Kafka on the Shore #16

Chapter 24:

So is Hoshino the "other half" of Nakata? Is Miss Saeki Kafka's "other half"? Probably not, but it's just a thought.

Why is Nakata sleeping so much? Is his soul traveling around? Did it mean anything? Or was it just so we could learn about Hoshino? But that isn't necessary...

I think it's weird how Nakata "straddles" Hoshino and how they are comfortable with it. Different cultures? Or is it just me? It is also interesting how Nakata can predict how Hoshino's life will be like just by touching his back. And he can fix it? Like altering fate? "The problem was all in the spine." <-- Seems like this quote has a deeper meaning.

So what is this entrance stone?

Kafka on the Shore #15

Chapter 23

The ghost "isn't something of this world". There's the blue dress again. Lots of moonlight. "Maybe she's not looking at me but beyond me." I like the volcano metaphor. She made Kafka's heart pound. Why did he cry?

Then Miss Saeki with her blue dress. She is the ghost? But the ghost is her from long ago. Miss Saeki has lost her energy.

"While they're still alive, people can become ghosts."

Kafka is attracted to the 15 year old Miss Saeki. Is he her other half?

Interesting. Before Edison invented electricity, physical darkness outside and the inner darkness of the soul were mixed together. No boundaries. But now is the sea and the shore like the physical darkness and the darkness of the soul? Is there a boundary now? I'm confused. I don't know.

So... living spirits all spring up out of negative emotions? There's a difference between a living spirit and people who throw their lives away for honor, love, or friendship, turning into spirits.

Edge of the world... spiritual world?
Crater... volcano again.
Shadow... The other half.
Fish rain down... like Nakata.
Soldiers... WWII.
Knife... God splitting people. "And how mindless violence severed that love forever".
But Kafka sees the Sphinx as the enemy Oedipus defeated. And the "shadow becomes a knife that pierces your dreams" is his father's stabbing. I never thought of it like that. It sounds like Miss Saeki's song is a prophecy.

Kafka on the Shore #14

Chapter 22

 Does the umbrella symbolize anything? Nakata wants to carry it around everywhere.

It seems like when Nakata gained the ability to speak to cats, he lost his ability to speak to people. In a way. He doesn't really know a lot of words and can't relate or understand a lot of things people say.

Nakata doesn't seem to really feel anything. There's that thing about his shadow being paler than other people's shadows again. He isn't complete. Who is his other half?

What does the sea symbolize? It must symbolize something. I wonder if it's like the spiritual world. It must be important because the title has to do with the shore, which is next to the sea. The sea is dark, mysterious, violent, yet peaceful, seems to go on forever... It could be symbolizing the world where the souls go to meet up with each other. It's a mystery and seems endless. But it connects everyone.

Kafka on the Shore #13

Chapter 21:

The sculptor's name is Koichi Tamura. Really weird. Kafka's father? Not Johnnie Walker? Is Koichi Tamura really Johnnie Walker? But it's weird. No fingerprints. There were no cats though. No cat heads or hearts. So he is not Johnnie Walker? Johnnie Walker doesn't exist? But then did Nakata kill Kafka's father? A sculptor? I am so confused. Koichi's art's theme was the human subconscious. I wonder how Kafka feels about all this. What about the blood from the day that Kafka lost his consciousness? The butterfly shaped blood. His father was murdered that same night.

Kafka's story is like Oedipus. "There's irony involved".

"Man doesn't choose fate. Fate chooses man."

People are drawn into tragedies by their virtues...

The fish, leeches, and millipedes only fell when there were no clouds in the sky. It reminds me of the locust plagues.

So Kafka's dad said, "Someday you will murder your father and be with your mother and sister." Is the prophecy true? Did Kafka leave his body and kill his father? Nakata did say he didn't feel like himself anymore. What if Kafka took over Nakata's body. So is Nakata Kafka's other half?

