Confinement with Flatfish

Yozo lives as a parasite in Flatfish's house, treated with contempt by Flatfish and his clerk. He is denied alcohol and tobacco, and spends his days reading old magazines. Flatfish's evasive, circumlocutory manner of speaking about Yozo's future frustrates and confuses him. When Flatfish finally hints at the possibility of returning to school, Yozo, misunderstanding, declares he wants to be a painter, which Flatfish mocks.