In this life that we lead, what does matter? The pursuit of happiness? Scaling the ladder of success? The need to create a lasting legacy? In a capitalist world, where humans are but cogs and pawns, lives are mere statistical figures of consumption, and, cynicism fills the void left behind by emotions, it seems weird seeing a character that simultaneously embodies and criticises the role.
Nagasawa, the Japanese “golden boy” from Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood”, probably fits the bill the best. The protagonist’s dorm buddy, Nagasawa has a lot going on for him; he is a handsome, charming teen, academically brilliant with a marked admiration for Fitzgerald, has a caring girlfriend in Hatsumi, and, yeah, he is also filthy rich. However, being too good, with everything working out in your favour or being too evil and modelling your personality after that, is not a great way to win fans. And that is why Nagasawa does not suffer from either of these problems. He has but one flaw- he suffers from acute moral bankruptcy and hopeless cynicism. But that is not the worst part. The worst part is that he finds no solace in his moral depravity.
His calculated and permitted excesses are not enough to help him escape the dreary life of regimented Japan, and yet in a sense, he does not want to change or is unable to do so for the length of the novel. Too invested in this world, and at the same time, too detached from it, his actions stem from habit, albeit one he no longer enjoys. Devoid of any noble intentions, his actions, done for the sake of doing, feel rather disturbing as they accurately portray a man too wedded to his ideology to change.
For all his empty and grandiose philosophising, Nagasawa is not an authentic person. Too rooted in society's idea of an ideal student, Nagasawa struggles to identify what he wants and finds himself in a repetitive, fruitless cycle that goes to show the diminishing marginal utility of pleasure. Yeesh, and you would think a character written in 1986 would not resonate with people today.
Commentaires