The Open Question::RESOLVED.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami is an extraordinary, one of a kind psychedelic novel that contains likeable and thought-provoking characters. Choosing between Mr. Hoshino, the truck driver, and Kafka Tamura, the protagonist, was a challenge to me who was more admirable. It saddens me to choose between these two characters of Murakami’s detailed and compelling novel.  In the end,

it comes down to Kafka Tamura, a fifteen year old boy with a heart made of gradual stone. Kafka Tamura lives a fateful life with mishaps but still continues through with his tough life and these qualities give him a crown of admiration and amiability.

Kafka Tamura sets his heart to be the “toughest fifteen year old on the planet” and compromises with his mind named Crow. Together they set a journey to find missing fragments of truth about his family. Kafka demonstrates courage to the audience by declaring to move out of the house, pack his belongings and go to another part of a country he’s never been to. Being a male can add to his desire to become the “world’s toughest fifteen year old”, he needs to stay strong as a character and develop maturity throughout the story. A courageous and young quality makes Kafka Tamura admirable.

Independency is another quality that Kafka possesses that highlights his demeanor. Almost throughout the story, he is independent but manages to get by with other people he encounters and befriends them such as Sakura, who he believes to be his older sister, Miss Saeki who is the head of the grand library and Mr. Ooshima who works at the library and supports Kafka with his journey. Murakami introduces these characters in a timely fashion with grandiose and each one of their interactions with Kafka is different yet piece-fitting at the finale. The way Murakami approaches his characters and their relationships with one another fabricated levels of interest and sensibility towards the audience.

Kafuka Tamura is tough, he’s independent, he’s a risk taker who accomplishes his mission. He’s responsible, he’s consistent, and he’s self-believing, what is there not to be included in this list of charismatic trait of his? All of these makes up the Kafka Tamura, a tough fifteen year old protagonist in Haruki Murakami’s book.