Uppsatsen berör hur remediering kan användas för att synliggöra innehållet i litteratur. Exemplet som används för att närma sig frågan består av två estetiska verk. Det ena är The Beatles sång Norwegian wood, från skivan ”Rubber soul” från 1965. Det andra är Haruki Murakamis roman från 1987 med samma namn. En fråga som besvaras med hjälp av undersökningen är för det första huruvida romanen är att betrakta som en remediering av sången. Vidare undersöks om jämförelsen är rimlig som pedagogiskt verktyg. Därefter besvaras vilka förtjänster som står att finna i en så pass ovanlig remedieringsform. Avslutningsvis ställs frågan ifall urpsrungsverket bidrar till att synliggöra effekter som annars skulle vara svårtillgängliga inom ”målverket”. Metoden för att närma sig dessa svar är en textnära granskning genom teoretiska filter om adaption och remediering.  Den analys som uppsatsens undersökande del landar i konstaterar att romanen på goda grunder kan anses vara en remediering. Dessutom pekas det på skäl att betrakta exemplet som ett gott sådant för att använda i undervisning. Förtjänsterna ligger i hur synliga de form- och genrespecifika dragen kan synliggöras.

Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood (1987) veers from his favored detective-fiction genre by offering readers a 1960s coming-of-age romance, a story whose plot nonetheless spins around the protagonist seeking out his personal identity. The conflicts between Japanese tradition and modern, global perspectives are illustrated through the inclusion of popular culture elements such as music, literature and films. This thesis seeks to show how the novel's references to popular culture of the 1960s combine to help the protagonist establish an identity for himself as well as his place within the universal community. First, though, the project explores the impact of the translatability issues that arise with each of the novel's two English translations, variations dictated by the needs of differing audiences. The introduction provides an overview of the study, as well as historical background pertinent to the understanding of the Sixties-era popular culture iconography privileged by Murakami. My methodology favors a cultural studies approach and utilizes reader response and reception theories. Separate chapters then compare specifics between the two translations and examine the functionality and significance of music, literature and film within the novel. The conclusion justifies the subsequent deviations between the translations and argues for the necessity and value of both English versions, but claims Rubin's as the definitive English translation. Likewise, the study of the novel's many popular culture references exemplifies the roles that music, books, and film play in the creation of the protagonist's individual identity in Norwegian Wood while simultaneously illustrating the effectiveness of using globally recognizable media as a bridge between cultures.

The distinguishing traits of characters in novels may appear to change in translation. One of the main means of conveying the individualities, personalities and moral qualities of characters is through dialogue, using the possibilities opened by, for example, the selection of register and use of gendered language. In order to gain insight on how apparent changes to characteristics can arise, this case study investigates whether, why and how the character Midori in Murakami Haruki's Norwegian Wood appears to change in translation, based on her dialogue. The study demonstrates how linguistic differences between the source and target languages and the adoption of an overall approach to translation, such as a foreignising or domesticating strategy, are major factors in determining the nature and magnitude of any observed change. Two of the most influential speech elements identified and studied are gendered language and casual language. Both terms represent similar but not identical concepts in the source and target languages and are manifested differently in the two languages, giving rise to wide-ranging translation problems. The study further suggests that a domestication approach, as well as modifying the fluency and cultural flavour of the text in general, can affect the characterisation of novels both indirectly and directly. The influence of a domesticating approach to translation focusing on its application specifically to dialogue or influence on characterisation may be a fruitful area for further research.