Kafka on the Shore Lesson Plan

Food seems to play an important role in this section. How do food and consumption play into the themes or characters currently being developed by the novel? Or is food present for some other reason, like to establish a specific tone?

This question is designed to get students to pay close attention to details that they may otherwise overlook. There is no clear answer, though some students may notice that, for Nakata, all the foods he talks about or eats seem to be "some of his favorites" (p. 120 & 165). If human appetites aren't familiar to Nakata, then his lack of preference could mean that almost everything is his favorite. Kafka's desire to shrink his stomach...