User:Zheng Rose/A Wild Sheep Chase

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== Plot summary ==

This quasi-detective tale follows an unnamed, chain-smoking narrator and his adventures in Tokyo and Hokkaido in 1978. The story begins when the recently divorced protagonist, an advertisement executive, publishes a photo of a pastoral scene sent to him in a confessional letter by his long-lost friend, 'Rat.' He is contacted by a mysterious man representing 'The Boss,' a central force behind Japan's political and economic elite, who is now slowly dying. The Boss' secretary tells him that a strange sheep with a star-shaped birthmark, pictured in the advertisement, was in some way the secret source of the Boss' power and that he has two months to find that sheep or his career and life will be ruined. The narrator and his girlfriend, who possesses magically seductive and supernaturally perceptive ears, travel to the north of Japan to find the sheep and his vagabond friend. As he discovers that he is chasing an unknowable power that has been exerting its influence for decades, he encounters figures from his own past, unusual characters, and individuals who have encountered the sheep before.

Character Lists

Protagonist- The protagonist of this novel is the typical narrator of Haruki Murakami's stories. He is sent out on a journey to Hokkaido to find a special sheep with a birthmark in the shape of a star.

The Girlfriend- The protagonist sought her out after seeing a photo of her ears. He has some kind of fascination with her ears. She usually covers them with her hair. Even though her ears work perfectly fine, she says that they are "blocked" and "dead". She joins the protagonist on his journey to find the sheep, but she was driven out of the Rat's residence in Hokkaido by the Sheep Man.

The Boss- The Boss is one of the people that got possessed by the special sheep. He built an "underground kingdom" after being possessed by the sheep, but he is about to die because of large cyst in his brain after the sheep left him.

The Secretary- The Boss’s secretary is the one who sought out the protagonist and ordered the protagonist to find the special sheep.

The Chauffeur- The Chauffeur frequently uses the God’s telephone number that he received from the Boss. He also gave the phone number to the protagonist and encouraged him to use it. The Chauffeur names the protagonist’s nameless cat, Kipper, and becomes the cat’s caregiver while the protagonist sets outs on his journey.

J- J is a close friend of the protagonist and the Rat. J owns 3 bars, which is where the protagonist and the Rat usually goes to drink.

The Ainu Youth- The Ainu Youth is from Sapporo, and he helped a group of Japanese farmers from Tsugaru establish a new settlement that will eventually be called Junitaki Village, where the Protagonist find the Rat and his residence.

The Rat- The Rat is the protagonist’s friend. He sent 2 letters to the protagonist. It was revealed that the Rat was the last person who got possessed by the sheep. In order to prevent the sheep from controlling other people, the Rat committed suicide when the sheep was asleep inside of him.

The Sheep Man- The Sheep Man showed up one day in the Rat’s residence in rural Hokkaido while the Protagonist was staying in the Rat's empty home. The Sheep Man is short and talks fast. He exhibits the Rat’s habit of looking at his hands. The protagonist later exposed the Sheep Man as the Rat in disguise.

Sheep Professor- The Sheep Professor is the Dolphin Hotel owner’s father. He was very academically successful, and he was chosen to work on sheep agriculture for the Japanese army. However he was dismissed because of his involvement with sheep. The sheep professor was the first character in the story to be possessed by the special sheep.

Dolphin Hotel Owner- The Dolphin Hotel Owner connects the protagonist to his father, the Sheep Professor, when the protagonist and his girlfriend was staying at his hotel. The Dolphin Hotel owner said he named his hotel was named after dolphins from Moby Dicks .

Interpretation

In an article published by Manusya: Journal, the author claimed that the structure of the novel and lack of resolution creates a Labyrinth experience for the readers. The ending is open ended and allows for a cycle of various interpretations, similar to a labyrinth. The following are different interpretations that scholars have come up with:

• Some scholars used leadership studies to analyze the role of the sheep. The Boss was just a regular person in Junitakivillage before being possessed by the sheep, but he reached the top of society after being possessed by the sheep. The authors interpreted the sheep as a magical being that bestows the characters the qualities of a strong leader.
• Another scholar argued that the sheep represents Western consumerism that overtook Japan after the postwar period, and the characters in the novel must struggle against it to form their own individual identity.
• Another scholar argued that Murakami's story is generally written in the magical realism genre, and each character reflects Murakami's own search for identity along with the characters. Both the Boss and the Sheep Professor were basically immobile after the sheep left them, which symbolizes that the sheep took a part of their identities. In the case of the Rat, he tried to keep his own identity even though he recognizes his own weaknesses by killing himself while the sheep was sleeping inside of him. In doing so, the wild sheep chase comes to an end, and the protagonist is left to reflect on his own inner self.