The Short Stories Of Haruki Murakami English Literature Essay

The Short Stories Of Haruki Murakami English Literature EssayWithin The Elephant Vanishes, an anthology of wretched stories by Haruki Murakami, and The Outsider, a novel by Albert Camus, culture is examined and the reader is invited to see culture as following set rules and usages. with the protagonists, the reader understands that culture observes these behaviours with out(a) question and in doing so are robotic. One of the ways this idea is beef up through references to sustenance. Food is shown to join people ceremoniously and who you share your forage with reveals insights about the culture in which you live.Through the action of the texts and first person narratives the protagonist is established as different to the culture. In the short story, Sleep, the protagonist noted, I went to the living room, switched on the floor lamp beside the sofa, and sat at that place suck uping a adept glass of brandy (page 84). Although she enjoys alcohol, she has to drink by stealth. She is restricted in her freedom to enjoy alcohol because her keep up does not approve of it. Her husbands occupation as a dentist precludes her from eating coffee bean beans until an accidental reminder of old chocolate flakes wedged between the pages of the book I found a few crumbling flakes of chocolate stuck between the pages (page 90). She was accordingly inspired to free herself from the shackles of her husbands dental fraternity norms. She shamelessly indulged herself on this pleasure impulsively, I felt a tremendous urge to have the real thing (page 90).In Sleep, timing for lunch is precisely at eleven forty, I looked at my watch. Eleven Forty. Eleven Forty (Page 91, Elephant Vanishes, Sleep). The typical type of food was, minced scallionsbuckwheat noodlesdried seaweedtofu (page 91). The reference to the exact time and the type of lunch indicate routine. Cup of coffeetwo slices of bread, spread them with butter and mustard, and had a cheese sandwich (Page 89), somethi ng which the protagonist wishes to escape from. It is only when she breaks with the stodgy rules that she feels as though she is living. The husband sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper shows the cultural routine of people in their everyday life, While I cleared the table, my husband sat on the sofa reading the paper (page 92). I made my husband his usual coffee (page 89). The protagonist is aware of cultural expectations of which her husband doggedly adhere to living through the same routine every day. Anna Karenina lay there beside him, but he didnt seem to notice. He had no interest in whether I read books (Page 92). The husband did not pay attention to his wifes interests or in the concomitant that it was his own book, which she was reading. It is the routine and monotony that he is occupied with the protagonist lives through every day doing whatever gives her pleasure. This rarity of freedom inevitably leads her to pursuit food for pleasure era the husband, so ingrai ned in routine, appears robotic.Although food symbolic representationically represents routine in The Outsider, it also establishes Meursault as an remoter of the culture. Both of Mersaults friends, Masson and Raymonds immoral behaviour has the culture classify them as outsiders. collectable to their unusual behaviours, when these people meet to enjoy food together, it demonstrates that they encompass similar characteristics of personalities which are deemed unconventional from cultural expectations. The protagonist drinks wine to accompany food with Raymond and Masson (page 53). In this context, drinking alcohol is an acceptable practice and culture, both for men and women where it was observed by Mersault that Marie, his girlfriend shed had a bit too much to drink (page 53). However, the fact that when Marie, commented, Do you know what time it is? It is half past eleven (page 53 The Outsider), a fact acknowledged by Masson when he responded, the time to have lunch is when you a re hungry (page 53 The Outsider), indicates that for Masson, food is an individuals choice not regulated by expectations of a fixed schedule.At his home, Mersault appears to prefer smoking, and eating chocolates during mealtimes (page 26) The Outsider, while he watched the people below his flat from his veranda. In the text, Meursualt made contemplative observations of people that were dressed otherwise within the local community that went passed the street, He was wearing a straw hat and a state tie and carrying a go-stick I understand why local people said he was fantastic (page 25-26). This reveals the distinct behaviour of Meursault alongside the normal behaviours of the culture.Similarly, Meursault was also recognised by the individuals that went passed the street, The local girls, with their hair down, were walking arms in arms I knew several of the girls and they waved to me. (page 27). Later in the evening Mersault went down to steal some bread and some pasta, did my cooking and I ate standing up (page 28, The Outsider), a berth of which is not dictated by conformist practice. Mersaults behaviour and insights reveal how individuals within the community stand out by their mere appearance that are easily recognisable that identifies them to be different or distinguishable.In addition, Meursault does fix his eating schedule by a particular time. This further confirms that he is an unplanned and disorganize person unlike the robot woman (page 45-46) The Outsider. The robot woman while she was waiting for her hors doeuvre she opened her adhesive frictiontook the exact sum plus a tipmeticulous task occupied her throughout the meal (page 46) The Outsider. The robot woman contradicts Meursaults character, in that he would rather follow his distinctiveness with regards to most of his decisions about when, how, where and what to eat. The robot women on the other hand, showed the characteristics of order and direction when she ordered her meal, She call ed Celeste over and ordered her whole meal at once, speaking precisely but rapidly. (page 46) of which afterwards she dived into her bag again and took out a blue draw and a magazine which gave the radio create by mental acts for the week. One by one, she very carefully ticked almost every programme (page 46). From this rigmarole, the robot womans actions seem to follow a set of routine.In the story, The Second Bakery Attack, the protagonists were newly unify and did not pre-empt stocking food in their house, Our refrigerator contains not a single item that could be technically categorized as food (page 37). a bottle of French dressing, six cans of beer, two shrivelled onions, a stick of butter, and a box refrigerator deodorizer (page 37). This is a symbol of how empty their lives are. Although they work, go to bed at set times, conforming to the routines of work, they are metaphorically, unsatisfied. The couples conformist behaviour seems to set them to their hunger. In order to find a cure to break their hunger, the couple opposed convention by robbing Mc Donalds, Attack another bakery. properly away. Now. Its the only way. (page 43). During the robbery, the manager of the store showed typical characteristics of conventionality by the requirements of conformation from the upper authority saying, I cant do that. Ill be held responsible if I close up without permission (Page 46). From this, it shows that the large majority of the culture such as the manager and workers are similar to the robot woman in that their lives are dictated by order and routine and only a very small equalizer of people operate in a non-conformist mode.Finally, in The Wind-up Bird and Tuesdays Women, the protagonist cooks spaghetti for breakfast. He chooses to live outside the routine of the culture and this is reflected by his choice of cooking and eating spaghetti in the morning, Spaghetti? Its only ten-thirty in the morning. What are you doing cooking spaghetti at ten-thirty in the morning? (page 5, The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesdays Women) asked the woman who telephoned home for ten minutes of his time.In both The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami and The Outsider by Albert Camus, food are focused as a symbol that represents routine or an individuals desire to have freedom. The role of the characters is reflected in the type of food they chose to eat, where and when the repartee of food takes place. When any of these involvements of food varies, one can discern that these characters may be quirky, eccentric or complete in their relationship to the larger culture.(Word Count 1428)