Lieutenant Mamiya’s Contributions to the Plot and Characterization as a Minor Character in Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
In Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, a character named Lieutenant Mamiya plays a minor role, but presents critical contributions to the unfolding of Toru Okada's quest. The fact that Lieutenant Mamiya is present only during the first half of the novel reflects Murakami's intent of showing the relative insignificance of this character. But with Murakami's intent comes Murakami's subtlety as well. The character of Lieutenant Mamiya does not essentially wear out as the novel progresses; on the contrary, it becomes emphasized in subtle ways. Lieutenant Mamiya fades, physically, but his influence gets magnified as the story unfolds. Through his physical absence, the pulse of his heart is heard louder, clearer.
Before Lieutenant Mamiya graces Toru’s home with his presence, Toru feels quite uneasy towards the way Kumiko is behaving lately. He starts feeling upset when he smells the sweet yet unfamiliar fragrance that was adorned on Kumiko that one morning. Confusion coupled with suspicion consumes Toru in trying to figure out who could have given such an expensive and valuable perfume to his wife without his knowledge about it at all. He finds himself extremely emotionally and mentally bothered: "That does it. No need to ask the question, no need to be concerned. Except I was concerned."1 Toru tries to convince himself that a friend of Kumiko gave her the perfume, but a gut feeling inside him tells him otherwise.
Toru gets frustrated when the feeling of uneasiness starts to play all kinds of tricks with his mind, causing him to subconsciously fall into a state of helplessness. Murakami carefully synchronizes the timing of this particular scene with the entrance of Lieutenant Mamiya. The choice to fuse these characters together in that certain moment reflects the author's desire to have a minor character "interrupt" a major character in a time where clarity of mind isn't at its peak.
Lieutenant Mamiya enters the novel by literally entering the house of Toru Okada. Murakami purposefully sets this scene as it is to clearly present how the lieutenant is warmly welcomed by Toru: "I showed him to the living room couch and served him a cup of green tea." (Murakami 4, p.130), setting aside the fact that they know nothing about one another. Toru treats Lieutenant Mamiya as an honored guest, which foreshadows the Lieutenant’s role in Toru’s life—a guest of honor.
In the novel, Lieutenant Mamiya puts in his two cents’ worth but is valued a whole lot more as the plot progresses. His contributions as a minor character are divided and thrown into two main aspects: characterization and plot. These two divisions give essence to how the plot unravels. Under Lieutenant Mamiya’s contributions to characterization, two key ideas are present.
The first is how Lieutenant Mamiya eases his way in Toru’s life through a link that connects him toToru. The thread of anonymity between two strangers easily breaks when the two men start to converse with each other about Mr.Honda. The history with Mr.Honda which both Lieutenant Mamiya and Toru possess commences a strong connection between the two. Murakami creates the Lieutenant with a background that relates closely to Mr.Honda: “'I fully realize how presumptuous this is of me, but I do hope that you will be so kind as to think of it as my dying wish, and exert yourself this one last time for my sake.' ” (Murakami 4, p.132), to reach this point where it is Lieutenant Mamiya whom Mr.Honda entrusts his valued keepsakes to be distributed to people, as what is quoted from Mr.Honda’s letter.
The contribution of Lieutenant Mamiya to Toru may have started with Mr.Honda's keepsakes, but that was only preliminary. Beneath the keepsakes, a bridge between the late Mr.Honda and Toru surfaces, taking in the human form of Lieutenant Mamiya. Murakami purposefully sets this in the scene to reflect the supporting fact he conveys about Lieutenant Mamiya's close connection with Mr.Honda. Prior to Toru meeting the Lieutenant, the readers already know that Mr.Honda was a person very much valued by both Toru and his wife, Kumiko. And for Lieutenant to serve as the bridge between the living and the deceased, it almost seems as if Mr.Honda is emerging from his grave. The importance of Mr.Honda's words, as have been always carried out carefully by Toru and Kumiko, continues to have its effect on Toru's life because of the bridge of communication served by Lieutenant Mamiya.
Lieutenant Mamiya’s second contribution to characterization is presented when he brings in with him a vast historical background, filled with horrifying experiences that will always be embedded in his memory, and incidents that have changed his life: “I came back to Japan, having lost my hand and twelve precious years. By the time I arrived in Hiroshima, my parents and my sister were long since dead.” (Murakami 3, p.170) Not only did he literally lose his hand, but he was robbed of his time with his family. It was a past that greatly affected his present and his future. Lieutenant’s stories about how he endured the war in Japan affects Toru’s way of thinking, philosophically. Taking into consideration the idea that Lieutenant Mamiya had seen the cruelest events in the book, Toru beholds a more sincere respect for both the Lieutenant and Mr.Honda. The stories that were told gave Toru a philosophical insight on life:
As Mr.Honda said at the time, a person's destiny is something you look back at afterward, not something to be known in advance. I do believe this, however: now it makes no difference either way. All I am doing now is fulfilling my obligation to go on living. (Murakami 4, p. 171)
Toru's destiny is not something to be known in advance, as what Lieutenant Mamiya concludes after telling his long historical story. Toru's quest revolves around that certain idea, as he pursues his search for his cat, his wife, and for living.
