most part, the consequences of war and the turmoil and heartache it can bring to families. I think having the kids drawing with chalk with n care in the world was a good metaphor for the life as a kid and how sometimes I wish I could be like a kid with not having to worry about the craziness of the world around me and just be able to draw with chalk sometimes.