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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
Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Windows:
Windows are nearly everywhere in Klara and the Sun: the novel begins with Klara’s earliest memories of staring out the store’s display case with Rosa, and glass panes follow throughout the work in the forms of car windows and urban diners. As crucial vantage points into the world, windows are a motif that represents the simultaneous freedom and limitations of perception.
Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Art:
In Klara and the Sun, art is a motif that captures the distinctiveness of human creations and the danger of losing them because of technology. It stands as one of the only fields that resists technological advance, and Ishiguro uses art to track the complex relationship between progress and the spirit of humanity.
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Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Birds:
Birds are a motif throughout Klara and the Sun. Apart from the bull and sheep, birds are among the only animals that Klara observes. Accordingly, they blend elements of the natural and technological. Amid the concrete labyrinth of glass buildings, the “dark birds” “perched on the high traffic signals” offer the AF a rare natural presence.
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Part Two
Explanation and Analysis—The Bull:
Few sights in the novel ruffle Klara’s composure as much as her passing glance at the bull, which establishes a sinister, almost haunting presence. As a creature, it provokes a feeling of terror in the otherwise unflustered AF. As a motif, it ironically captures a primal, irrational fear of creation. While stepping out of the car at Morgan’s Falls in Part 2, Klara catches her first glimpses of the bull:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Just at this point, I happened to look to my left, over the fence running beside us, and saw the bull in the field, watching us carefully. I had seen photos of bulls in the magazines, but of course never in reality, and even though this one was standing quite far from us, and I knew it couldn’t cross the fence, I was so alarmed by its appearance I gave an exclamation and came to a halt. I’d never before seen anything that gave, all at once, so many signals of anger and the wish to destroy. Its face, its horns, its cold eyes watching me all brought fear into my mind, but I felt something more, something stranger and deeper. At that moment it felt to me some great error had been made that the creature should be allowed to stand in the Sun’s pattern at all, that this bull belonged somewhere in the ground far within the mud and darkness, and its presence on the grass could only have awful consequences.
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Part Five
Explanation and Analysis—Mirrors:
Amid Klara’s world of shifting surfaces and shapes, mirrors reach toward a deeper, more fundamental grasp of the world. As a motif, mirrors reveal new insights as much as they reflect reality, and they accordingly serve as an instrument of truth.
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