Throughout Haruki Murakami’s A Wild Sheep Chase, the concept of mediocrity keeps surfacing in characters’ conversations and the narrator’s internal monologue. There is a recurring question: Is mediocrity an inherent part of who we are, or is it imposed upon us? By incorporating this motif throughout the novel, Murakami makes one consider what it truly means to be “average.”
One of the earliest instances of this theme appears when a character paraphrases a Russian writer, stating, "Character maybe, but mediocrity is a constant." This suggests an inevitability to mediocrity, not a result of laziness or lack of ambition – it is not something one chooses. Attributing this quote to “one Russian writer,” Murakami perhaps alludes to his literary influences, like Dostoyevsky and Chekhov. Both authors were masters at depicting the human struggle with existential burdens, often with life’s mundanity as the backdrop.
Later, the Boss’ secretary – who speaks about mediocrity most frequently – remarks that "people can generally be classified into two groups: the mediocre realists and the mediocre dreamers." Here, the novel acknowledges that, even dreamers, or, in other words, those who dare to envision a life beyond the ordinary, cannot escape it through ambition or imagination. It does not matter whether one conforms to reality or attempts to rebel through dreams, one still remains mediocre. The secretary reiterates this idea:
"Just a while ago, I made reference to your mediocrity... this was by no means a criticism of you. To put it more simply, it is because the world itself is so mediocre that you are mediocre as such."
This statement shifts the definition of mediocrity from being about one’s personal failings to an existential condition – something systemic rather than individual. This plays into the novel’s larger themes of control (or lack thereof), power (which distorts and corrupts), and fate (inescapable yet elusive).
Towards the end of the novel, the secretary declares "Mediocrity walks a long, hard path." This phrase implies that mediocrity is not a simple state of being but is actually an inevitable journey. It is impossible to escape not because of a lack of effort, but because it is something one must endure rather than transcend.
Just before the Epilogue as the narrator boards a nearly empty train and reflects: “No matter how boring or mediocre a world it might be, this was it.” Ultimately, the narrator quietly accepts the world as it is. It is not something to be fought against but rather recognized. The novel does not romanticize the mediocrity of existence, but it also does not propose an alternative mode of being. Perhaps there is no escape to mediocrity but acknowledging it is necessary to make peace with it.
Irina
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