Gang of Children

The gang of children who attempt to mug Korin at the novel’s outset symbolizes the pervasive unpredictability and danger of the world he inhabits. They represent both immediate, physical threat and the chaotic forces that disrupt any attempt at stability or control. Their youth and apparent randomness highlight the indiscriminate nature of violence and vulnerability, underscoring Korin’s fragility in an unfamiliar environment. More broadly, they foreshadow the recurring pattern in the novel in which moments of potential safety or beauty are always threatened by external forces, linking this opening encounter to the later disruptions brought by figures like Mastemann and the interpreter.

New York

New York, which Korin perceives as the center of the world, symbolizes both overwhelming modernity and the locus of human chaos. It embodies a space of possibility and danger, where survival requires navigation through unfamiliar languages, social structures...