Kafka on the Shore

Early in the novel, the boy named Crow tells Kafka, “Sometimes fate is like a sandstorm that keeps changing directions…” In the parallel story, Nakata seems incapable of choice and the events of his life seem to be driven completely by external forces or fate. How does each man live out or circumvent his fate? What does this suggest about the meaning of the novel as a whole? What is Murakami saying about destiny/fate?

Kafka says that he choose the name “kafka” because it means “crow in Czech.” What does a crow signify in the novel and in term of Kafka’s life? Other character’s names are significant in his storyline as well, including his father alias, Johnnie Walker, and Colonel Sanders. Explore the ways in which Murakami’s character names explicate the events, symbols, and themes in the novel. 

Early in the novel Kafka discusses his favorite Franz Kafka story with Oshima: “In the Penal Colony.” He says that he feels like he’s living in Kafka’s execution device. What does it mean that Kafka chooses the name he does? Why does he choose it? Further, what is the significance, of Kafka choosing that name in terms of him resembling a “Kafkaesque” character or living in a Kafkaesque universe? Compare and contrast this novel to characters and elements in Franz Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony.