I would like to add to Talia’s comment on the reasons why Prisig decided to keep the main character nameless. I have several ideas which may help clarify this. I think that the idea behind having the main character so abstract is so that he applies to anyone. Leaving this vacancy in his person allows any reader to place him/herself in his shoes. In relation to her comment about the ghost I think that it has an element of foreshadowing, perhaps the narrator and the ghost really are the same person and thus have the same name.
I don't really agree with her that keeping him nameless detaches him from what is going on around him because a name doesn't necessarily attach you to anything. I think the Pirsig uses the narrator’s ideas and thoughts to detach him from the rest of the characters and their ideas. Lastly, envisioning a character is not a matter of name, it is a matter of personality. Therefore, to me the lack of a name does not pose any problems in envisioning the character. On the contrary it allows me to create a more unique vision of the character and what he is like because I can give him any name I want to.
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