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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Water:
Water is a recurring motif in Kafka on the Shore that appears in metaphor, imagination, and literal description. Water, especially rain, is closely linked to time, with the flow of water representing the passage of time and the fluidity of existence. By making the concept of time tangible, it can be made to symbolically exist within characters, as they feel its presence and influence within them:
Your heart is like a great river after a long spell of rain, spilling over its banks. All signposts that once stood on the ground are gone, inundated and carried away by that rush of water. And still the rain beats down on the surface of the river. Every time you see a flood like that on the news you tell yourself: That’s it. That’s my heart.
Related Themes:
Chapter 25
Explanation and Analysis—Lightning:
Lightning is a recurring motif that is linked to the supernatural and can be read to represent improbable change. Lightning and thunderstorms appear when Hoshino opens the entrance stone; Kafka’s father was struck by lightning years ago before becoming a sculptor, possibly evidencing his transformation into Johnnie Walker; Miss Saeki interviewed people who were struck by lightning and wrote a book on it. Only after being struck by lightning did Kafka's father begin to focus seriously on his career as a sculptor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, I remember my father talking about how he’d once been struck by lightning. He didn’t tell me himself—I’d read about it in an interview in a magazine. When he was a student in art college, he had a part-time job as a caddy at a golf course. One day he was following his golfer around the course when the sky suddenly changed color and a huge thunderstorm crashed down on them.
Related Themes:
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Water:
Water is a recurring motif in Kafka on the Shore that appears in metaphor, imagination, and literal description. Water, especially rain, is closely linked to time, with the flow of water representing the passage of time and the fluidity of existence. By making the concept of time tangible, it can be made to symbolically exist within characters, as they feel its presence and influence within them:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Your heart is like a great river after a long spell of rain, spilling over its banks. All signposts that once stood on the ground are gone, inundated and carried away by that rush of water. And still the rain beats down on the surface of the river. Every time you see a flood like that on the news you tell yourself: That’s it. That’s my heart.
Related Themes:
Chapter 33
Explanation and Analysis—Lightning:
Lightning is a recurring motif that is linked to the supernatural and can be read to represent improbable change. Lightning and thunderstorms appear when Hoshino opens the entrance stone; Kafka’s father was struck by lightning years ago before becoming a sculptor, possibly evidencing his transformation into Johnnie Walker; Miss Saeki interviewed people who were struck by lightning and wrote a book on it. Only after being struck by lightning did Kafka's father begin to focus seriously on his career as a sculptor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Suddenly, completely out of nowhere, I remember my father talking about how he’d once been struck by lightning. He didn’t tell me himself—I’d read about it in an interview in a magazine. When he was a student in art college, he had a part-time job as a caddy at a golf course. One day he was following his golfer around the course when the sky suddenly changed color and a huge thunderstorm crashed down on them.
Related Themes:
