Symbol of Sheep in Haruki Murakami’s novels

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2020-0046

Abstract

Murakami is a writer who has a talent for using symbols. In addition to the Cat, the Well, the Wall,... the Sheep, which is a familiar object in his life, has become one of the unique symbols. In his novel, Murakami portrayed the sheep as the symbol of Japanese strength, of evil, of material and power desires... In particular, the sheep also participates in the process of magical narration and creates many unexpected meanings for readers. In summarize, the Sheep have contributed significantly to increase the ranks of meanings in the writer’s narration, and at the same time affirm Japanese cultural identity in Murakami’s narration