“Приголомшливе насильство” та особистість у романі Харукі Муракамі “Безбарвний Цкуру Тадзакі та роки його прощі”

Abstract

The article focuses on the artistic interpretation of the subject of relations between the individual and society in the novel Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, tracing typical Japanese qualities in the distinctive features of these relations. It starts by briefly describing Haruki Murakami’s creative evolution which provides the context for his transition from depicting the individual inner world of the main character to interpreting the problems of shared experience, which the author himself refers to as the transition from detachment to commitment. It agrees with the argument that one of the reasons why Murakami’s character turned out to be so successful with the Japanese audience was the author’s ability to subtly feel the changes in Japanese society, in which the demand for inconspicuous individualism began to arise. The term ‘subtle individualism’ was proposed to refer to the special type of individualism professed by Murakami’s protagonist. It has been established that Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage elaborates on the theme of overwhelming violence and the system in a concrete way that makes it distinctly Japanese. It is assumed that color in the novel is in accord with the concept of Japanese communication キャラ, which attempts at reconciling individuality and the requirements of seamless interaction in a team. This convenient means of proving oneself in the group and occupying the specific allocated place within it, however, imposes a certain model of behavior on the actor, which is difficult to get rid of. Next, the article analyzes the influence of color on the life path of each of the friends, as well as their attempts to get rid of the brand of their color. Meanwhile, the main character’s lack of color helps him escape the pressure of the system but does so at the expense of his expulsion from the ‘ideal’ society of his colorful friends. So, the novel makes its readers ponder over the problem of the pressure put by the system on the individual within it as well as the mirror problem that consists in the fact that any person’s stay outside the system also turns into overwhelming violence.