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Book 1, Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Reality and Subjective Experience
Free Will
Desire and Irrationality
The Personal Impact of War
Social Alienation
Summary
Analysis
Toru does not know what to make of the relationship between Kumiko and her brother Noboru. Toru hates Noboru and has nothing positive to say about him. However, although Kumiko understands his position, her feelings towards her brother are more complicated because they are related At this point, Kumiko has almost no reason to speak to her brother because Toru got into a big fight with Kumiko’s father and shut off all communication with her immediate family afterward. After the fight, Toru told Kumiko that she was welcome to still visit her family without him, but she never did; she is not particularly fond of her immediate family and has no desire to visit them.
This section of the novel explains the dynamic between the three key players in the novel: Toru, Kumiko, and Noboru. Although Toru has separated himself from Kumiko’s family, Kumiko does not care; she understands why he would do so. In fact, it seems she may have welcomed Toru’s split from the family, as it allowed Kumiko to distance herself from her family, as well. Social alienation is a major theme in the novel, which repeatedly features individuals who experience feelings of alienation after they start others out of their lives. It may be true that Kumiko and Toru are better off without Kumiko’s family; however, estranging themselves from them also decreases the number of connections they have with the outside world.
Themes
Generally, Kumiko and Noboru are not close because Noboru is nine years Kumiko’s senior. Additionally, Kumiko’s parents sent her to live with her grandmother when she was three years old, while Noboru stayed with his immediate family in Tokyo. Her parents told Kumiko that she was sent away because she was unhealthy, and they thought she could benefit from an area with cleaner air than Tokyo.
The loneliness that characterized Kumiko’s upbringing explains why she was never close to her parents and Noboru in the first place; she barely saw them as a child, so it does not make much difference to her as an adult.
Themes
However, as an adult, Kumiko is skeptical of her parents’ explanation. In reality, Kumiko thinks her parents sent her to live with her grandmother as a sort of peace offering. Apparently, Kumiko’s mother and grandmother do not like each other. However, Kumiko’s parents thought that sending Kumiko to live with her grandmother for some time would quell her grandmother’s rage. For the most part, Kumiko looks back on her time with her grandmother with great fondness. However, after several years, Kumiko’s parents requested that she return to Tokyo to live with them. In the weeks leading up to Kumiko’s return, her grandmother became angry and abusive. Often, she spoke poorly about Kumiko’s mother in front of Kumiko.
Given that Kumiko’s parents treated her as a peace offering, it is unsurprising that she does not care for them as an adult. The relationship between Kumiko’s grandmother and her mother mirrors the relationship between Toru and Kumiko’s father—the only difference is that no peace offering exists between Toru and Kumiko’s father. Although Kumiko’s grandmother was largely a good guardian, the end of their relationship is troubling and surely left Kumiko with some psychological strife. After all, her grandmother was the one family member she was close to, and now that relationship is gone.
Themes
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Kumiko had a tough time dealing with her grandmother and began to shut herself off from the outside world. She did her best to black out anything that happened in the months leading up to her return to Tokyo. Once she returned to Tokyo, Kumiko had a tough time readjusting to live with her parents and siblings. Then, a few years later, Kumiko’s sister died, which made matters even worse. At this point, Kumiko realized that she could never be happy in Tokyo like she did with her grandmother.
Kumiko’s sister is an important figure in the novel, although she only appears a few times. Notably, Kumiko barely knew her sister. Kumiko and her sister did not grow up together, so they only knew each other for a few years before Kumiko’s sister died. Again, Kumiko’s difficult childhood contextualizes her decision not to stay in touch with her family.
Themes
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Meanwhile, Noboru’s childhood was quite different from Kumiko’s. Kumiko’s father treated Noboru with more respect than his daughter and clearly favored him. Kumiko’s father has an unwavering set of beliefs about the nature of society and the place that men hold within it. He believes that despite the democratic nature of Japan, the strong—which he defines in traditionally masculine terms—will always triumph over the weak. As such, he trains Noboru to conform to his idea of strength. In the eyes of Kumiko’s father, life is not worth living unless one can count oneself among the elite members of society.
Noboru is worth more to Kumiko’s father than Kumiko or her sister simply because he is a man. Kumiko’s father’s philosophy comes directly from World War II-era Japanese politics. In the 1930s and 1940s, Japan was an ultranationalist, fascist nation, much like Italy and Germany. Even though Japan became a democracy following the war, Kumiko’s father is stuck in the ways of the past, which he does his best to pass on to Noboru.
Themes
Like Kumiko’s father, Kumiko’s mother also cares a great deal about her family’s social standing. In particular, she considers it her job to maintain the family’s public image. As such, although she treated Noboru with a great deal of affection, she was also quite hard on him, especially regarding his schoolwork. Because of the pressure his family put on him, Noboru found it difficult to make friends or relate to other kids his age. Instead, he focused diligently on his studies.
Although Noboru’s family treated him better than they treated Kumiko, his childhood was by no means easy. As the only male child, his parents expected a lot of him, and he worked hard to live up to their lofty expectations. Like many characters in the novel, Noboru’s lifestyle led him to social isolation; he had no one to talk to and became entirely self-reliant.
Themes
As an adult, Noboru’s parents arranged a wedding for him. However, he divorced the woman they chose after only two years. At the same time, Noboru made his way through several elite universities. Always, he was at the top of his class, and people quickly considered him a genius. While still young, Noboru published a book on contemporary economics, which made him famous. Noboru’s celebrity status surprised Toru and Kumiko, who do not think he is suited for the role of public intellectual. As an adult, Noboru is a peculiar and cold man who lacks the social skills one would expect from someone whose job is to interact with the public.
For most of his childhood and early adulthood, Noboru does not make his own choices; his parents choose everything for him, including whom he marries. His parents’ decisions only increase his social alienation, which is why it is surprising to Toru and Kumiko that he becomes a public intellectual. However, his divorce marks his choice to depart from the expectations of his parents and society to forge his own path.
Themes
Toru thinks that part of Noboru’s success comes from the fact that no one knows what he is actually talking about. Although Noboru is a skilled speaker, Toru thinks that his arguments are too abstract and hard to pin down to be of any use. As far as Toru can tell, Noboru only argues to win and is fine with twisting his positions if he maintains a rhetorical edge over his opponents.
It is difficult to know how accurately Toru assesses Noboru because Toru is so biased against his brother-in-law, and Noboru does not debate anyone in the novel. However, based on Toru’s description, it seems that debate is merely a game for Noboru. Because Noboru adopted his father’s philosophy, he defines personal success as defeating those he (and broader society) deems weaker than himself.
Themes
Toru did not meet Noboru for the first time until he decided to marry Kumiko. Instead of asking Kumiko’s father’s permission, Toru went to Noboru. Noboru accepted a meeting with Toru and told him he could marry Kumiko. However, Noboru also clarified that he did not care about Toru and did not plan to be a part of their lives. In fact, he was surprised that Toru came to speak with him because he did not think the wedding was any of his business. Noboru’s attitude shocks Toru, and he immediately dislikes him. Right away, Toru decides he wants nothing to do with Noboru, just as Noboru wants nothing to do with him.
Toru’s limited perspective on Toru’s character and history makes it vital to question his impressions of Noboru. Most of what Toru knows about his brother-in-law comes from Kumiko. Of course, Toru’s opinions count for something, and there is no doubt that Noboru is the novel’s villain. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize that there is so much Toru does not know, which makes Noboru an enigmatic figure in the story.
Themes
