reflection #2 fate in Murakami's work

 Norwegian Wood" was the first Murakami book I ever read. It is a very unique, realistic novel. When reading other Murakami works, we often see many fate-related situations. I think the clearest is in Kafka on the Shore. In that book, the boy seems destined to kill his father—like Oedipus. Even if he tries to stay away from his father, a surreal force pushes him toward patricide. In fact, many of Murakami’s works show fate forcing events. In A Wild Sheep Chase, the girlfriend has a kind of foresight. She can see an important phone call incoming and later convinces Boku to go on the sheep chase. In 1Q84, my favorite work, Fuka-Eri also makes many predictions. Here is my favorite passage:

“That’s true. We wrote Air Chrysalis together. And when we are

eaten by the tiger, we’ll be eaten together.”

“No tiger will come out,” Fuka-Eri said, her voice unusually grave.

In Dance Dance Dance, the Sheep Man knows that Boku will surely return to the Dolphin Hotel. He also tells him:

“Dance," said the Sheep Man. "Yougottadance. Aslongasthemusicplays.

Yougotta dance. Don'teventhinkwhy. Starttothink, yourfeetstop.

Yourfeetstop, wegetstuck. Wegetstuck, you'restuck. Sodon'tpayanymind,

nomatterhowdumb. Yougottakeepthestep. Yougottalimberup.

Yougottaloosenwhatyoubolteddown. Yougottauseallyougot.

Weknowyou're tired, tiredandscared. Happenstoeveryone, okay?

Justdon'tletyourfeetstop.”

These prophets make me wonder if the characters really have free will in a philosophical sense. When I read Norwegian Wood again, I found that the protagonist was never controlled by fate. Everything he received was what he chose. The contrast makes me think more about how fate was involved in Murakami’s work. I think fate in Murakami's works is an invisible force that makes people feel both helpless and reflective. Although we already know the ending, every choice has its own meaning. But I'm not sure if this idea is right. I think maybe reading more of his works will give me a fuller answer.

By the way, I'd like to mention a somewhat strange idea. After rereading Norwegian Wood, I feel that Naoko died for the sake of the protagonist. This is just one perspective, and it's perfectly normal if you disagree. I think the claim that Naoko never truly loved the protagonist is Naoko's lie, meant to help him live more normally and find his own happiness. In the later chapters, I sense that his feelings for Naoko become more about responsibility than love—a duty to the promises he made and to those who have died. Naoko surely noticed the protagonist’s affection for Midori and understood that their relationship couldn’t progress further because of herself. She must have wanted to improve so that he could be happy, but the more she tried, the more she found it impossible, and her illness even worsened as a result. One reason I believe she was discouraged from writing letters might be that she knew the more she replied, the harder it would be for him to forget her. The hallucinations that urged her not to write might also be related to this. Before she died, I felt she experienced a sense of shedding a heavy burden—she did not drag the protagonist down into that deep well with her.

Mingyuan