The Little Green Monster: Analysis Of The Unique Imagination Of Haruki Murakami
The unique imagination of Haruki Murakami is show through his short story, The Little Green Monster. If you were to walk into a bookstore, it is very likely that you will come across several copies of Haruki Murakami’s books. This is no surprise as the sixty nine year old Japanese writer has written numerous books, most of which have been successful. But in "The Unique Imagination Of Haruki Murakami In The Little Green Monster: Analysis" paper we will research exactly the Little Green Monster and analyze the main topics.
Haruki Murakami’s writing style is undoubtedly creative as he is able to make his readers feel a certain way by the mood he focuses on which is melancholy and surreal. He conveys this through the characters, symbols and imagery. This is clearly shown in one of his short stories, The Little Green Monster, which portrays a lonely woman that comes across a green monster that crawls out of her garden. Although the monster had no intentions of hurting the lonely woman, she sees the monster as an object that she needs to kill.
Haruki Murakami’s unique writing style in The Little Green Monster is shown through his choice of characterization, symbols and Imagery. This short story truly emphasizes the idea of melancholy, particularly when looking at the characters in the story. The wife, who is the main character, is a woman who has been distant with her husband which is revealed when the wife says. This line shows us that the husband leaving for work while the wife is at home alone is a routine that she is used to, which would inform the readers that she is lonely. Loneliness and isolation are characteristics that Murakami enjoys inputting in his characters which makes his readers feel lonely and dislocated too. An example of this would be. From this we see that the wife does not only feel lonely, however she also lives in an area that is lonely and isolated. This gives the readers the idea that isolation has a significant impact on a person and their mental state, which is the case for the wife in this story.
Additionally, The Little Green Monster and his other stories do not finish with a common resolution which leaves his readers feeling aimless and lost which is similar to his characters. The Little Green Monster contains numerous symbols, especially in his first paragraph. This is revealed when the wife says. Oak trees are known for being large and tough, they signify security, power and acceptance. The Oak tree could unequivocally be used to portray society as it is known to be consistent and unadaptable. The tree truly presents society as stubborn.
Another thing that contributes with society would be the colour green in the story. Green is well-known as the colour that represents jealousy. The monster significantly contrasts with the wife that murders the little monster. This particular moment portrays the jealousy the wife feels due to the monster feeling comfortable about being themselves. In this society, it is believed the perfect person is judged by their physical appearance. Not only does the wife see that the monster is confident with how they look but moreover that it is affectionate thus the wife is not able to comprehend what to do due to the isolation in her life, which leads her to killing the monster with the use of her thoughts. From this we see that society tells us that words have a big impact on a person, especially ones that come from someone important to you. The evidence that shows this is when the monster says. Thus the monster possibly died from a broken heart due to the wifes horrible feelings towards it.
Overall, the most significant symbolism was the monster itself. This is due to the monster representing the choice that the wife had to either accept the love she was given as she is described as a lonely and isolated woman in the beginning of the story as well as how critical people can be in the Japanese Society. This is revealed when the wife immediately judged the monster and felt the need to kill it without giving the monster a chance. Although the monster is characterized as frightening due to its descriptions, it is found later in the story that the wife has power and uses her ability to hurt the monster. This suggests that when the people in the Japanese society are given the right of freedom and choice, they exploit it or they are unable to determine how to use it.
Additionally, the little green monster symbolises jugement. This is revealed when the woman is initially characterized as a wife however she then becomes violent and the little green monster that is initially describe as violent, becomes the victim. From this we see that Murakami is giving the idea that people in Japanese society must look past the cover and the view of things as well as exploring the true meaning. This element gives impacts the readers as it gives them new ideas and something to think about.
Haruki Murakami likes to make use of Imagery in The Little Green Monster. This is revealed when the wife’s description of the monster was. This imagery suggests that she is repelled by the foolishness of the little monster that she encountered. This shows us that despite the monster being genuinely kind, she did not hesitate to judge it based on its appearance. In the Little Green monster it is written that eyes of the monster looked similar to the eyes of a human which indicates that it's eyes are just like ours. This emphasizes the idea that we are no different from each other. Eyes represent “the windows to our souls”, if the eye's of the monsters are no different from ours this indicates that it is similar to how we are or possibly a superior vision of us. Murakami uses this little green monster and contrasts it with the wife. It is clear to see that they differentiate from each other as the wife is considered an average person by society's norms and the monster is considered preposterous and unappealing. Haruki Murakami was able to use his characters to reveal that people that are pushed away by society. The Little Green Monster truly shows how unique Haruki Murakami is in terms of his writing style and his choice of characterization, symbols and imagery.
Overall, Murakami is able to make his readers feel a certain way by the descriptions of his characters, the mood he focuses on, the symbols he chooses to show and the imagery in the story. The ability to leave readers feeling a certain way and have stories that impact the audience is something that not all writers are able to do, which is what makes Haruki Murakami undoubtedly unique.
