Dear all,
1. Read chapters 37 to 42, keep notes of the plot in each chapter.
2. What are your thoughts on chapter 42? Post your reflection.
Thank you.
Mrs Gougeon
1. Read chapters 37 to 42, keep notes of the plot in each chapter.
2. What are your thoughts on chapter 42? Post your reflection.
Thank you.
Mrs Gougeon
I enjoyed chapter 42 as I feel that the story is now slowly starting to come together and we see that there is actually some connection between the two-parallel stories of Kafka and Nakata, something I have rarely felt while reading the chapters before hand. The connection seems to be through the entrance stone. I was shocked that Nakata and Miss Saeki were some how connected and seem to be a pair as they both speak about how the only have half a shadow each. I was shocked because throughout reading the novel I always thought it would be Kafka and Nakata that were somehow connected. From what Miss Saeki says we learn that Johnnie Walker is a concept that may have come around due to the opening of the entrance stone so many years ago by her. I like this theory as it kind of allows the story to make more sense and I understand the purpose of him now much more than I did throughout the story. I also like the idea that Nakata and Miss Saeki are connected and that them being together allows the peace to be restored and although Miss Saeki dies it seems that her death was a much needed and overdue as well as a peaceful one. My favorite part of this chapter is when Nakata is touching Miss Saeki’s hands and says he understands a little about what memories are. I loved it because I always felt sympathy towards Nakata for not being able to have memories and not even knowing what they are and I think it is a nice way to end the character of Miss Saeki, to show that she can also help provide him with this and that they are linked in that way as well as showing how far exactly they are bonded. It is also interesting to find out why Miss Saeki opened the entrance stone in the first place as well as to why Nakata needs to open it now. However I did not like that Miss Saeki requested for her life records to be destroyed because I feel that although she may have suffered for so many years that her life was much too interesting to destroy and not remember.
ReplyDeletePersonally chapter 42 has left me in the same state previous chapters have left me, bewildered. The end of the chapter caused me to question the purpose of Ms.Saeki's purpose in their world. This is because upon Nakata's arrival it seems that she is ready for what's to come as she says "For me, right now is the perfect time". This suggests that she is well aware of her death that follows shortly. The passage also suggests that Ms.Saeki had no other purpose in their world other than to fulfill the prophecy and to play a role in assisting Nakata with the entrance stone. The passage has also caused me to reconsider the reliability of Oshima's intuition as it seems that his predictions do come true. I am also left wondering whether it was Nakata's meeting with Ms.Saeki that triggered her death or Kafka's act of sleeping with her. Perhaps it was both. Furthermore, I am left wondering how Ms.Saeki and Nakata had a relationship to begin with, personally I think they have met in dreams when Nakata passed out for his long naps. They seem to be strongly connected to one another and have a strong understanding of each other’s purpose as Nakata exclaims “… you can’t stay here any more” while Ms.Saeki describes him as “the only person she can depend on”. As the chapter ends with Oshima concluding that he has to inform Kafka regarding the turn of events, I’m naturally curious as to how Kafka would react. The lack of self-control he demonstrated earlier leads me to believe that he will be relatively passive. Furthermore, now that the prophecy has been ‘fulfilled’ what else is in store for Kafka? In short, this chapter has sparked some predictions in me whilst adding to the list of questions I already have.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this chapter creates an unexpected connection between Nakata and Miss Saeki. In this chapter Nakata and Miss Saeki discuss the entrance stone, Miss Saeki dies and Oshima finds her. The significance of Miss Saeki’s death is large as it represents her freedom when she gives “herself over to memories.” The discussion between Miss Saeki and Nakata is important as it reveals information on the entrance stone as well as Miss Saeki. Neither of them seems to question the entrance stone or its powers. Therefore, I believe that Nakata and Miss Saeki have many similarities which are due to the entrance stone and it is their connection, their bond. I personally feel that Miss Saeki needed to die and that her death foreshadows Nakata’s fate. The reader becomes curious on the affect that Miss Saeki’s death will have on Kafka, the entrance stone and the general plot. This chapter contains a surprising turn of events which the reader would have found difficult to predict.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that Ms Saeki and Nakata needed to meet in order for Ms Saeki to truly get what she wanted. I found this chapter made me feel certain type sadness for Ms Saeki for her to become so saddened about her loss of love that she cannot live in the present but only in the past. She opened the entrance stone in hope of saving her husband but only to find that she was punished with his death and her constant mourning of his loss. However, I believe it was best she was put out of her misery after meeting Nakata as she states, “living longer than I should have has only ruined many people and many things”. When Nakata puts his hands on top of Ms Saeki and the depth of descriptive writing within the imagery really captures her memories and makes the reader feel as if Nakata is very captivated and literally analysing every single movement and colour in the picture which reminds me of a child entering a candy store for the first time. I think the entrance stone may bring better elements in store for Nakata as he is such a likeable character in the book and I’m sure not many readers will believe he deserved the persuasive killing of Johnnie Walker. The last line from Oshima really captivated me “Kafka Tamura, I have to tell you what happened. If you don’t already know.” It creates the sense that the entrance stone and the painting bring a connection between characters and chapters within the book and sort of leaving the chapter as a cliffhanger for Kafka as the readers will be drawn into wanting to know his thoughts and feelings on Ms Saeki’s death if he finds out.
