Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Kafka on the Shore, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Mind vs. The Body
Fate and Prophecy
The Virtues of Self-Sufficiency
Music and Introspection
Summary
Analysis
Colonel Sanders calls Hoshino at the hotel and tells him to relocate to an apartment that the Colonel has rented in the city. Colonel Sanders says the police are after Hoshino and Nakata. Hoshino wakes Nakata up and they make their way to the apartment. There, they discuss the murder of Johnnie Walker. Nakata says he no longer wants to give himself up to the police, because he believes he must fulfil the mission of closing the entrance stone.
Nakata and Hoshino seem to be trusting fate, putting their lives in the hands of a mysterious supernatural being who seems to have special knowledge of parallel worlds. This trust aligns with Nakata’s belief that they are acting on a mission of destiny, and must not waver before the mysterious tasks are completed.
Themes
Hoshino and Nakata go for a walk on the beach. They talk about the creatures living on the ocean floor. Nakata explains that now that the entrance stone is open something has begun to happen, and when it ends, they must close the entrance. Yet he doesn’t know what that thing is, and now he worries that he’s gotten Hoshino in trouble with the police. But Hoshino brushes this off. He says he feels like he’s in the right place, because with Nakata, he never gets bored.
Nakata continues to feel pulled by forces beyond his comprehension to complete his mission with the entrance stone, yet many elements of the mission remain shrouded in mystery. Like Kafka with Oshima, Nakata worries that he has gotten Hoshino in trouble by involving him in his pursuit of destiny. Like Oshima, however, Hoshino maintains that the risk is worth it for their newfound friendship.
Themes
