Reference page chosen as the excerpt: Page 48

Topic: The overarching theme of Mind vs Body

Question: How does the author utilize different diction in Nakata’s dialogue to connect to the
Mind vs. Body theme of the book? What other characters fit under this theme, and how so?

The theme of Mind vs. Body is prevalent in many instances throughout the book. The
excerpt chosen represents the second time this theme comes up involving a character. What
this theme means is essentially that certain characters have a conscious sense that makes their
mind and body feel disconnected or not a pair. In this excerpt the author utilizes a certain
direction to display Nakata as another character that follows this theme. Other characters that
then go on to follow this theme include Kafka, Crow, Oshima, and Nakata.

Nakata dialogue is used to characterize Nakata as another character who undergoes

this theme. In this excerpt the author included dialogue such as, “Nakata’s not very bright, you
see. I wasn’t always this way, but when I was little I was in an accident and I’ve been dumb ever
since,”(Murakami 48). This is the first statement on the chosen excerpt and essentially this
statement is one of the initial first impressions the reader receives of Nakata. In this quote the
reader can see that Nakata talks in third person, not only that but the way in which his quotes
are grammatically divided seems a little off. In the one quote alone there are three commas,
thus emphasizing a lot of pausing in the syntax of the dialogue. Moving on in the excerpt the
author utilizes another piece of dialogue to dive into Nakata’s past, this quote states, “Nakata’s
father -- he passed away a long time ago -- was a famous professor in a university,” (Murakami
48). Even in this quote Nakata’s dialogue still remains choppy and he remains talking in third
person, however another thing emerges in this quote. He references his father who was a
university professor. This means that Nakata, who seems admits to being dumb, who had his
cognitive abilities changed by an accident, and doesn’t speak in a clear manner, had a professor
for a father and must’ve had some sort of cogitive genes passed on to him. However he does
not, in this passage and throughout the story Nakata’s mind seems to be a lot different then
what it could have been assuming he didn’t get into the accident. This means that his body
remains normal and it was given to him by an intelligent father, while his mind was altered in an
accident and now he talks to cats. This is a prime example of a character in the story.

Nakata’s dialogue is also used in this same passage in another sense to group him with
characters that follow this theme. Later in the passage Nakata and a cat conversate and agree
on the “good life”. Nakata and the cat specifically state, ‘“I live in a little room in an apartment in
Nogata called the Shoeiso. And I eat three meals a day.” “Sounds like a pretty good life. To me,
at least.” “You’re right it’s a pretty good life,”’( Murakami 48). This quote is a lot less about the
bad things that Nakata thinks about his life and himself and more about the good things and
what he likes. However what still connects this quote to the theme of having a disconnected
body and mind is the fact that Nakata’s definition of the good life is equivalent to the cat’s idea of
a good life. The place Nakata is staying is also further evidence, this place alludes to a place in
Japan with the same name, and based on quick research it seems to be a smaller hotel for
people traveling on a budget. This means the things Nakata is describing to like consists of a
small area to keep him out of the wind and rain and three meals a day. This can be easily
compared to the lifestyle of a stray cat. This means that cognitively Nakata wishes and lives the
life of a stray cat rather than a human, which is what his body is, showing another area in which
Nakata is disconnected from his body. This further proves the presence of this theme into the
character of Nakata using strictly his dialogue in the chosen passage.

Other areas in the story where this theme arises are through the characters Crow and
Kafka. The first piece of evidence showing that these follow the theme is the fact that Crow and
Kafka are the same person, yet he takes up two different characters. Kafka is the main of the
two and the way in which Kafka, specifically, is connected to the theme is that he ignores his
cognitive thoughts. He focuses on his training and body improvements and reading in order to
escape the thoughts of his mind which may contain emotional thoughts of his parents
abandoning him. This makes him the opposite of the Nakata, in a sense that Nakata is in the
wrong body for his mind and Kafka has the wrong mind for his body. Crow is like a second
personality of Kafka, which in itself proves the theme because Crow and Kafka are not two
separate bodies. Crow doesn’t have a body, however he is a confident and encouraging
overseer to Nakata’s life and Nakata feels much more comfortable and confident with Crow
around. This proves that Crow, specifically, also has a mind body disconnection. He is a
confident guiding figure for Nakata that does not have a confident guiding body, or anybody at
all, thus allowing Crow and Kafka to also fall under this theme.

The final character that falls under this theme is Oshima. Oshima is a man who believes
his gender identity does not fit his biological body. This is a far more realistic disconnection than
what the other characters experience. Oshima also undergoes another thing that disconnects
his body from his mind and that is hemophilia. Essentially oshima describes his body as unable
to hold his heart and mind. First touching on his gender identity in regards to the theme, he
identifies as a man regardless of his biological body, and essentially this means that his mind
does not fit his body, however the hemophilia juxtaposes that entirely and also shows that
Oshima’s body is not fit for his mind. Hemophilia is a fatal condition in which one’s blood does
not clot properly and bleeding for even small injuries may not stop. This means tha Oshima,
from a survival standpoint, does not have a functional body, however his mind is perfectly good.
And in regards to his identity his body is the way it is, and it is his mind that desires the change.
This means that Oshima is the fourth and final character that experiences a disconnection
between their body and mind.