Why would Kafka's father do a DNA test? To show Kafka that they are really blood related? So that he would know unlike Oedipus? He can't escape fate. "Distance won't solve anything".

"That's the night I see a ghost." Is it his father's ghost? Reminds me of Hamlet.

I'm a bit confused. If Kafka took over Nakata's body, is Johnnie Walker the sculptor? But why is he naked? And where are the cats? Or are they different people? And both Nakata AND Kafka stabbed men in the chest. But then where is Johnnie Walker's body?

Kafka on the Shore #12

Chapter 20:

Is Nakata on a quest?

It's weird how Mr. Hagita believes Nakata about the cats. I wouldn't have believed him. Communion- they eat together.

Nakata predicted it again. It was a cloudless night...but leeches fell from the sky. "Eel=knife=Johnnie Walker?" Weird connections.

When Nakata was younger, he lived in Yamanashi prefecture before WWII. During WWII, millipedes frell from the sky there just like the fish and leeches fall from the sky wherever Nakata is. What does it mean?

Kafka on the Shore #11

Chapter 19:

In Kafka's new room in the library, there is a painting of a boy by the shore. Kafka on the Shore. The black German Shepherd reminds me of Johnnie Walker. The young boy could be the young man Miss Saeki loved.

"I try imagining myself in forty years, but it's like trying to picture what lies beyond the universe."

Miss Saeki wears a navy blue dress. The BLUE again! 

Equality between men and women. What is this lady's point? I don't know why she is nitpicking on everything. Maybe the author used this as a way to introduce how Oshima is a woman. But her mind is a man. He is female, but gay. Identity crisis. I love how Kafka is accepting of Oshima and doesn't change his view of him.

"Only people who've been discriminated against can really know how much it hurts."

Kafka on the Shore #10

Chapter 18

Why can't Nakata speak to the cats anymore? It's like his "cat soul" left his body when he lost consciousness and wasn't aware of how he got outside. Why isn't he covered in blood? There is no blood on Mimi, either. How? She was soaked in a pool of blood. It couldn't have been a dream, right? Nakata's story sounds so crazy and not plausible. Dreams or reality? I can't tell anymore.

Wait, "bring an umbrella"? Then... fish fell from the sky. A prophecy? How does Nakata know all of this? What could it possibly mean? "Fresh and good to eat."

A sculptor is stabbed to death with steak knife. Found naked. The policeman shirked his duty. Now he's pretending it never happened. And Nakata leaves town.... Is the sculptor Johnnie Walker? Why is Johnnie Walker an alcoholic beverage? OH. Is it because... it causes people to be delusional and now we are not sure whether this cat man is real or a dream?

Kafka on the Shore #9

Chapter 17

The stars. I think they represent everyone in the world. They are identical, yet each give their own special light. Kafka can feel so alone with so many stars just like he feels so alone with so many people. The stars are "watching" him.

"Follow the rules"- Why are there so many rules in order to live?

Kafka is able to float in the air. Reminds me of birds and flight. He feels free. Is it like the soul leaving the body? There is a lot of talk about souls.

"But nature is kind of unnatural, in a way. And relaxation can actually be threatening. It takes experience and preparation to really live with those contradictions."

Sometimes Oshima says the most thought-provoking things.

Kafka is a contradiction. Like a paradox. Ominous prophecy- omen.

I think the story about the curse that Apollo laid on Cassandra is really interesting.

Miss Saeki and that young man... they were born with their other half right in front of them. "Just like God had cut them cleanly apart with a knife." Their story is so sad. The name of the song she sang is "Kafka on the Shore". Is that a coincidence? Kafka chose that name himself. What is the meaning of the name of the song and what is the meaning of the name Kafka chose for himself?

"There's only one kind of happiness, but misfortune comes in all shapes and sizes."

Soul moves in mysterious ways. It's like Kafka leaving or the schoolteacher's soul leaving to meet her husband. Their other half. 

