Frog: Symbol of the Sub-conscious Mind - Essay Example

? Frog: Symbol of the Sub-conscious Mind of the of the Introduction Sub-conscious mind of human beings is a very interesting thing. It is a storehouse of all the memories, emotions and thoughts that human being has experienced throughout his life. Most importantly, it functions as an absorber of those particular memories, emotions and thoughts, which are ignored by the conscious mind. Human beings have a tendency to suppress the feelings, opinions and thoughts which they think will bring a negative reaction if expressed. In order to live in the society, man has to act and behave in a way which is acceptable by the society. Hence, the real opinions, thoughts and feelings are suppressed and get stored in the sub-conscious mind. However, the mental and emotional baggage which is suppressed in the sub-conscious is not forgotten. The sub-conscious mind uses the medium of dreams, imaginations and hallucinations, to express the content that is suppressed. In order to lead a healthy and peaceful life, it is important to let go of the suppressed emotions and thoughts. Hence, the mediums of dreams, hallucinations and imaginations play an essential role in human being’s life. In fact, it can be said that it is the dreams and hallucinations that helps human being to face the ‘reality’ and ‘truths’ of his self and his life. Sub-conscious mind uses dreams and hallucinations as a wake up call to bring human beings on right path by making them to face the reality of life. This aspect of human life is portrayed in the book “After the Quake”, written by Haruki Murakami. The book is a collection of short stories with ‘earthquake’ as a backdrop for the stories. However, the story that strongly reflects the relationship between the sub-conscious and the conscious mind is the short story “Super Frog Saves Tokyo”. It is a story of a man who meets a frog and agrees to save Tokyo from earthquake by fighting the worm who is going to cause it. The story is a brilliant example of surrealism as the end of the story discloses a shocking truth about the identity of the ‘Frog’. Hence, in the story “Super Frog Saves Tokyo,” even though Frog is the hallucination of the main character Katagiri, the content and the thoughts expressed by Frog are real, as they are nothing but the suppressed thoughts and the feelings of Katagiri, expressed through Frog in order to let go of them, so as to heal him from his loneliness and depression. Essence of the Story The short story “Super Frog Saves Tokyo” is an excellent story exploring the world of surrealism and hallucination in human life. The story portrays the mysterious ways in which the sub-conscious mind of human being functions. Initially, the story seems like a fantastic, but as the story progresses, the reader realizes that it is not a fantasy, but is a deep exploration of how the sub-conscious mind makes the human being face the reality by bringing his suppressed thoughts and desires on surface. Hence, the essence of the story is the way the sub-conscious tries to communicate with the conscious mind in order to protect a person from getting psychologically, emotionally and physically ill. The story describes the conflict between the sub-conscious and the conscious mind. Through the main character of Katagiri and the Frog, the author has expressed how the human being is affected by inner conflicts. In order to make the reader ‘feel’ the unusual nature of the sub-conscious mind, the author has created a mystery regarding the nature of the frog’s existence. The author has revealed the real nature of ‘Frog’ in the end of the story. In the beginning, Frog (the frog constantly reminds Katagiri to call him ‘Frog,’ with a capital ‘F’, as if it is his first name) seems a ‘real’ character, i.e. the reader feels that Frog really exists, and has come to meet Katagiri with a mission. However, by the end of the story, the reader realizes that Frog is not ‘real’ but is a fragment of Katagiri’s hallucination. The mystery about Frog’s character, i.e. if he is real or hallucination is created to strengthen the importance of the character of Frog. Also, to remove any doubts about the reality of Frog, Katagiri is shown asking him if he is a real frog. Frog answers, “Yes, of course, as you can see. A real frog is exactly what I am. A product neither of metaphor nor allusion nor deconstruction nor sampling nor any other such complex process, I am a genuine frog. Shall I croak for you” (Murakami, 2003, p.3)? This makes the reader feel that Frog is real. Moreover, Frog also says “Anyone claiming that I am not a frog would be a dirty liar. I would smash such a person to bits” (Murakami, 2003, p.3)! This statement by Frog strengthens the reader’s belief in the ‘reality’ of his existence. The belief created by Frog’s statement makes the further conversation between Frog and Katagiri believable and hence, the reader, along with Katagiri, takes everything that the Frog says, seriously. Hence, to strengthen the importance of Frog’s proposal, and the seriousness of everything that he says, the author has kept the real nature of Frog hidden from the reader. If the author had told the readers that Frog is hallucination right in the beginning of the story, then the reader, and Katagiri himself, would not have taken anything about Frog seriously. Also, if Katagiri would have known that Frog is imagination and not real, then he would not have believed Frog and this would have weakened the whole plot of the story. It is only in the end, after revealing the purpose of Frog’s meeting with Katagiri, and in doing so, revealing many hidden and suppressed aspects of Katagiri’s life through the Frog, that the author has revealed Frog’s true identity. The belief that Frog is ‘real’ and not some fantasy character, increases the power and the impact of the story. The author has described the hallucinations of Katagiri as ‘real’ in order to strengthen the essence of the story, which is the power of sub-conscious mind, and its ways of resolving a conflict within. Hence, it is to help Katagiri resolve the conflicts within his own mind that the author has kept the true identity of the nature of Frog hidden till the end of the story. However, after reading the story, the reader also realizes that the Frog is not just a hallucination, but is a mirror image of Katagiri’s desires, wishes, ambitions and feelings, which are suppressed in his sub-conscious mind. Mirror Image of the Sub-conscious After reading the short story “Super Frog Saves Tokyo,” the reader realizes