ReplyDeleteIn this chapter, Miss Saeki and Nakata meet due to Nakata and Hoshino getting lost and stumble upon the Komura memorial library. Miss Saeki and Nakata realize their similarities and talk about the entrance stone. Miss Saeki stated that she opened the entrance stone a long time ago to prevent her perfect world from collapsing but she failed. After the conversation then she tells him to burn up a pile of folders containing her memories. She dies at her desk. I found chapter 42 of the novel interesting because this is the chapter where two characters from the different plots meet and interestingly expecting each other. This section also shows the connection or bond between the two characters and how in a way, similar. For example both of them have half-shadows. I believe that this chapter begins the start of the story’s concluding points because the character’s “mysteries” are starting to get resolved and the 2 plots are starting to emerge. What I found out from this chapter and previous ones is that memory has been a prominent thread through these 2 different plots of Miss Saeki, Nakata and Kafka, though the ‘entrance stone’ actually appears to connect all 3 stories.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter to me, has brought clarification on the entrance stone and what it does. It makes more sense now as to why Nakata was searching for the entrance stone in the first place as it lead him to Miss Saeki. Personally, I liked the way Miss Saeki's long life of suffering ended, as she died peacefully and was free from all the pain and emptiness she felt before. This is described by Oshima when he walked in and saw her dead body, "A trace of smile was still on her lips. Even in death she was graceful and dignified." I feel there is closure to Miss Saeki's death, knowing that she lived longer than she was meant to dwelling in memories from the past for years. However, I didn't expect there to be a connection between Nakata and Miss Saeki instead of Kafka. This is because of the link between Nakata and Kafka through the murder of Johnnie Walker. Nonetheless, it was nice to know Nakata was able to feel the warmth of memories through Miss Saeki's hands and that Miss Saeki needed him to free herself from being trapped in the empty void. Miss Saeki's death made me wonder about how Kafka will react, knowing he's in love with her. Also, I feel empathy towards Oshima although he knew it was only a matter of time until Miss Saeki's death, working for Miss Saeki at the library has been his purpose as he enjoyed what he did and never questioned Miss Saeki. Now that she's gone, Oshima feels empty and lost. "I needed her, he thought. I needed someone like her to fill the void inside me."
ReplyDeleteChapter 42 continues from where Chapter 40 left off. Nakata and Miss Saeki discuss the Entrance Stone in this Chapter, which makes it kind of clear as to why Nakata was searching for it in the first place. This Chapter felt as if everything was starting to come together like pieces of a puzzle, and we can start to see how the two plots are connected in some way. The two characters meeting was really interesting to me, and I really liked that Murakami made them interact because it sort of brought the two plots together or connected it together in some way. I really liked seeing them interact and found the moments between the two of them very touching because it seemed as if no one else understood them. Also, I felt sadness and pity for both Miss Saeki and Nakata. Knowing that she opened the Entrance Stone to save her husband and prevent his death, but was punished with his death in the end was really sad and the part where Nakata says to Miss Saeki that he understands little about "what memories are" reveals Nakata's lack of memories and not being able to remember certain things from the past, which in turn makes him seem a bit lonely, although content with his life. They both lost something - Miss Saeki lost her husband, and Nakata lost his intelligence. And because of their similarities, they were able to connect to a certain extent, without even knowing one another personally, and were able to help each other in some way. So all in all, I really liked this chapter.
ReplyDeleteAt this point of the story, Kafka's father's prophecy came true and now he is depressed. He truly has nothing left and simply does not care anymore. By this point I would suspect that Nakata and Kafka would of met already and the story would finally have that crossover we were expecting, instead Nakata and Miss Saeki meet in the library. It was not until Nakata and Miss Saeki's encounter that I realized they were similar characters who both lost people they loved and were waiting to die. Miss Saeki asked Nakata to burn her written memories and I believe that this is symbol that Miss Saeki is going to die and she is ready for it. I also think that Nakata's character will soon meet his end if he continues with his journey and that he will never meet Kafka. I personally think the story is better this way, having two main characters who's decisions affect the other in both small and large, and having them never meeting but they could have.