Kafka on the Shore #8

Chapter 16

This chapter was so disturbing! Severed cats' heads in a freezer? This Johnnie Walker is a really sick man.I tried to google who he is but I came up with a lot of alcoholic beverages.

 So Goma isn't one of the cats in the freezer, but she will die if Nakata doesn't kill Johnnie Walker. Walker talks about this magical flute of souls. What is this? And he can't do anything else but kill cats? Really? WHY?

After a while, I kind of see Johnnie Walker as Adolf Eichmann. He sees his vision as an ingenious plan, but the whole world sees him as a crazy killer and he can't seem to get out of his mess.

"First you fear me. Then you hate me. And finally you kill me."

Fear me- WWII and the killing of the Holocaust victims/ Walker's disturbing method of torturing and killing the cats.
Hate me- Continuing the Holocaust with no intentions of stopping/ killing more and more cats with no intentions of stopping
Kill me- "terminate me". Execution.

This brings about a question of morals: Is it okay to kill someone if they ask you to do it? If they want to die? If it means they'll stop killing other living things? Does that make it okay for you to kill them?

Oh my god. Then, he rips out the cats' hearts and saws off their heads. "Remember now- it's either I kill the cats or you kill me. There's no other choice." An ultimatum. It reminds me of Saw, although I never watched any of the movies. But, THOSE ARE THE RULES?

It's so disturbing. He eats the still-beating heart. It makes me want to just stop reading this book. He likes eating hearts. The souls? Is that how he gathers them? Why so many rules?

I felt so sad when Johnnie Walker killed Mr. Kawamura. When it first happened, I thought, "WHY? I don't get it!" then... "Oh. Like WWII."

"Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you can't see what's going on. In fact, things will be even worse the next time you open your eyes."

Just like WWII. The world turned away and tried to believe the problem would fix itself, but it didn't. This whole chapter seems to be screaming, "DON'T HESITATE TO STOP BAD THINGS! STOP ME. STOP THE NAZIS. STOP THEM." I like that quote. It's a great life lesson.

Oh no. He got Mimi, too. "You're no longer yourself. That's the ticket, Mr. Nakata. Wonderful! The most important thing of all. O, full of scorpions is my mind! Macbeth again."
When Nakata stabs Johnnie Walker, Johnnie Walker laughs. It's so creepy to me. The hearts gushed out of his mouth. Blood flowed silently... just like WWII.

Kafka on the Shore #7

Chapter 15 continued:

Birds woke Kafka up. A huge bird flapped its wings but he couldn't see it. He couldn't see the freedom? I don't know. Sounds important. The sunlight is back, so he doesn't feel lonely and helpless anymore like how he did under the stars.

It's raining. Catharsis. Will Kafka change? "Like a religious initiation". Seems like catharsis. Even though it is dark, he feels free. "Made me feel strangely purified." Later, the sun and the birds com back.

"You might dream about raping your sister, your mother. It's not something you can control. It's a power beyond you-and all you can do is accept it."

Sounds like Oedipus. 

I really like this: "Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear".

Essay Editing #2: Hamlet

So, today, I worked on my essay from 7-8 PM.
I just added a few words here or there and decided what quotes to put in. For example, I think I will add the "he is dead" quote. And I will add a quote about Polonius and Claudius spying on Hamlet through using Ophelia. For the "dead for a ducat, dead' quote, I have to explain how it shows that Hamlet is killing Polonius because if the reader has not read the play, he or she will not understand what it means. With all this information added on, I think it will be enough to pass the 1000 words easily. Also, I didn't delete much. I mostly replaced words or phrases or added more quotes and explanation of the quotes.

Essay Editing #1: Hamlet

A few days ago, I went over my essay right after I got it back. I decided to add more quotes and to talk about Ophelia's suicide. I also wanted to expand my analysis of the quotes. I deleted some parts, too because I felt like they were unnecessary explanations such as explaining about Claudius' murder or Old Hamlet. I also fixed some grammatical errors.

