De-naturalizing the natural and re-presenting reality through Haruki Murakami's selected short stories

• Main Author: Javier, Anton D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2005
• Subjects: Authors; Japanese > 20th century > Biography; Japan > Social life and customs > Fiction; Comparative Literature
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/2118
• Institution: De La Salle University

This paper discusses and analyzes three of Haruki Murakami's short stories namely Ice Man, The Second Bakery Attack, and A Poor-Aunt Story. The study focuses on postmodern theory, specifically its two aspects, de-naturalization and parody. The study aims to find out if Haruki Murakami's fiction can be considered postmodern and how he appropriates postmodernism in his work and in contemporary societies and situations. Using the principles of postmodernism as primarily discussed in the book Politics of Postmodernism by Linda Hutcheon, the situations, characters and issues found in the three short stories are analyzed and connected to the theories presented by Hutcheon. The findings made through this study are as follows: 1.) In presenting different events and situations experienced by most people, Murakami uses images that are out of the ordinary which de-naturalizes both the characters and the reader's reactions to the different events and situations. His narratives de-naturalize how one views people, situations, and quite possibly, life itself. 2.) He focuses on situations that deal with love, marriage, and memory and represents them in a completely new way which questions the original forms of the situations. He has rummaged through the image reserves of the past in order to come up with something otherworldly yet believable at the same time. 3.) The characters in the story also show unfamiliarity towards the de-naturalized and parodied situations. Although they do not necessarily go out of their way to find out why this is happening. They allow it to happen and they fully participate with this strange turn of events. 4.) Murakami's parodies do not solely rely on being comedic. The parodies he presents his readers are somewhat serious and respectful which in turn, offers the readers a fresh perspective with regards to parody. More often than not, majority of people would think of comedic situations when the word parody is used. 5.) In conclusion, the three short stories discuss different themes that all happen in reality. Murakami's treatment of the themes is done in a very postmodern manner since it produces something completely new by using the influence of the past or the original. The themes of the three short stories draw their inspiration from the past and are combined with new ideas which in turn results in something completely new yet familiar. As discussed in the earlier part of this study, the combination of the new and the old is the main objective of postmodernism and it is safe to say that this is what is present in Haruki Murakami's fiction.