ReplyDeleteTo me chapter 42 felt too rushed. There seemed to be a lot that needed to be explained with the two stories finally meeting in a physical way. I was excited at first when I realized Nakata wanted to go to the library as it was what I wanted, but for me it wasn’t enough. It might have been because I felt I was hyping up the story too much wanting to tie up most of the loose ends. But to me it just created much more questions, and theories to what is actually occurring in the story. Though it does answer some questions and as well as closes out some of the theories that I have thought of such as Miss Saeki and Johnnie Walker to actually supposedly know each other. I felt like Miss Saeki dying however was too soon, too much things that she knew was unanswered and left to question. Overall I disliked the chapter as after all the build-up it did not impress me and meet my expectations. I keep relating this thought of everything not having to be answered to magic realism but as I keep reading through the book it starts to really annoy me because I dislike having to go with something without understanding or realizing if it has any purpose which is a common theme with what is happening throughout the whole book. One thing that made me really annoyed was the death of Miss Saeki immediately happening after the meeting Nakata, somewhat framing him for the murder and hope that he doesn’t get framed for the murder if he even ever gets caught.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Chapter 42 was somewhat surprising, I felt that the way it concluded was suitable in light of what has previously happened, and thus to an extent, was to be expected. In this chapter Miss Saeki and Nakata discuss the nature of the entrance stone. Later on, they discover their similarities as individuals who have lost a part of them; Nakata who has lost his intelligence and Miss Saeki who has lost her love. Although, the difference being that Miss Saeki regrets her existence whilst Nakata remains indifferent to his situation. Through this Miss Saeki reflects on her past and her life and decides to burn a large pile of files containing the record of her life; shortly after, she passes away. When describing Miss Saeki, Kafka has always described her as a apathetic soul, devoid of life and spirit. This is especially so, when comparing the present day Miss Saeki to her 14 year old form as her younger form was more youthful and optimistic compared to her tired 50 year old self. Thus, there has been an accumulation of despair within her, shown when she talks about her memories, when she represses her past and hides it from Kafka and when she degrades herself sometimes when talking to Kafka. As result, this realization was the final stroke that released all the regret and anguish that Miss Saeki had been storing, therefore her death acted as an escape from her harsh reality, this was reinforced by the fact that she was smiling; through death she found peace.
ReplyDeleteI felt like this chapter helped me to get a clearer understanding of the entrance stone and its purpose. The intimate relationship Miss Saeki and Nakata shares, suggests how the two stories are finally coming together. I was not really surprised that they meet because I kind of saw it coming when both Nakata and Hoshino enter the library and meet Oshima. Though I felt pity for Miss Saeki throughout chapter 42 especially the end, I am slightly disappointed by how it ends because of how ambiguous it is whether she really is Kafka’s mother. Since Miss Saeki was first introduced in the story, I actually believed that she might be Kafka’s mother and wanted it to be proven later on in the book. But now that she is dead, I cant be a hundred percent sure. Additionally, I know for certain that Sakura’s not Kafka’s sister yet he refers to her as such. At this point, I believe the novel is trying to say that anyone especially children who misses something valuable is naturally prone to finding it anywhere. Like Kafka, I think he would have liked to think that any Japanese women in their 50’s was his mother because he hasn’t got a mother so he tries to fill that space with the people he meets and this also applies to Sakura.
ReplyDeleteChapter 42 was short in comparison to the others preceding it. I think it would have benefited the reader if Nakata and Miss Sakei could have had more time to talk. One thing I was confused about was the way they talked. It felt like the reader was out of the loop and the two knew something the reader didn’t. Although it did clarify some points in the narrative that were uncertain before, like how Kafka killed his father and why the entrance stone was needed. It was a relief to see the two story-lines finally converge. There were still parts I that were too metaphorical and created more loose ends. Like the back-story of Miss Sakei, I think, needs more elaboration before the ending. And also why Nakata lost his mind back in WW2 is still a mystery to me. However I think the chapter was meant to be more like a transition to a new phase in the narrative. There was still foreshadowing, “us” meaning that both Miss Sakei and Nakata will die. I guess they have to die eventually because their purpose in the story was with the entrance stone. I get the feeling that the ending to the book would be the death of all characters.
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