Cats Know Everything

Yair Neuman

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Chapter 7 Cats Know Everything

In: Uncertainty

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Yair Neuman

Yair Neuman
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 137–148

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004759558-008

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Abstract

In this chapter, I explore uncertainty in Murakami’s enchanting novel Kafka on the Shore. The hero is a teenager by the name of Kafka. His journey begins under the shadow of an Oedipal curse and unfolds in a dreamlike world where the boundaries between reality and fantasy collapse. His uncertainty is not statistical but existential, rooted in abandonment, forbidden desire, and a fear of sin. In contrast, Mr. Nakata and the cats he speaks with represent a different way of being, one of intuitive certainty, free from inner conflict. While Kafka is tormented by choice and the threat of guilt, the devilish figure of Johnnie Walker epitomizes certainty without conscience, acting with cruel determination under the guise of fate. Through these contrasts, the novel offers another opportunity to meditate on the burden of freedom and the pain of uncertainty.

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Uncertainty

From Probability to Fiction and Religion

Series: Studies in Mathematics in the Arts and Humanities, Volume: 3

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004759558

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 19 Mar 2026

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- Social Sciences

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Chapter 7 Cats Know Everything

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Uncertainty

From Probability to Fiction and Religion

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