56 pages • 1 hour read
Haruki MurakamiThe Elephant Vanishes: Stories
Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Summary
Background
“The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday’s Women”
“The Second Bakery Attack”
“The Kangaroo Communiqué”
“On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning”
“Sleep”
“The Fall of the Roman Empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler’s Invasion of Poland, and the Realm of Raging Winds”
“Lederhosen”
“Barn Burning”
“The Little Green Monster”
“Family Affair”
“A Window”
“TV People”
“A Slow Boat to China”
“The Dancing Dwarf”
“The Last Lawn of the Afternoon”
“The Silence”
“The Elephant Vanishes”
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Essay Topics
1.
Discuss the use of surrealism or magical realism in the collection. In what ways do they add nuance or meaning to the themes Murakami raises? Cite specific examples from the text to support your argument.
2.
Pick one story in which to explore the impact of loneliness and isolation in the characters’ lives.
3.
How are the lives of Murakami’s narrators and characters impacted by modern issues, such as consumerism? In what ways do these issues contribute to their Existential Anxiety in the Modern World?
Featured Collections