Kafka on the Shore #6

Chapter 14-Chapter 15

What is Kawamura trying to say? It is usually about something being tied up, so what does that mean?

Nakata describes butterflies and sparrows again. Flight is freedom? I really want to know what the butterflies mean. Is it like the souls? It reminds me of the butterfly effect. That kind of relates to Kafka's thoughts about imagination and what goes on in your head is important. More about that later.

When the dog comes, all the words describing it have a negative connotation. I can just picture what a scary beast it is. I wonder how it can communicate with Nakata. So... the dog leads Nakata to this strange man who calls himself "Johnnie Walker". I don't know who that is, but he is famous. This Johnnie Walker is a fake. Does that describe his personality, too?
"Distorted ripple on the surface of water". <-- Like the pool of water in the beginning of the story.

Random thought: Since some chapters are obviously in first person, Kafka's POV, what are the other ones in? Are they third person or does Kafka know everything? Does it switch off?

Kafka is alone in the forest. There is a lot of talk about birds. So he is alone and feels free? It reminds me of Thoreau and his wilderness stay all alone from the world. Is Kafka running amok yet? It's weird how Kafka is all alone but he feels like there is an army of invisible creatures surrounding him. Like someone watching him. Is this related to the killing machine?

Why is Crow so negative? He's like the depressed half of Kafka, saying self-degrading remarks and criticizing everything.

Even though Kafka is alone, Oshimas has felt the same way, so in that regard, Kafka is not alone. At night, there are no birds, but in the morning there is a lot. It's like light means freedom and good feelings while darkness means loneliness and fear. The birds look for partners, moving in pairs. They are not really alone. Like the God story.

I think the Adolf Eichmann story is amazing. It speaks out to me in a way that I can't really describe. It all depends on your perspective. He is both a genius and a madman. So sick and twisted, yet so interesting.

"'It doesn't matter whose dream it started out as, you have the same dream. So you're responsible for whatever happens in the dream. That dream crept inside you, right down the dark corridor of your soul.'
Just like Adolf  Eichmann, caught up-whether he liked it or not- in the twisted dreams of a man named Hitler."

 Then, Kafka says,

"But she got it wrong. What I imagine is perhaps very important. For the entire world."

Just like Eichmann. His imagination has responsibility. I don't even know how to explain what I think about when I read this, but I think it's so deep and meaningful. I shall finish chapter 15 later.

Kafka on the Shore #5

Chapter 12- Chapter 13

I thought the school teacher's letter to the Professor was pretty weird and unexpected. It certainly makes Nakata's situation more peculiar.I don't understand why her soul was able to leave her body and have sex with her husband. I wonder what it symbolizes or means. "When they're writing about other things, they really mean sex, and when they write about sex, they really mean something else." So what does this mean?

She also hits Nakata, and I remember that violence has meaning in literature, but I don't know what this means.
I also think that it is weird how she doesn't sign her name at the end. What is her name, anyway?

So in chapter 13, Oshima shares his sandwich with Kafka. Communion! That means their relationship is growing stronger and they enjoy each other's company.

Then, Kafka mentions how he needs Crow's help in explaining what he wants to articulate to Oshima. I don't know hwy I didn't see this earlier, but Crow is a bird. So, he is a symbol of freedom. He does and says what Kafka wants to do and say, but unlike Crow, Kafka is restricted from doing a lot of things.

After their lunch, Kafka and Oshima head further down South. So, I looked at How to Read Lit again, and it says, "They run amok because they are having direct, raw encounters with the subconscious." Sounds like Kafka, doesn't it?

Oshima has an interesting way of thinking about imperfection when he speaks about Schumann.

"I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of - that a certain type of perfection can only be realized thorugh a limitless accumulation of the imperfect."

There is a repetition of "that isn't an option" for Oshima. Despite his hemophilia, he is very controlling of his own life compared to Kafka who just doesn't know what he is supposed to be doing.

