Week 2. Setting.

In this book, the narrator is of course describing the setting. The setting is in an urban city of Japan. One scene particularly jumped out at me while I was reading and thinking about scenery. In this scene, the narrator often personifies nature and objects around him, which I find very interesting. It allows the reader to understand the movement of the object verses just the way it looks. When the narrator is pulling up to the bosses huge house, he explains to the reader, "Behind us was the gravel road which we'd come on, trailing away in an all-too-picturesque course of twists and turns to the front gate off in the distance" (80). I really imagine this painting of a nice gravel road disappearing back to the gate. Then, I would turn around and see the house, "a painfully solitary building," (81) standing over me. Not only do these descriptions create a visual, but I believe is tells us a lot about what this mysterious "bossman" is about.

The narrator allows the reader to have insight into what he sees, and the thoughts that are going through his mind. Sometimes I wonder if a person could really think all of this in one setting, but then I remember that it is a book, and without these elongated descriptions, we would be lost as to the setting.

P.S.
Sorry for posting so late, guys. I was on an orchestra trip Thursday until about 6. Hope I didn't inconvienence anyone too much. Thanks!

week 2--setting

Murakami set this book in Japan during the 1970s. Before this assignment, however, I hadn’t given much thought to the setting. Since it hasn’t played a big role in the plot, it just seems like it’s a random backdrop for our mediocre character to…live in. Although the further into the book I get, the main character does start to describe the landscape and other aspects of the setting more and more, for example, the ocean. He says several times how the surf area has been filled with landfill for more apartment building space. Why this is relevant? Maybe it’s to show the passing of time and how much things change. The setting could be more of a tool to show how our mediocre friend is wrapped up in his problems. Enough so that he doesn’t realize that there’s a world still moving beyond his boring job and women problems. Or it could be a coincidence. Either way, there’s really no significant reason for it being in Japan. It could have been written to take place somewhere else and it would mean the same thing to the reader.

Week 2: Setting

Technically, this story is taking place Tokyo. A big bustling city, the capital of Japan. Yet as I was reading, i imagined... I'm not sure exactly what, but a calm place. A place that looked like a city, but that was practically void of other people. This may have to do with the character's solitary lifestyle. I guess I can picture the setting, but not accurately.

The time period of this story is the 1970s. Despite this being thirty-some years ago, the exact time doesn't seem to matter. I imagine the time period as "modern", it makes no difference if it is now or 30 years ago. Really, not much knowledge about the time period is necessary to understand what is going on, if any.

The location of Tokyo/ Japan isn't imperative to the story. While of course there are some aspects that would have to be changed, the general story line could take place somewhere else. But not the United States. I guess I don't know exactly where else the story could take place, but many places in Europe or Asia would probably fit the story line just fine.

week 2-setting

This book takes place in the alive, modern day Tokyo. Even though the setting is in an energetic, hip city, bustling with people, the main character seems to be secluded form all this action. He chooses to spend time in his empty apartment, blah office building, and at the café down the street. I think that the quietly dead café resembles the main characters life in a way, because they are both reserved and undisturbed, yet they have an intriguing edginess about them. Both have undiscovered talents and ability that just haven’t been unleashed. The main character spends most of his time in these sad and unenergetic places and when he finally ventures out in the limo and travels to the mansion, he is awestruck. Whole pages are used to describe how mesmerized he is with the scenery and the monstrosity of a house. This portion of the book shows how secluded he really is, considering that he is a grown man and he describes this mansion experience as though he was a five year old going to the zoo for the first time, amazed by the wonders this world has to offer. This main character lives a very odd life and the setting of the book seems to fit right in with his personality. His thoughts and actions seem to be stifled by this lifeless setting, yet he almost seems to enjoy the boredom of his lifestyle. If given the opportunity to move and to finally find a sense of direction in his life, do you think he would take it?

Week 2 - Setting

To be literal and boring, this book takes place in Japan in 1978. However, Murakami takes a great deal of time describing the setting and the significance of Japanese history, so this topic is ripe for discussion.

In this era in Japan, the cities are growing and the country is declining. There is a certain sadness in this which is discovered towards the end of the book as a small town is visited. The character muses as to how and entire town can die, and it's an interesting concept indeed.

However, the book opens up amidst the bustling Tokyo. The reader doesn't feel immersed in the crowd though. Instead, our character remains on the fringes of human contact. In fact, while driving around in The Limo, the total stillness and silence within works as a symbol of the way our character is living. Even among the life of a full city, he is isolated and there is a staleness about his surroundings.

I feel that as the book develops, he spends more and more time describing the setting. More time going into the history of places and discussing the name of cities. It's interesting to me that he is so eager to talk about the names of cities while he refuses to divulge the names of characters. Returning to the line of thought with a town dying; does Murakami believe that places are more unique and important than people?

Lastly, this is definitely a story of Japan. It wouldn't work anywhere else because of the intertwining of the mystery with the history of sheep importation and the military careers of various important characters (the Boss for one).

It's hard to talk about setting though, because it becomes much more important at the end of the book.

Week Two

Welcome to Week Two of our discussion. This discussion will last from Monday, March 2nd to Sunday, March 9th.

This week's discussion is on Setting. Please POST a 10-sentence comment on setting. Don't forget to comment on 5 other posts on this blog. You have all week to complete this assignment, but waiting is not recommended!

Week 1: Character

This main character seems to help set up the scene by making us believe he is like anyone. The fact that he is not given a name helps us imagine ourselves as him. I have a problem since I am a girl but I could imagine an alter ego that was a guy. As a main character that is narrating the story I do not believe he is doing a good job. Most emotions coming from him are completely masked and mainly inferred. Also since he is very perceptive about the people he interacts with, it seems more like they are the ones narrating and showing the inside to their psyche instead of him. His drinking, smoking and other bad habits make us think that he is waiting for death or just enjoys then too much to quit. His bad luck with older women and commitment makes him seem like he does not know where his life is going and what he should do, like most teenagers. His epithets for the women he dates shows how distant he is. His aloofness towards life is probably why he accepts this adventure that will become the book. Overall this main character is characterized as a typical boring mundane person with no drive towards life, no ambition whatsoever. I predict, that he will find some drive and that, by the end of the book, he will have a happy life, or at least a life where he cares.

LG