Imagination

The story thematically portrays imagination as inextricably intertwined with perception of reality, and the character of Frog functions as a direct embodiment of this concept. When Katagiri and Frog first interact with each other, Frog introduces himself thusly: “A real frog is exactly what I am. A product of neither metaphor nor allusion nor deconstruction nor sampling nor any other such complex process, I am a genuine frog” (94). Frog thereby asserts that he is real and should be perceived in a literal fashion. However, the story consistently maintains room to doubt Frog’s existence, such as when Frog states that Katagiri is the only one who can see Frog. Ultimately, Katagiri decides to trust and believe in Frog, and this leap of faith seems to symbolically signal the reader to have similar faith in the power and necessity of imagination.

As the story proceeds, the narrative...