that Frog is not ‘real’ but is a part of Katagiri’s hallucination. The whole interaction between Katagiri and the Frog is a hallucination. In fact, it can be said that the whole story is a brilliant example of how the sub-conscious and the conscious mind of a human being operates in sync with each other to maintain the sanity of human being. The whole story is a dramatic and powerful portrayal of surrealism. There are many instances in the story which clearly points out to the fact that Frog is a mirror image of all the content of Katagiri’s sub-conscious mind. There are many aspects of Frog’s personality, and the purpose of his visit to Katagiri, which prove that Frog is nothing but a reflection of Katagiri’s sub-conscious mind. The different examples in the story, which reveal the ‘real identity’ of the Frog, are discussed below. Compensation of Deficits The character of Frog is a very interesting aspect of Murakami’s short story “Super Frog Saves Tokyo.” For example, Frog is confident, brave and strong being. This is evident from the fact that despite of being just an animal, he enters Katagiri’s apartment without his permission, and comes to meet him without taking his appointment. There are many instances in the story where it is evident that Frog is very different, and in fact, quite opposite to what Katagiri is. The instances show that Frog represents all those qualities that Katagiri desires, but lacks in his life. The first example is the physical stature of the Frog. Frog is six feet tall and strong in built while Katagiri is just 5 feet and 3 inches tall, and weak in built (Murakami, 2003, p.1). This shows that Frog’s physical stature and built is totally opposite to that of Katagiri’s. Physical stature plays an important role in confidence of a person. Hence, the fact that Frog is strongly built, bulky and tall proves that Frog has the physical attributes that Katagiri lacks, but desires for himself. Hence, Frog’s physical built is a compensation for Katagiri’s inferior feelings about his own body. The second example is the treatment that Katagiri gets from Frog. Frog makes tea for Katagiri when he comes home. Frog says “How about a cup of tea? I thought you would be coming home soon, so I boiled some water” (Murakami, 2003, p.1). This shows that Frog represents Katagiri’s sub-conscious desire for a partner who will care for him and make him feel relaxed after day’s work. The third example is regarding the smoking habit. Frog says “I myself am not a smoker, but I can hardly impose my distaste for tobacco on others in their own homes.” (Murakami, 2003, p.2). This shows that Frog has a good quality of not being a smoker, which Katagiri lacks. Hence, Frog possesses and reflects all those qualities which Katagiri desires in his own personality and character. Frog is completely opposite to what Katagiri is and represents the desires and wishes of Katagiri. Heroic Job The second important aspect that sows that Frog is representing the sub-conscious mind of Katagiri is Frog’s showering of appreciation on Katagiri. When Katagiri asks Frog why he has chosen him for the job of fighting the worm, Frog tells him that he has all the qualities needed to do the job. Frog says, “For sixteen long years, you have silently accepted the most dangerous, least glamorous assignments—the jobs that others have avoided—and you have carried them off beautifully” (Murakami, 2003, p.6). However, in real life, despite of his efforts and achievements, Katagiri is not rewarded or respected by his Boss or colleagues. Frog says, “But you, unappreciated and unpromoted, have never once complained” (Murakami, 2003, p.6). This shows that all the qualities and achievements of Katagiri that are ignored and unappreciated by people at work, are recognized and appreciated by Frog. Frog also says that Katagiri has sacrificed his own happiness and youth in order to get his brother and sister educated and married. However, no one cared even to recognize this sacrifice of his. Hence, all the recognition, praise, reward and appreciation that Katagiri desired from the society, is showered on him by Frog. Moreover, by choosing Katagiri for the job of saving Tokyo from earthquake, he is given the highest honor and stature in the society. Hence, the inferior complex, the lack of social status and the absence of respect from people in Katagiri’s life, is compensated by being chosen to do the most heroic job of stopping the earthquake and saving 150,000 people from dying. The appreciation for all the sacrifice, efforts and achievements in Katagiri’s life by Frog shows that Frog is a representation of his sub-conscious mind which is filled with suppressed desire for social recognition of all the qualities mentioned by Frog. The Attack The third aspect disclosing the incidents in the story as hallucination is Katagiri learning that he was not shot by a stranger as he had thought. The author has described the incidence of Katagiri getting shot in a very realistic way. It seems that this is not a part of the hallucination. However, later the reader learns that even getting shot is his hallucination. The sub-conscious mind uses this incident to achieve two things. First, it prevents Katagiri from feeling worthless for not keeping an appointment with the Frog to kill the worm. After all, there is no ‘big worm’ to be killed but it is just an imaginary creation of Katagiri’s mind. Secondly, the job gets done by Frog, who is nothing but a symbol of Katagiri’s superior self. Hence, the author has used the incidence of shooting to get the job of stopping the earthquake done and that too, without making Katagiri’s ‘real’ self feel worthless. The last line says “Then he closed his eyes and sank into a restful, dreamless sleep” (Murakami, 2003, p.6). This shows that through the fulfillment of sub-conscious desires and wishes in his hallucination, Katagiri has regained his health, confidence and self-respect. Conclusion The above discussion shows that the character of Frog in the short story “Super Frog Saves Tokyo,” is a representation of Katagiri’s sub-conscious mind. In the last segment of the story, i.e. in the hospital, the sub-conscious lets go of all the suppressed thoughts, feelings and desires of Katagiri’s life, and makes him a healthy man. References Murakami, H. (2003). After the Quake: Stories. (J. Rubin, Trans.). New York, NY: Vintage International (Original work published 2002). Retrieved from http://sharepoint.snoqualmie.k12.wa.us/mshs/meserveb/Language%20Arts/World%20Literature%20full%20texts/Super-Frog.pdf Read More