Interconnected Realms-Masculinity and Gender Roles in Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore (2002)

Abstract

This research focuses on the relationship between masculinity and gender roles shown in Haruki Murakami’s novel Kafka on the Shore published in 2002. The research aims to investigate how Murakami, as a writer, uses the themes of masculinity and conventional gender roles not just as narrative devices but as means to scrutinizing societal norms and personal identity. At the core of the discussion are the issues of identity construction and conventional gender expectations. The purpose of this analysis is twofold: First, it gives an insight into the novel’s narration, which is interwoven with discussions of masculinity and gender as a medium to implicitly reflect on society and an investigation of individual identity, on which deeper societal and psychological undercurrents of the characters and the story are founded. The second aim of the research is to establish a connection between literary criticism and gender studies while exposing how literature particularly in the domain of contemporary fiction can act as a mirror for the examination of gender roles and stereotypical conceptions of manhood. Through the in-depth study of the complicated themes of manhood and gender roles in, Kafka on the Shore (2002), this research offers an in- depth analysis of Murakami's narrative techniques and the ways they are interconnected with contemporary images of masculinity. This research investigates themes of identity formation and gender roles in Murakami's Kafka on the Shore by examining how the novel portrays masculinity and its interaction with gender roles, reflecting societal norms. The analysis will focus on societal demands, gender stereotypes, ambiguity, fluidity, and intersections with age, sexuality, and class. The study is guided by theoretical frameworks such as hegemonic masculinity, gender performativity, and social construction of gender. It explores whether the novel reinforces or subverts dominant masculinity, portraying gender as a flexible social concept; and unveils power dynamics and societal pressures shaping masculinity within the narrative.