Kafka on the Shore #4

Chapter 8- Chapter 11

When I first started reading chapter 8, this was my thought process:
- What is the point of these wartime gas poisoning reports?
- Hey, Nakata feel sick one day and just woke up "dumb".
- Wasn't there a little boy who didn't wake up for a long time?
- Nakata is that little boy.
It's always nice when your conjectures are correct.

So, the glint of the airplanes could have possibly caused the mass hypnosis. The duralumin? Sakura's earrings are like that. Does that mean Kafka will be hypnotized by it or lose his memory? I think it's interesting how after this chapter, it goes to the scene where Kafka loses his memory of the blood incident. The brain lack.

When Nakata was in the hospital, his cat was with him. Maybe his soul left and spoke to his cat so now he can speak to cats, too?

There are so many references to blue and cream colored objects. And butterflies. Kafka's bloodstain is shaped like a butterfly and Nakata is surrounded by butterflies in the empty lot when he is waiting for that strange man.

I found out that Kafka's sister is "adopted". I don't know if she is really adopted or if she is illegitimate because his mother took his "adopted" sister away and not him, her "biological" son. STRANGE. Speaking of strange, Kafka's relationship with Sakura is very odd. She is extremely intimate with him despite her emphasizing how she has a boyfriend and doesn't want sex. Then, she says it would be nice if they were really brother and sister. However, siblings do not get sexual with each other. At least, not "normal" siblings. REMINDS ME OF OEDIPUS!

Kafka on the Shore #3

Chapter 5 - Chapter 7
Kafka is a really alienated boy. In fact, it seems like he is the one choosing to be alienated. He is reclusive, not shunned from society, except maybe by his father.

Kafka's desire to be alone leads him to the library, where he feels liberated. This is interesting because he describes birds and clouds while in the library. FLIGHT IS FREEDOM. Very interesting, indeed.

"In ancient times people weren't just male or female, but one of three types: male/male, male/female, or female/female. In other words, each person was made out of the components of two people. Everyone was happy with this arrangement and never really gave it much thought. But then God took a knife and cut everybody in half, right down the middle. So after that the world was divided just into male and female, the upshot being that people spend their time running around trying to locate their missing half."

I really like that quote. Oshima says, "Anyway, my point is that it's really hard for people to live their lives alone." However, I see it like how God created people to be either whatever sexuality they are born to be. So, the male/male people will be gay and the male/female people will be straight. It's nice to know that everyone has their other half whom they are looking for.

Miss Saeki's dress is blue. There is also repetition of cream colored things in the library. Important? I don't know.

Kafka mentions how he doesn't dream. Is this significant? What does it mean? Sounds important, at least. He also mentions a "good omen" on page 45. So... is the omen good or bad?

Chapter 6 is where I started thinking, "This story is so weird! But I love it!" Here, we are introduced to Nakata and the anthropomorphic cat who Nakata names "Otsuka". I think it is strange how Otsuka says, "Hmm...so you're able to speak." This throws me off because the reader expects Nakata to say that, not the cat! Cats don't speak, so why is it surprised to know that Nakata can speak. Very strange. Why can the cat speak, anyway? Another note: Nakata only speaks in third person and his language is littered with malapropisms. It makes me laugh. "Theery of fine ants", "depart mint chief", "minis tree of trade and indus tree", and "sub city". The use of malapropisms show me so much about Nakata without him having to say it out loud. I think it's nice how Otsuka doesn't seem to know that "sub city" is actually "subsidy".

One thing that Otsuka said to Nakata caught my attention: "Your problem is that your shadow is a bit- how should I put it? Faint. I thought this the first time I laid eyes on you, that the shadow you cast on the ground is only half as dark as that of ordinary people."
My first reaction: JUST LIKE KAFKA'S SISTER! Remember how in the photograph of Kafka and his sister, his sister's face was half dark and half light? Half in the shadows and whatnot?
My second reaction after reading on to page 52: Oh. Otsuka says that because Nakata's shadow is kind of like half of a whole shadow, he has to go out and find his other half. Just like the story Oshima told Kafka.

