Juxtaposing the Realistic and the Speculative Elements in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore

Rameez Ahmad Bhat

doi:10.22161/ijels.65.28

Abstract

Juxtaposing the Realistic and the Speculative Elements in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore

Highlights

It has become commonplace in our multicultural world more than ever to come across or engage perspectives or worldviews radically different from our own
Just after the end of the Second World War, we see venturing into mainstream literature new genres—speculative literature, fiction in particular, such as fantasy, Sci-Fi, magic realism
Crow”, haunting him throughout the“run away” plan; Crow describes that on my fifteenth birthday, I would run away from home, travel to a far-away town, and live in a corner of a small library (Murakami, 2003, p. 05).Presented with a picture of Kafka’s long desire of leaving his home, the historical events of World War Two Japan and theRice Bowl Hill Incident,which will have a disastrous effect on several characters in the novel, are we given the bizarre and fantastic details of the commentary of a “Crow” and, in the case of Nakata, the unusual but philosophical analysis on the anthropocentric world by cats

Summary

Introduction

It has become commonplace in our multicultural world more than ever to come across or engage perspectives or worldviews radically different from our own. According to Cuddon (1998), the characteristic features of magic realism are: “the mingling and juxtaposition of the realistic and the fantastic or bizarre; skilful time shifts; convoluted and even labyrinthine narratives and plots; miscellaneous use of dreams, myths and fairy stories; expressionistic and even surrealistic description; arcane erudition; the element of surprise or abrupt shock; and the horrific and the inexplicable”

Results

Conclusion