Some say that anyone who cares about the portrayal of women should be wary of Haruki Murakami's work, because women in his world are portrayed almost uniformly negatively.
Other critics argue that in actuality, the men in Murakami's world are the losers in the portrayal game. They say that the men are characterized negatively throughout.
What do you say? In this blog, you must refer to at least two stories, and you must respond to the comments of at least one fellow student.
Here are two comments from a blog on Murakami to start you off:
I don't know if murakami's work can exactly be described as "misogynist", maybe it's just that he's not very good at writing women, but his female characters tend to be drawn from a male ideal of a certain type of woman/girl rather than existing in their own right.
Well,I agree with the opinion that Murakami's novels are weak on drawing female characters, because the first person is usually "僕boku"(means male"I"), but I think it's the men who end up looking unsympathetic.
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I would say that Murakami portrays women negatively in his stories. I would say that the reason why they are viewed so negatively is because he portrays them as being strong and overconfident. In his stories he portrays women as being tired of playing their traditional roles and as wanting to get rid of their vulnerability. For instance, in little green monster the woman is seen as being horrible because she destroys the little monster for her own pleasure. She destroys him in order to feel good about herself and that's viewed negatively because the little green monster didn't mean to hurt her. All he wanted to do was tell her that he loved her and she refused to hear it. In sleep we also see how women are trying to escape from thier vulnerability because when she no longer can sleep she is satisfied. She feels like sleeping is for the weak. She begins to hate everything else including her son because he represents that part that she's tryign to escape from. Women are portrayed negatively in his book because in being too confident and in tryign to escape they bring about their own destruction. They are too blame.Conversely, in his books Murakami portrays men as being weak and vulnerable. They are scared and because they are cause their own destruction. The fact that they lack confidence makes them seem like they are more sympathetic.
I agree with Nancy in that she says that woman are portrayed negatively in Murakimi's short stories especially in "Sleep" and "The Little Green Monster." Both of the women feel entrapped by their routines and the actions they take are seen as horrible ones. In LGM the woman kills the monster and she felt great about it in the end. In "Sleep" the woman wants time for herself and Murakami paints her as a little selfish because of this. The women are portrayed negatively in the way they treat the men in their lives. In LGM the woman is portrayed as not appreciating that her husband is a hard working man and in "Sleep" the woman is not very happy with the way her husband and son have turned out. As for the men, Murakami does paint them as very unsure of themselves but that does not make me feel sympathetic towards them because they never go for what they want. The men in 100% Girl and "A Window" are both so close to getting the girl but their self-doubt gets in the way and they do nothing. Society is partly to blame, but they are mostly to blame for conforming.
I would have to disagree with both Nancy and Blanca. I don't think Murakami is writing from a misogynist perspective we ourselves are only seeing gender, gender, gender and not intentions. In "Sleep" sure the narrator has her selfish tendencies at times, but doesn't she have some sort of unwritten right to that selfishness giving the fact that she devotes most of her life to her son and husband? Who's to say that Murakami didn't mean for her selfishness to be perceived as acceptable and understandable? Conversely, in "Little Green Monster" I don't see an evil "woman" I see an abandoned human being coping with their bottled emotions by making something else suffer what they feel because their spouse is always off at work. Murakami's target probably was just human flaws. I think it's funny how this subject of gender profiling was brought up with women. If the roles were switch gender probably wouldn't even be an issue.
This is Brian by the way! (:
I agree with Brian's in his defense of the women in Little Green Monster and Sleep. However in "A Second Bakery Attack" and t.V people the wives tend to be the ones who influence the husbands doubtful character. In the Second Bakery Attack the wife is the one who leads the progantist to doubt himself because he didn't really want to rob the McDonalds. This in the end leads him to doubt himself even further as he wishes he could go to where he belonged and doesn't want to be where he is at , which is with his wife. In T.V people the wive and the husband do not communite very well as he afraid to mention the T.V. people to her. This lack of closeness between the two marriages lead the men to question their choices and realize that they are lost and alone .
it's alex C
I do not think that Murakami picked one gender in particular and portrayed them negatively. I think all the characters have flaws. I believe the characters in Sleep and T.V. People are so alike. They are both trapped in routine and can't get out. This leads me to disagree with Blanca when she says that Sleep proves Murakami portrays women negatively. The character in T.V. People is just like her so you can't say that it women. In On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning and Little Green Monster both characters are scared of love and hurt themselves by not being open to it. I agree with the comment that said "Murakami's novels are weak on drawing female characters." I agree because in Little Green Monster the woman destroyed the monster while in 100% perfect girl the guy did not destroy the girl. Even though he does this I do not believe Murakami paints women negatively. All the characters have issues.
