(book) norwegian wood by HARUKI MURAKAMI - Essay Example

The sensitive portrayal of the Japanese youth who were caught in the web of contrasting culture of the East and the West, has turned into a universal appeal for understanding. The protagonist of the novel is Toru Wantabe who becomes nostalgic about his student days when he hears his favourite Beatle song ‘Norwegian Wood’ while travelling on the plane. The book is his flashback into his student life while he was studying in the University of Tokyo. The protagonist, throughout his recollection, has maintained a tender spot for the love of his life and at the same time his encounters with death, in the form of suicide have forced him to contemplate the wider meaning of life.

The author has seemingly used death as a reconciliatory medium as well as that of alienation so much so that it has almost become a second theme of the novel. The book is a subtle love story of Toru and Naoko who are probably caught by circumstances into a relationship. Naoko was the girlfriend of Toru’s best friend, Kizuku. After Kizuku commits suicide at the age of 17, Naoko is lost in grief and subsequently, loses touch with Toru. They meet each other after a year in Tokyo where both of them, have gone to study.

They are drawn towards each other through their common friend, who is dead. Each of them want to keep in contact because it brings them closer to Kizuku, who is more alive than dead, in the memories of the two characters. The inability of the characters to move away from the past is the bond that ultimately becomes the main cause of their separation. Though initially, Toru befriends Naoko because she was a link with his best friend but later, his feelings change into love or so he thinks. The author has used the protagonist to represent the contemporary youth who are shy to proclaim their love but are least hesitant to experiment with sex on a casual and