Fall 2002: Presentations.

 
 
 

Amanda Vicary
on

Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase

Marvelous. Intriguing. Nonsensical. Captivating. All these words can be used to describe Haruki Marakami’s novel A Wild Sheep Chase. Murakami has written a large amount of novels, including the popular The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Underground. All of his novels apparently include elements of pop culture, and his writings always seem to take on a somewhat weird and mysterious tone. A Wild Sheep Chase is certainly no exception.

Set in Japan in the 1970s, the novel begins with the main character talking about a woman he once had an affair with. Women seem to be his main focus throughout the early stages of the novel. That is, until the man in black shows up, bringing with him a mysterious tale about a lost sheep. The story that follows shows many parallels to how most Japanese people view the idea of Zen.

According to the textbook, Zen involves seeing "outward reality as illusory and ultimate reality as beyond words" (2344). Zen follows the idea of Karma, and encourages following your place in life. One is to let go of physical attachments and focus on enlightenment. Like the idea of Dharma, one is encouraged to go with the flow, to trust that there is a "meaning hidden in the particulars of daily experience" (2344).

There certainly was a meaning hidden in the Rat’s suggestion that the main character place a picture in an advertisement that contained a countryside filled with sheep. This picture prompted the appearance of the man in black, a messenger of The Boss. The main character is asked to leave with the man so that he can learn why he must remove the picture. The actions of the narrator at this point may seem surprising to the normal population. He simply jumps into the limousine and rides off with the man, curious and eager to hear the story. This action shows his acceptance of whatever happens to him, for he does not even question his safety or what circumstances he has placed himself into.

Meanwhile, the reader is given a flashback concerning letters from the narrator’s mysterious friend, The Rat. These letters show yet another example of accepting one’s place, for The Rat writes "I’ve come to where I was meant to come" (80). He goes on to talk of time, and gives a perfect example of the idea that outward reality is not reality when he says, "If I catch sight of a car, it takes me a few seconds before I realize it’s a car" (81).

The novel turns back to the mysterious messenger. He takes the narrator to an elaborate estate, and the reader learns that this Boss is a powerful right-wing activist that controls much of the country. The main character shows an easy acceptance as to what is happening, as he sits in a chair and listens to the stories. He casually plays with a lighter and listens while the messenger explains that The Boss is deathly ill, and that the messenger needs the narrator to find a sheep with a star on its back.

Needless to say, this is an odd request, but the narrator accepts it in stride. The messenger goes on to make some seemingly profound statements concerning will power and cognition. "Existence ceases for the individuum as we know it, and all becomes chaos. You cease to be a unique entity unto yourself, but exist simply as chaos" (120). The messenger talks in circles as the narrator attempts to follow. Eventually the man sets the rules, and tells the narrator he has a short amount of time to find this sheep or else he will be ruined.

On the way home, the main character mulls things over and the reader sees another glimpse into the idea that reality is an illusion when he thinks, "There’s many things we don’t really know. It’s an illusion that we know anything at all" (125).

Another example of accepting fate and going along with current circumstances takes place when the narrator returns and speaks to his girlfriend with the beautiful ears. She simply shows up with her bags packed, ready to start on the sheep chase with her boyfriend. She doesn’t ask the reason, she doesn’t question the purpose, she simply follows the path she feels is correct.

Later in their conversation, the man and his girlfriend discuss the names of towns and train stations. It appears as a simple conversation but ultimately shows a major theme of the novel. They decide that they cannot simply change the names of buildings and towns because these places are not named as physical objects, but because of their function. They determine that everything has a role. This idea fits well with what the main character and his girlfriend are doing. They are embarking on a wild chase for a mysterious sheep with no clue where to begin or what exactly the purpose of their trek is or even what the final result will be.

A good example of obeying one’s Karma comes through once the couple reaches a town. His girlfriend simply picks a hotel name out of a phonebook and states that that is where they are to stay. It is as if their actions have been predetermined, for this hotel once houses sheep and now houses the infamous Sheep Professor. This man was the predominant sheep studier of his time. Sheep were rare in Japan for many years, and he became the expert on this animal.

The couple learn from the professor where the countryside in the picture is located and embark on a difficult journey there. They take up residence in a deserted house, and the narrator realizes that it his own friend, The Rat’s, house. He waits for days, and his girlfriend disappears. He accepts it in stride, as always.

At one point, the main character looks in the mirror and is fascinated with what he sees. He gets confused between what is reflection and what is reality. He lifts his hand, but does not know if it he is lifting his hand or if he simply copying what the man in the mirror is doing. Here he brings up the question of free will. "I couldn’t be certain I’d wiped my mouth out of my own free will," he says.

One day a mysterious character in a sheep’s costume arrives. The narrator doesn’t even blink an eye, but shares his food and drink with the "sheep". Another example of the view of reality shows through when he looks in a mirror again, only this time he realizes that the sheep is not really there.

Eventually The Rat shows up, though not The Rat the reader is expecting. Not only is The Rat the man in the sheep costume, but he is also dead. He explains to the narrator that this starred sheep infects the minds of people, and uses his control to his advantage. Some men he used simply as a means from getting from one place to another. In the case of The Boss, the sheep found a weak mind he could manipulate and use to control the country. In the case of The Rat, the sheep infected him, but in order to save the world from the influence of the sheep, The Rat hung himself while the sheep was inside him.

The Rat and the main character part ways, and the narrator accepts the tale, although he feels slightly embarrassed he did not understand everything earlier. He returns to his town and uses the money he was given to help out a friend. His girlfriend is gone for good, but he accepts this fact as he accepts everything else.

Overall, the novel is bizarre, strange, and curious. But these very descriptions only help in explaining the main theme. The idea of "What is reality?" and "What is my purpose in life?" show through continuously time and again. The fact that the circumstances are so bizarre (embark on a tale to find a sheep with a star on its back), only helps in stressing the point of accepting one’s duty, one’s Karma, one’s purpose in life, no matter how bizarre that purpose may be.

And the questions of reality are prevalent as well. Sometimes the narrator wonders if all these circumstances are really happening to him, other times he wonders who it is he sees in the mirror. He wonders if the man in the sheep costume really exists. So many events have happened by the end of the novel that he is confused as to what is reality and what is an illusion.

In the end, however, the narrator passively accepts what has happened. He returns to his home and his friends, seemingly unscarred by the fact that he spent the last month of his life looking for a sheep that infects people’s minds in an attempt to run the world. What has happened has happened. He accepted his role, his duty. He found the sheep, he talked with The Rat, and all is satisfied. He had completed what his Karma set out for him to do.