I partially agree with Brain. Although, Murakami appears to portray the women in The Elephant Vanishes negatively, we are missing the bigger picture. These women have reason to behave the way they do. I think that they are trying to find a way to break from their routines filled with loneliness. In “Sleep” for example, the protagonist dedicates her herself entirely to both her husband and son. Both however, are never mentioned to do much for her. Her husband always works and when he comes he spend his time talking about dentist equipment. Her son takes part in after school activities and the author never mentions him spending time with his mother. In reference to “Little Green Monster” I completely agree with Brian. I also see someone who has routinely been neglected and never displayed affection. So when someone (or thing) appears that loves them they cause it the pain they themselves have felt.
--Daniela
I agree with both and Brian in their arguments.
I believe that Murakami is potraying the women negativly to show how awful men are to them at times. Men are the ones that should be seen as the unsympathetic. For example in both the stories "Sleep" and "Little Green Monster" the women are stuck in routine, and do what society expects them to do, which is be wives and mothers. They stay home and tend to their family while the husband is at work all day. They are seen as evil only because of what they are lead to do because of their husbands. The men neglect them, and don't really show them any attention or affection. Lack of love and attention is what drives the women to act the way they do. For example in L.G.M the women acts so horribly towards the monster because she's pretty much just trying to vent her anger on anyone she sees as vulnerable to hurt them as bad as she had gotten hurt when she herself was most vulnerable (ie. in love). In the end I believe that Murakami is potraying the men negatively through the womens actions.
However my question is, why does he do this? Why not come straight out and just make the men unsympathetic?..
This is Anali N.
I agree with Brian, Daniela, and Jessica C. that although women are portrayed negatively in Murakami’s short stories, they have a justification for why they do what they do. I think that women are portrayed negatively only because men are also portrayed negatively. Some of the actions that the women make are because of their husbands. In “Sleep” the protagonist is okay with not sleeping because she uses this as an escape from her routine, which is taking care of her son and husband. I agree with Daniela that the protagonist’s husband and son never seem to anything for her. For example, her husband even forbids her to eat chocolate. This makes us feel unsympathetic towards the husband. We also feel unsympathetic towards the wife because for example, she doubts about loving her son. She also feels that sleeping is only for the weaklings.
Also, in “The Second Bakery Attack,” the woman is portrayed negatively because she influences her husband to rob McDonalds. Yet, if it had not been for her husband telling her about the first bakery attack, she might have never influenced him to the second robbery. Likewise, the husband is portrayed negatively because he has resigned; he has being conformed by society and wants to stay there even though he’s not happy.
I agree with Brian's belief that Murakami's "The Elephant Vanishes" is focused on targeting human flaws. However, I believe he is also showing that a woman has flaws that are different from those of men. Women are portrayed as overly controlling while men are portrayed submissive. You can see this in the “Second Bakery Attack” because the wife is always telling her husband what to do and her husband, the protagonist, always does what she says even if he doesn’t approve. For example, when they are about to attack McDonalds on page 45, he asks her “Do we really have to do this?” and she responds with “Of course we do,” and he stops questioning her and follows her instructions. You can also see that in “TV People.” The wife in “TV People” is also controlling because sets up a bunch of rules that her husband, the protagonist, needs to follow. The protagonist, in exchange, never argues back and does what she says like not making a mess, although he never cleans up for the TV People. Overall, however, I believe both men and woman are portrayed unsympathetically, women for being cruel and men for not trying and giving up easily.
This is Diana
I agree with Anali with the idea that Murakami portrays both genders as being negative characters throughout the stories. While the women are portrayed as being cold and distant the men are drawn as being weak and impassive. In “Sleep” the narrator, being a woman, is seen as a bit cruel and stubborn but only because she tries to take control of her life. We view her attempt at escape from routine as illogical and therefore think she is wrong in doing that. In “The Second Bakery Attack” the narrator, being a man, is portrayed as being weak and submissive. He conformed to the ideal way of living; a life that included getting a job, home, and wife. Even when he commits another crime he does it in accordance of what his wife tell him. He is led by the stronger figure in the story who is a woman. In “Sleep” we aren’t really led to feel sympathetic for the male figure either, because he also seems to be in state of conformity and doesn’t even realize when his wife has changed.