The tales of the Lieutenant’s brutal historical past segues into the exploration of one of his contributions to the plot itself. Lieutenant Mamiya appears to initially serve as a messenger of the late Mr. Honda, driven by his orders to relay a message that goes with the keepsakes to be handed to Toru. But Lieutenant’s present comes with a powerful past, a long historical account of a vital period of Japan's military past--the Soviet Advance that took place on August 1945, and the war that preceded it. Lieutenant Mamiya tells these events in an incredibly detailed manner, communicating a sense of utmost importance to Toru and to the readers. The account of Lieutenant’s story is a rather lengthy one, which prompts readers to consider just how vital this part of the book was, in terms of the plot being driven further by a relatively less significant character. As the plot progresses, Toru takes on an incident that can only be seen as a reflection to another contribution served by Lieutenant Mamiya. This occurrence takes place when Toru sets himself to be enclosed in a deep, dry well. This well comes off as the most symbolic element in the novel, based on how it manages to twist and turn the flow of the plot. The significance of the well is given more essence with the fact that it was Lieutenant Mamiya who fed the idea of the well to Toru. Indirectly, maybe, but the idea was spurred from the Lieutenant nonetheless: “I remained there, still, in the bottom of the hole. It was all I could do. I couldn’t even think, so profound were my feelings of loneliness and despair. I sat there doing nothing, thinking nothing.” (Murakami 3, p.166) This quotation foreshadows what is to become of Toru later on in the novel. Little did Toru know that soon loneliness, despair, and the lack of ability to think straight would be greeting him, and that he would succumb to the mad idea of setting himself in a well similar to what the Lieutenant was situated in. Lieutenant Mamiya's presence as a minor character ignites such a strong flame which heats up the plot.
Lieutenant Mamiya plays a minor character, but because parts of his story get invoked through out the novel, a higher recognition crowns him. Toru’s perception on life is illuminated by Mr.Honda’s words, as delivered by Lieutenant Mamiya. The historical events in the Lieutenant’s life proved to have bore great significance in setting the plot within the context of the novel. Toru's destiny with the well parallels Lieutenant Mamiya's time spent in one back in Mongolia, which carries the plot to a climax. The occurrences that take place in the story will fail to progress and develop without Lieutenant Mamiya’s subtle deliverance of events that reveal critical importance to the unfolding of the plot. Lieutenant Mamiya’s influence on the quest of Toru makes up for his physical absence. Murakami presents him as a minor character in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but a minor character one gifted with major authority, and not just militarily speaking.
Works Cited:
1 Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, (New York, 1998), p.128
In Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, a character named Lieutenant Mamiya plays a minor role, but presents critical contributions to the unfolding of Toru Okada's quest. The fact that Lieutenant Mamiya is present only during the first half of the novel reflects Murakami's intent of showing the relative insignificance of this character. But with Murakami's intent comes Murakami's subtlety as well. The character of Lieutenant Mamiya does not essentially wear out as the novel progresses; on the contrary, it becomes emphasized in subtle ways. Lieutenant Mamiya fades, physically, but his influence gets magnified as the story unfolds. Through his physical absence, the pulse of his heart is heard louder, clearer.
Before Lieutenant Mamiya graces Toru’s home with his presence, Toru feels quite uneasy towards the way Kumiko is behaving lately. He starts feeling upset when he smells the sweet yet unfamiliar fragrance that was adorned on Kumiko that one morning. Confusion coupled with suspicion consumes Toru in trying to figure out who could have given such an expensive and valuable perfume to his wife without his knowledge about it at all. He finds himself extremely emotionally and mentally bothered: "That does it. No need to ask the question, no need to be concerned. Except I was concerned."1 Toru tries to convince himself that a friend of Kumiko gave her the perfume, but a gut feeling inside him tells him otherwise.
Toru gets frustrated when the feeling of uneasiness starts to play all kinds of tricks with his mind, causing him to subconsciously fall into a state of helplessness. Murakami carefully synchronizes the timing of this particular scene with the entrance of Lieutenant Mamiya. The choice to fuse these characters together in that certain moment reflects the author's desire to have a minor character "interrupt" a major character in a time where clarity of mind isn't at its peak.
Lieutenant Mamiya enters the novel by literally entering the house of Toru Okada. Murakami purposefully sets this scene as it is to clearly present how the lieutenant is warmly welcomed by Toru: "I showed him to the living room couch and served him a cup of green tea." (Murakami 4, p.130), setting aside the fact that they know nothing about one another. Toru treats Lieutenant Mamiya as an honored guest, which foreshadows the Lieutenant’s role in Toru’s life—a guest of honor.
In the novel, Lieutenant Mamiya puts in his two cents’ worth but is valued a whole lot more as the plot progresses. His contributions as a minor character are divided and thrown into two main aspects: characterization and plot. These two divisions give essence to how the plot unravels. Under Lieutenant Mamiya’s contributions to characterization, two key ideas are present.
