A Wild Sheep Chase

A Wild Sheep Chase Questions and Answers

Do you believe the narrator of A Wild Sheep Chase was selfish in his behavior when he accepted his girlfriend's assistance?

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There are no names used in the entire novel. Why do you think the author chose not to include these names? Do you believe this style helped or harmed the story?

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In A Wild Sheep Chase, the sheep professor remarks "I began reading on ethnological studies and folklore related to sheep," and the narrator in the next chapter begins reading An Authoritative History of Junitaki Township where a story of the settlement of an Ainu man is related. Consider what the novel has to tell us about the experience of unsettledness as well as settlement. Draw a connection between this "story within a story" with the narrator’s character development and the novel’s wider implications about the individual and society.

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In chapter 29 of A Wild Sheep Chase, the unnamed narrator reads the Authoritative History of Junitaki Township in which a story of the settlement of an Ainu man is related. How does this indigenous person represent a character foil? Does this story within the story allow Murakami to say more about the people of his novel in terms of how they share history or represent different aspects of society?

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There are no proper names used in the entire novel. Why do you think the author chose not to include these names? Do you believe this style helped or harmed the story?

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How is the story in chapter 29 of A Wild Sheep Chase a foil for the novel ?

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Throughout the A Wild Sheep Chase, the mystical sheep invades several hosts for various purposes, such as building an empire and transportation to a new host. What or who do you think the sheep represents? Explain your belief clearly.

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