On to chapter 7. I'm starting to wonder about who Crow is. I have to admit that I don't even know if Crow is real. Is he Kafka's inner thoughts? He just appears out of nowhere. Where is he staying? Maybe I missed some information.

So another day at the library. Oshima is wearing blue. Important? He also seems very organized; not chaotic at all with his clean unwrinkled shirt, perfectly sharpened yellow pencils, etc. Seems to contrast Kafka and his internal turmoil.

I think it's weird how Kafka's world is so strange (talking cats), yet he thinks the stories he reads have strange worlds. At the same time, it's weird how Kafka thinks the worlds in the stories are more real to him than his own crazy world. It's so confusing to think about. But I like it.

Apparently, Kafka's name is taken from one of his favorite authors. Why? And this killing device being all around him...what does it mean?

Kafka went down south. So, he went down south to "run amok", right? But for a while, his routine was all the same. He is also very disciplined, so how is he "running amok"? HOWEVER, at the end of chapter 7, he says, "But on the evening of the eighth day- as had to happen sooner or later- this simple, centripetal life is blown to bits." This reminds me of the creation story. How God created the world in 7 days. I forgot what else I wanted to say about this topic. Maybe next time.

Kafka on the Shore #2

The Boy Named Crow-Chapter 4

The novel starts off with the boy named Crow. First of all, why is he always "the boy named Crow" and not just Crow? Does his name have any significant meaning? A bird? Flight? Freedom? Leading Kafka to freedom or no? Then, there is the repetition of the phrases "for the time being" and "when the time comes". Here, there is a mention of time, so time is probably important, too. And that was just the first page of the story.

Next, the color blue. The blue tattoo, the blue sunglasses, the blue swim trunks, and the blue sky. Blue is mentioned more than once when referring to Kafka, so I'll keep track of that when I read the story.

I find it interesting how Kafka describes his sister in the picture with him. She is visually split in half, part light, part dark. "Hope and despair. Laughter and sadness." She seems mysterious. It's like Kafka only knows part of her, the childhood sister, but not who she is now. That part is a mystery.

Then the water. So much water. So much rain. He describes his heart as a flood. What does that mean? Does he desire catharsis? To become new again? And his trip down south- run amok? In doing so, Kafka is going to break out of the norm. On his trip, it begins to rain. It is also his fifteenth birthday. He is a new person starting a new life, even taking on the false name of Kafka. I don't even know what his real name is.

On page 11, Kafka talks about his parents. He says, "I could probably kill [my father] if I wanted to". That screams Oedipal complex to me! And he runs away from home?! More Oedipus related things! He meets this girl, Sakura, who might be his sister, but he is still strongly attracted to her. Incest? Oedipus? Similar. And about Sakura. When they speak, he mentions her earrings a lot and mentions how they "sparkle like duralumin". I don't know why the duralumin is important, but it was mentioned in the Japanese teacher's story. And apparently, Sakura's ears are like mushrooms; it reminds me of the children picking the mushrooms and then falling unconscious.

What is this omen?! Why is it mentioned over and over?

There are so many things that I am trying to notice, but I don't know what is important or not.

Kafka on the Shore #1

I got my book today in the mail. This first entry will be about my initial thoughts on what reading this book will be like based on my research of it.

The first time I heard of Kafka on the Shore was in freshman year, when some of my friends were talking about it after they read it for English. I don't remember what was said, but I remember that they loved it. 

I guess the biggest reason why I am drawn to this book is what it says on the back cover: "...either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister". I want to read about Kafka's "oedipal prophecy". I wonder what it could be...

Anyway, it seems like it could be a long read, so I will hopefully start tonight.