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Abstract
As a well-loved modern writer in his native Japan, Haruki Murakami’s literatures also gain widespread popularity internationally. Compared to substantial researches focusing on his single novel, the topic on thinking shift of certain novels during a period are relatively fewer. According to Hear the Wind Sing, Pinball, 1973 and A Wild Sheep Chase, one of the most noticeable features in Haruki Murakami’s literatures is main characters’ “closure ”. Main characters always keep a certain distance from social interaction world, enjoying themselves in their own closed world. This closure lifestyle not only associates interpersonal isolation, but also reflects current condition nowadays. However, this closure feature seems to have turned in his subsequent novels after Norwegian Wood. With the emergence of someone who main characters want to interact, they show shift from closure mindset to living with others in the real world. This study focused on Norwegian Wood, South of the Border, West of the Sun, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Then, illustrated characters’ anxiety and mental change based on the examples of common plots’ repetitiveness, physical change inside the novels. When main characters’ mindset change, the study also explored issues “how they try to find ways out of closed world, further seeking possibilities in the real world” and “other characters’ survival modes”. After these analyses, the study concludes main characters’ growth from self-centeredness to fighting for others. Meanwhile, describes how to overcome life''s unexpected problems, inevitable difficulties in communication during interpersonal interaction, as well as the survival mode lived with others.
Keywords: Haruki Murakami, Closure, Derealization, Empathy, Recovery, Growth, Survival mode
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