Magical Realist Treatments of Violence and Sexual Relations in Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore

• Main Authors: Yang, Ya-ru, 楊雅如
• Other Authors: Yu, Kwan-Wai
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/29586683168822841803

碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 外國語文學系外國文學與語言學碩士班 === 100 === This thesis discusses Haruki Murakami’s magical realist treatments of violence and sexual relations in Kafka on the Shore (海辺のカフカ, 2002). His narrative not only blurs the boundary between the real and fantastic but also brings a special kind of reading pleasure, and defies any simple interpretations of the text. Through this means, the author deals with traumatic history obliquely, inviting readers to reflect on such important issues as violence and sex. Chapter One briefly introduces the history and characteristics of magical realism and explores Murakami’s particular kind of magical realist style. In Kafka on the Shore, Murakami confuses the real with the magical, creating ironic effects. I explain how Murakami complicates and problematizes violence and sexual relations. Chapter Two explores violence and ethical questions concerned in the novel. Murakami’s recurring depictions of the Japanese experiences of World War II and other violent historical events suggest that militarism, victimhood, and related ethical problems remain what the Japanese have to face. Chapter Three focuses on the protagonist Kafka Tamura’s unconventional relationships with Sakura and Miss Saeki, and the “Oedipal malediction” from Kafka’s father. On the one hand, the author has significantly transformed the features of the Oedipus complex with his magical realist writing. On the other, Kafka’s curious relationships with Sakura and Miss Saeki involve strange “sisterly” love and “motherly” love respectively, both are worthy of deeper enquiries.