Crows Symbol Analysis

In the novel, crows—especially the Jungle Crow that shows up outside Ruth’s house—symbolize supernatural connections between the characters that transcend space and time. The Jungle Crow, a species native to Japan, inexplicably shows up outside Ruth’s house in Canada at the same time as the lunch box washes up on her shore. When Ruth’s friend Muriel hears about the Jungle Crow, she mentions that the Sliammon people who used to live on their island believed in a supernatural crow called “Grandmother Crow” who could shape-shift into human or animal form and who saved her granddaughter’s life.

Similarly, the Jungle Crow might be Jiko’s spirit in animal form, as it guides Ruth into a dream that helps her save Jiko’s great-granddaughter Nao’s life. Additionally, Haruki #1 mentions that he loves to fly his plane and that he feels like a character in a children’s story called the Crow Captain—so the Jungle Crow might be a manifestation of him as well. The novel mentions that Haruki, too, sits on a park bench and feeds the crows around him, and this is how Ruth recognizes him in her dream. Crows link these various characters who live at various times and places, and they become a symbol of this link, showing how these characters are connected across time and space—even when they don’t realize it.