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Book 2, Chapter 15
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 contacts his uncle to disclose the truth about Kumiko. He also wants to inform his uncle that he must find a new place to live soon. Wanting to see what is going on for himself, Toru's uncle pays him a visit, and they talk about life and love. Toru’s uncle advises Toru to take his time to comprehend the more complex aspects of life. He recommends that Toru takes some time for himself when he can observe the world without having to actively participate in it. As always, Toru’s uncle is supportive and promises to help Toru with whatever he needs.
Although many of the most important people in Toru's life have gone away, his uncle remains a valuable resource and is willing to do anything to help Toru. The advice Toru's uncle provides is similar to Mr. Honda's. Essentially, he tells Toru not to fight against the world’s current and to go with the flow of whatever is happening around him. While this sentiment is freeing, it also means giving up control, which Toru has spent most of the novel trying to get.
Themes
Over the next few days, Toru takes his uncle’s advice and focuses on a simple task: observing. He selects a busy location in the city and attentively watches as people pass by. After a few days of people-watching, he discovers that he can observe intricate details about those around him without any distractions.
In a world of socially isolated individuals, Toru stands by himself and attempts to get to know his world better. After only a short time, his attempts prove successful, which means there is value in Mr. Honda’s and Toru’s uncle’s advice.
Themes
On the 11th day, Toru sees a man carrying a guitar case. Toru identifies the man as the musician he encountered during his business trip to Hokkaido when Kumiko had an abortion. Toru decides to follow the man, though he doesn’t know why. During his pursuit, Toru recognizes that everything changed drastically when Kumiko had the abortion. He realizes that he should think more about why Kumiko wanted an abortion so badly. That, he thinks, will be the key to fixing what has become of his relationship. Eventually, Toru tracks the musician to a quiet residential area and waits for some time before entering the apartment building.
Depending on how one chooses to read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, one could interpret the events of the story as a series of odd coincidences or as a series of events that a higher power is controlling. At the very least, the musician's presence is an extraordinary coincidence, especially given the musician’s importance to Toru’s framing of his life story.
Themes
However, when Toru finally enters, the musician attacks him with a baseball bat. Toru wrestles with the man and manages to wrench the bat from him. Toru hits the man with the bat repeatedly, inflicting severe wounds. Taking the bat with him, Toru departs. Upon returning home, he decides not to go to sleep because sleep would lead to distressing dreams. Loneliness engulfs him, and he longs for someone to reach out to him. Despite his efforts to stay awake, Toru eventually falls asleep and experiences a horrifying dream. In the dream, Toru follows the musician into his apartment building once again, and another altercation ensues. However, instead of leaving, Toru remains and witnesses the man laughing and peeling off his own skin. Toru wakes up determined to win Kumiko back.
This is yet another surreal and bizarre scene that one can read in a number of ways. First, it could be possible that the man Toru follows is not the musician and that Toru has made a mistake. Second, it could be the case that Toru correctly identifies the musician, but the musician does not recognize him. Regardless, it makes sense that the musician would attack Toru because he feels threatened. After all, Toru is following him. However, Toru’s aggression in return is harder to parse. Toru goes way overboard and hits the musician with the bat even after he is incapacitated. Perhaps he blames the musician for the abortion, which he has never come to terms with. Additionally, the dream about the man peeling off his skin recalls Mamiya’s earlier story about witnessing the Mongolian soldiers skin Yamamoto alive.
Themes
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