The first is how Lieutenant Mamiya eases his way in Toru’s life through a link that connects him toToru. The thread of anonymity between two strangers easily breaks when the two men start to converse with each other about Mr.Honda. The history with Mr.Honda which both Lieutenant Mamiya and Toru possess commences a strong connection between the two. Murakami creates the Lieutenant with a background that relates closely to Mr.Honda: “'I fully realize how presumptuous this is of me, but I do hope that you will be so kind as to think of it as my dying wish, and exert yourself this one last time for my sake.' ” (Murakami 4, p.132), to reach this point where it is Lieutenant Mamiya whom Mr.Honda entrusts his valued keepsakes to be distributed to people, as what is quoted from Mr.Honda’s letter.
The contribution of Lieutenant Mamiya to Toru may have started with Mr.Honda's keepsakes, but that was only preliminary. Beneath the keepsakes, a bridge between the late Mr.Honda and Toru surfaces, taking in the human form of Lieutenant Mamiya. Murakami purposefully sets this in the scene to reflect the supporting fact he conveys about Lieutenant Mamiya's close connection with Mr.Honda. Prior to Toru meeting the Lieutenant, the readers already know that Mr.Honda was a person very much valued by both Toru and his wife, Kumiko. And for Lieutenant to serve as the bridge between the living and the deceased, it almost seems as if Mr.Honda is emerging from his grave. The importance of Mr.Honda's words, as have been always carried out carefully by Toru and Kumiko, continues to have its effect on Toru's life because of the bridge of communication served by Lieutenant Mamiya.
Lieutenant Mamiya’s second contribution to characterization is presented when he brings in with him a vast historical background, filled with horrifying experiences that will always be embedded in his memory, and incidents that have changed his life: “I came back to Japan, having lost my hand and twelve precious years. By the time I arrived in Hiroshima, my parents and my sister were long since dead.” (Murakami 3, p.170) Not only did he literally lose his hand, but he was robbed of his time with his family. It was a past that greatly affected his present and his future. Lieutenant’s stories about how he endured the war in Japan affects Toru’s way of thinking, philosophically. Taking into consideration the idea that Lieutenant Mamiya had seen the cruelest events in the book, Toru beholds a more sincere respect for both the Lieutenant and Mr.Honda. The stories that were told gave Toru a philosophical insight on life:
As Mr.Honda said at the time, a person's destiny is something you look back at afterward, not something to be known in advance. I do believe this, however: now it makes no difference either way. All I am doing now is fulfilling my obligation to go on living. (Murakami 4, p. 171)
Toru's destiny is not something to be known in advance, as what Lieutenant Mamiya concludes after telling his long historical story. Toru's quest revolves around that certain idea, as he pursues his search for his cat, his wife, and for living.
The tales of the Lieutenant’s brutal historical past segues into the exploration of one of his contributions to the plot itself. Lieutenant Mamiya appears to initially serve as a messenger of the late Mr. Honda, driven by his orders to relay a message that goes with the keepsakes to be handed to Toru. But Lieutenant’s present comes with a powerful past, a long historical account of a vital period of Japan's military past--the Soviet Advance that took place on August 1945, and the war that preceded it. Lieutenant Mamiya tells these events in an incredibly detailed manner, communicating a sense of utmost importance to Toru and to the readers. The account of Lieutenant’s story is a rather lengthy one, which prompts readers to consider just how vital this part of the book was, in terms of the plot being driven further by a relatively less significant character. As the plot progresses, Toru takes on an incident that can only be seen as a reflection to another contribution served by Lieutenant Mamiya. This occurrence takes place when Toru sets himself to be enclosed in a deep, dry well. This well comes off as the most symbolic element in the novel, based on how it manages to twist and turn the flow of the plot. The significance of the well is given more essence with the fact that it was Lieutenant Mamiya who fed the idea of the well to Toru. Indirectly, maybe, but the idea was spurred from the Lieutenant nonetheless: “I remained there, still, in the bottom of the hole. It was all I could do. I couldn’t even think, so profound were my feelings of loneliness and despair. I sat there doing nothing, thinking nothing.” (Murakami 3, p.166) This quotation foreshadows what is to become of Toru later on in the novel. Little did Toru know that soon loneliness, despair, and the lack of ability to think straight would be greeting him, and that he would succumb to the mad idea of setting himself in a well similar to what the Lieutenant was situated in. Lieutenant Mamiya's presence as a minor character ignites such a strong flame which heats up the plot.
Lieutenant Mamiya plays a minor character, but because parts of his story get invoked through out the novel, a higher recognition crowns him. Toru’s perception on life is illuminated by Mr.Honda’s words, as delivered by Lieutenant Mamiya. The historical events in the Lieutenant’s life proved to have bore great significance in setting the plot within the context of the novel. Toru's destiny with the well parallels Lieutenant Mamiya's time spent in one back in Mongolia, which carries the plot to a climax. The occurrences that take place in the story will fail to progress and develop without Lieutenant Mamiya’s subtle deliverance of events that reveal critical importance to the unfolding of the plot. Lieutenant Mamiya’s influence on the quest of Toru makes up for his physical absence. Murakami presents him as a minor character in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, but a minor character one gifted with major authority, and not just militarily speaking.
Works Cited:
1 Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, (New York, 1998), p.128