Murakami’s main characters in Norwegian Wood were all of university age and this naturally placed growing up among the book’s main themes. A consistent idea this book returns to is that for most young people growing up means a painful realization that our actions impact those closest to us far more than they impact ourselves. It’s an interesting lesson to juxtapose alongside the new freedom that many experience when they reach these first years of adulthood – at the exact moment we leave home and find ourselves slowly taking more responsibility for each of our basic needs, we also become more aware of a certain responsibility to consider how our decisions affect others.
I liked how Murakami brought this lesson along in the book. First, he placed the main protagonist alongside a series of characters who remain fixed at various points along this progression. As the story progressed, the protagonist’s feelings toward these characters changed in ways reflective of how this lesson was sinking in and shaping his perspective. A good example is an older peer the protagonist looked up to at the start of the novel. This older peer gradually showed himself incapable and - more importantly - disinterested in suffering the pain of growing up, instead choosing to live by a boyish ideal of doing things only for himself. As the protagonist drifts away from this character, we recognize how it represents a step toward taking responsibility for grown-up considerations like considering the impact of our actions on others, remaining strong for those in need, and resisting the urge to feel sorry for ourselves.
Life isn’t so simple that everyone can seek a personalized version of justice or happiness. As Murakami noted, this approach would only result in chaos. People instead must challenge themselves to think beyond the self and consider how others feel. The worst result for any one person is to become indifferent to how others perceive or understand them. Therefore, it’s vital to grow up into the sort of person who can understand others and use empathy as a way to bring others together in pursuit of shared ideals and common goals.
Footnotes / endnote
0. BRUCE!!!
Can TOA use the words ‘growing up’ without thinking about this song?
No.
