Haruki Murakami’s “A Slow Boat to China” Short Stories: Images of Life and Style of Writing

Abstract

                This research has analyzed the images of life in and the style of writing of the selected seven short stories, “A Slow Boat to China”, written by Haruki Murakami during 1980-1982. The three images of life found in all short stories were 1. death 2. isolation and 3. confusion. The research also found that the images of life from the point of view of Murakami were different from those of Japanese traditional works. However, the behaviors of certain characters in some stories subtly reflected traditional Japanese culture especially in terms of “A-ma-e” (depending on others) and “Giri-gatasa” (a strong sense of obligation). Furthermore, this research also pointed out that Murakami’s style of writing was significant in rhythm, emphasis on the use of the first personal pronoun and simplicity.