1. Kafka on the Shore is centered around a man named Kafka Tamura who has run away from home to escape a horrible destiny. This Oedipal prophecy is that he will kill his father, and sleep with his sister and mother. When Kafka runs away, strange occurances start happening. Eventually, to his dismay, Kafka realizes he has fulfilled each of his prophecies. Throughout this story, another story is being alternated involving an elderly man named Nakata that claims he can talk to cats, but he cannot read. Although Nakata and Kafka never meet, their actions seem to affect one another and be codependent. This can be blamed on the fact that the book relates to the idea that souls can jump from one body to another. Thus, through Nakata, Kafka did in fact carry out his prophecy.
2. Fate was the most prominent theme in the novel. Even when Kafka tried his best to escape it, he could not. It was going be fulfilled no matter what.
3. The tone of the story is somber. The author includes very little comedy in the novel.
- "Memories are what warm you up from the inside. But they're also what tear you apart."
- "Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads-at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories."
- "Listen up- there's no war that will end all wars."
4. Theme: Fate
2. Fate was the most prominent theme in the novel. Even when Kafka tried his best to escape it, he could not. It was going be fulfilled no matter what.
3. The tone of the story is somber. The author includes very little comedy in the novel.
- "Memories are what warm you up from the inside. But they're also what tear you apart."
- "Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back. That's part of what it means to be alive. But inside our heads-at least that's where I imagine it - there's a little room where we store those memories."
- "Listen up- there's no war that will end all wars."
4. Theme: Fate
- Sometimes fate is like a sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. Your turn again, but the storm adjusts."
- no matter what Kafka did, he couldn't escape his fate
- running away from it only brought him closer
Symbolism:
Symbolism:
- Alter- ego "crow"
- represents Kafka's downfalls
Foreshadowing:
- "On my fifteenth birthday I'll run away from home, journey off to a far-off town, and live in a corner of a small library."
Diction/ Syntax:
- easy to read, colloquial
Diction/ Syntax:
- easy to read, colloquial
- "Hey, Mr. Nakata. Gramps. Fire! Flood! Earthquake! Revolution! Godzilla's on the loose! Get up!
- "Chance encounters are what keep us going."
Imagery:
- “Being with her I feel a pain, like a frozen knife stuck in my chest."
- “Not just beautiful, though--the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they're watching me.”
- “A strange, terrific force unlike anything I've ever experienced is sprouting in my heart, taking root there, growing. Shut up behind my rib cage, my warm heart expands and contracts independent of my will--over and over.”
- “A strange, terrific force unlike anything I've ever experienced is sprouting in my heart, taking root there, growing. Shut up behind my rib cage, my warm heart expands and contracts independent of my will--over and over.”
I think you did a good job in your examples. They helped me understand the theme of the novel.
ReplyDeleteThis clarified my understanding of the novel. I think your examples were correct and helped my own clarification.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this novel I had a hard time understanding it, as the point of view kept changing; your lit. analysis definitely helped clarify this confusion!
ReplyDeleteThis was definitely an....interesting read sophomore year. I was a bit confused when I read it, but your analysis cleared up some key points that I didn’t understand. Good job!
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