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Themes

Desire: The feeling of desire arises throughout the novel in a variety of characters. Throughout the novel, desire seems to manifest itself in negative and almost sickening ways. One example, is displayed through Noboru Wataya, who desires power. This desire for power unfortunately brings him to commit incestuous acts with his two younger sisters. Eventually leading one of them to commit suicide and the other in constant danger. In the beginning, Toru desires to make his wife happy by going on these long day trips to find her missing cat. His desire for her leads him to strange places where he discovers more about his inner self. Kumiko has many sexual desires which leads her to be unfaithful to Toru, resulting in Kumiko catching a sexually related disease. Throughout the novel desire leads the characters to dark places .

Power: The characters in the novel are constantly gaining or losing power and the plot develops around this ever-changing factor. Noboru Wataya is mainly focused on gaining power which in turn causes his younger sister Kumiko to lose power to him, she becomes a victim of his desire for power. The loss of power of the character Kumiko leads Toru to gain power. Once Kumiko goes missing, this event forces Toru to find power within him to step out if his normalcy and comfort zone to find Kumiko and save her from her brother. This leads him on a mission to set Kumiko free of the reins her brother holds her in. Translating to a gain in his sense of power. He finds power within himself and his desire to set Kumiko free. Power also shows in the characters as they try to gain control over their own emotions.

Polar opposites: Throughout the novel, one can see many examples of the characters being polar opposites. One main polar opposite occurs in the beginning of the book between the two women in Toru's life. The mysterious woman who calls Toru throughout the beginning presents herself very sexually and powerful. She is very confident in speaking with Toru even while he is resistant to hearing what she has to say. Where as, Kumiko, Toru's wife, is very shy and soft spoken in the interactions with Toru. Another example of polar opposites is between Noboru Wataya, Kumiko's Brother, and Toru. Noboru Wataya is hungry for power and is presented as a strong and disrespectful character. Whereas, Toru is presented as a very shy, soft spoken, respectful, and down to earth character. Creta Kano points out this polar opposite within the novel stating “Noboru Wataya is a person who belongs to a world that is the exact opposite of yours.”. The contrast of polar opposite characters provides more depth and individuality to each character alone.

Alienation: Throughout the novel the characters are obviously related to each other but they never feel like they connect to one another. All of the characters develop independently and tend to live solitary lifestyles. This can be presented in Toru and Kumiko’s marriage. Throughout the novel, Toru presents himself to be one who seeks solitude. One example is presented as he completes an everyday task, “I went to the Municipal pool for a swim. Mornings were the best, to avoid the crowds”. His desire for solitude also is shown when he quits his job to take care of the house alone while Kumiko goes to work. He enjoys being home alone. In the relationship between Kumiko and Toru, both characters seem to be developing in solitude. Both characters hide many of their thoughts from one another and even though they are married Toru ponders on the fact that he may not know much about his wife.

Missing chapters:

the area of japan the book takes place in (Setagaya, Tokyo)

Book 2 chapter 15 summary: In chapter 15 Toru awakens to Creta Kano who mysteriously appeared in his bed the night before. She tells him that she has lost her name and asks if he would like to flee japan with her. To this request he agrees and leaves behind memorabilia of his old life with his wife. While Toru is in town gathering supplies for his flee he reads an article about Noboru Wataya, the article explains that Noboru is now trying to become a politician .

Chapter 17 is not completely removed, instead the excerpt where Toru takes passport photos is removed and the very lengthy conversation Toru has with his uncle about buying real estate is condensed into one English paragraph.

Book 2 Chapter 18 summary: Creta Kano returns to japan and Toru tells her that he will not be fleeing with her. After this he meets with May Kasahara and they watch the demolition of the Miyawaki house. Later in the chapter Toru is swimming at the ward pool where he dreams in the pool about floating at the bottom of the well, presented in earlier chapters, and hearing horses dying during an eclipse. This leads him to the realization that the mysterious woman on the phone was actually his wife. Ending book 2 with this cliff hanger.

Toru Okada: Toru comes across as your average man. A graduate of law school but has chosen to leave his job at a firm. He spends his days doing house chores, cooking pasta, listening to the radio, and searching for their missing cat. In the beginning of the novel, one could say his life is mundane. Toru spends a lot of his time alone and the reader can see that he is not in control of many aspects of his life. It is the search for their missing cat that leads him onto interesting adventures. He meets May who he sits with in her yard and waits to see if his cat will come by. He also meets Malto and Creta Kano who visit him in his dreams and in reality. Creta reveals to Toru that in her past while she was a prostitute, she was raped by Noboru Wataya. Which is Toru’s brother in law who he has always despised.

Noboru Wataya: He is the antagonist. Noboru is constantly changing his image only to defeat his opponents but nobody seems to notice his inconsistencies except Toru. The relationship between Toru and Noboru can easily be compared to good versus evil.

The cat: Named Norboru Wataya symbolizes marital happiness between Kumiko and Toru. The cat leaving signifies the leaving of happiness in Kumiko and Toru’s marriage. Once the Cat leaves Kumiko and Toru suffer many difficulties but when the cat returns it signifies that Toru is now ready to communicate with Kumiko and save her from the trap she in in by her brother.