In both stories Murakami presents weak male figures and strong female characters. I think the reason we feel more inclined to see the females as unsympathetic because their change or control is more of a threat to the idea of conformity. The male figures allow themselves to be led and are therefore no real threat to society’s way of living. Because both genders are portrayed negatively, Murakami puts across to the audience that no matter how we live our lives in the end we are all forced to remain in a specific routine. Anali also has the same idea that the character ultimately conform because there is no escape from conformity and any attempt at escape will end miserably.
I just wanted to add that the reason I think most people believe its only woman that are portrayed negatively is because the men have a calmer character which they misinterpret. Their calm character is due to them feeling apathetic or their lack of willingless to try hard. Women, on the other hand, have a stronger character, which is more clearly negative because they are even cruel at times. Although I view both genders as unsympathetic, if I had to choose, I'd say the men are portrayed as the least sympathetic because they give up easier than women and don't make as much of an effort to fulfill their goals. Therefore, men themselves carry more of the blame for why they are who they are than women because woman seem to try harder to acheive their goals.
I have to agree with gina. Every character has its flaws. It all depends the way you see the charcter. For exmple take the woman in little green monster. She destroys something that loves her, but to her specifically it was destorying her. We don't get into being the character. Why should we keep something that we don't want?The man of the second backery attack lets his wife control him. Yet, he needs his wife to be stronger. So in a way the control of the wife makes the man stronger. So the woman in sleep and the second backery attack are both portrayed strong. Also, you can't say that " hey well since the girl makes the guy stronger, then the guys are weak for being influenced by the girl." Wrong! because in reality the girl needs the guy as much as the guy needs the girl. For example, the girl in little green monster would not have realized what she wanted if the little green monster had never appeared and the guy in the second backery attack would have not ever got rid of his past if it wasn't for the womans perstistance of attacking the McDonalds. So overall we all need each other for the weak and strong moments within us.
this is nancy catalan.
This is Alicia.
I agree with Magaly and Brian. Women lean more toward sympathy tham men. In "Sleep" there's alot of sympathy. First of, she cant control her sleep. Yes she does her routine but at the end she tries to escape. She might have been tossed side to side in her car but at least she did the effort and tried(making her sympathetic). In "Elephant Vanishes," the protagonist doesn't even try to go after the girl met. Instead, he surrender to the "pragmatic world."
This is Miriam M.
I believe that Murakami potrays both men and women negatively.
The reason is because women are potrayed negatively in "The second bakery attack" and "TV people" since in the second bakery attack the wife is the one who motivates the husband to rob McDonald's. In tv people the wife leaves the husband home alone which potray women negative and inconsiderate of their husbands.
However, Men are potrayed as inconsiderate in "Little Green Monster" and "Sleep" since they are responsible for their wives entrapment. Since they leave from home which is the initiation to the routine, the routine itself is what causes the entrapment and loneliness in the women.
I also agree with Gina's statement that "In On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning and Little Green Monster both characters are scared of love and hurt themselves by not being open to it." This leads us to feel some sort of sympathy towards both men and women which leads us to believe that both are potrayed negatively evenly.
I agree with magalys statement that the men are portrayed as submissive to the women in their lives. It is for this reason though that I see men as sympathetic because they are the victim of their controlling wives who are portrayed unsympathetic. This is seen clearly in TV people because from the very beginning we really get a clear picture of how much he cares for the wife’s approval seeing as how his home as just been invaded by strangers and all he can think of is how the wife is going to react . If it is assumed that the wife does leave him at the end he is more sympathetic because even though he cares so much for her she just leaves. Another story where women are portrayed as unsympathetic is little green monster. Murakami clearly meant to tug at our hearts by having the little green monster killed so violently and still proclaiming his undying love for her. If it assumed that the monster represents men then the way in which the woman treats the monster can be seen as manifestation of how women treat the men in their that have unconditional love for them and are treated horrible. In the end, I would have to agree that Murakami does have a really bad opinion of women and love making love into a weapon women use against men to destroy them.
This is Angelica
Although I agree with Diana to a certain extent, I have to say Murakami is more lenian towards portraying men as negavitely. We can see this in the stories "On Seeing 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" and "Second Bakery Attack."
In "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning" the male character is portrayed as a coward. We can clearly see this when the narrator says, "that is what I should have said." The author portrayed the narrator as a cowar because he did not have the courage to speak to that perfect girl and is left with regret later.
In "Second Bakery Attack," the male character is also portrayed negatively because he is also portrayed as a coward. We can see his cowardness when he asks his wife, "“Do we really have to do this?” and she responds with “Of course we do.” Here the narrator is also a cowar because he did not have the courage to tell his wife "no I don't want to do it." He just followed to what she said even though he did not want to do it.
Therefore, the author portrays men as cowards.
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