Interactive Oral: Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore
Half the class will be presenting information on this text, while the other half will
present information for Murakami. You will NOT be assessed on your
presentation of information. Instead, you will do a self-reflection on your
involvement in the discussion and what you learned from it.
Preparation:
There will be three groups of two students each. You should do some research
and present what you have found to the class in 5 minutes or less. You are
encouraged to make it immediately interactive. Each group may discuss for 20
minutes, so you can break up your presentation time (i.e. present 2 minutes,
discuss 10 minutes, repeat). It is not a FORMAL presentation, but should be well
researched and spark good discussion. The following will be the focus areas:
Group 1: Haruki Murakami
Present information on the author of Kafka on the Shore. Discuss pieces of his
biography that may be relevant to our interpretation of the novel.
Group 2: Connections to Japanese History in World War II
Present information about Japanese history and its connections with the novel.
Pay attention to references to World War II and its aftermath as well as relations
to the rest of the world because of this context.
Group 3: Intertextual Connections with Sophocle’s Oedipus
All of you read this play when we studied Hamlet. Your task is to make
connections about this novel as the retelling of the Greek tragedy. How does it
contrast and compare? What can we learn from this? What other literary
allusions are present in the text?
Discussion:
Every student must participate. You will each hold three markers and will place
a marker in the middle each time you speak. This is how we will ensure that
everyone is participating. It is your choice when you participate, but the
presenting group or myself may call on you to add something to the
conversation.
Reflection:
Use these guiding questions –
• In what ways do time and place matter to this work?
• What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and
cultural context and issues?
• What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own
culture(s) and experience?
• What aspects of technique are interesting in the work? The reflective statement is a short writing exercise and should be completed
as soon as possible following the interactive oral. Each student is asked to
provide a reflection on each of the interactive orals. The reflective statement on
the same work as the student’s final assignment is submitted for assessment.
The reflective statement must be based on the following question.
• How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the
work developed through the interactive oral?
Formal requirements
Length Submission
Assessment Administration
300–400 words. If the limit is exceeded, assessment will be based on the first
400 words.
The reflective statement about the work used in the student’s final assignment
(essay) is submitted together with the assignment.
The reflective statement is awarded a mark out of 3 using assessment criterion
A. All reflective statements must be kept on file at the school.
BE SURE TO:
 Reference the text


Show development of understanding, evolution
Make sure it is well written!