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Case first sees a shuriken in the window of a weapon’s store in Chiba. It appears again when Molly buys one for him (having seem him eyeing them), and then in the final pages of the novel when Molly uses Case’s shuriken to pin a goodbye note to the wall. The shuriken, a star-shaped metal weapon, makes Case think of “his destiny spelled out in a constellation of cheap chrome.” Although Case never uses it, the shuriken appears in moments when his life is changing, and a new beginning is around the corner. Shurikens, miniature stars weaponized and brought to earth, are signs of changes to come, indications that Case’s life is about to become radically different, for better or for worse.
Shuriken Quotes in Neuromancer
The Neuromancer quotes below all refer to the symbol of Shuriken. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 24
Quotes
HEY ITS OKAY BUT ITS TAKING THE EDGE OFF MY GAME, I PAID THE BILL ALREADY. ITS THE WAY IM WIRED I GUESS, WATCH YOUR ASS OKAY? XXX MOLLY
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Neuromancer LitChart as a printable PDF.
Shuriken Symbol Timeline in Neuromancer
The timeline below shows where the symbol Shuriken appears in Neuromancer. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Case stops in a shop window to examine some shuriken, which he sees as “the stars under which he voyaged, his destiny spelled out in...
(full context)
...two hours it would take for the suppliers to get one, he goes to the shuriken shop and buys a cobra—a spring loaded billy club.
(full context)
Chapter 3
...up and examines a bag to find his European purchases. On top is a paper-wrapped shuriken. Molly, who has woken up too, tells him it’s a gift from her.
(full context)
...to jack in. As he stares at the deck in his lap he sees the shuriken in the shop window back in Chiba, and looks up to see the gifted shuriken...
(full context)
Chapter 24
...the Hyatt. Molly is gone. He finds her note, stuck to the wall with his shuriken; she tells him he’s taking the edge off her game, and so she has to...
(full context)
Case considers the shuriken. He thinks about stars and destiny, and about how he never even used the weapon....
(full context)
Case packs up his things. He considers putting the shuriken in his bag, but changes his mind, throwing it at the wall screen and shattering...
(full context)
