Discussion on Choice in A Wild Sheep Chase

 It took me a full day and a second read through of the final chapters of A Wild Sheep Chase to digest the ending of the novel. While the meeting between the Rat and Boku was fantastical, and its reality is difficult to prove, it made me reflect on the importance of choice in the story. After this scene, where Boku talks to a posthumous Rat in the rural house near Junitaki, I couldn't help but wonder about the importance of J, Boku, and the Rat. They are the only characters in the book that are (a least somewhat) named, and their friendship and reconnection dictate the plot of the later half of the book. Thinking about the differences in their life, I think a common denominator that separates them is choice. The Rat and Boku are certainly disillusioned by society, the need to conform, and the trivial elements of their lives, and it seems J is a foil to this. J's calm nature, happiness performing a simple job as bartender/owner, and wise words show an acceptance of the realities of life. The Rat and Boku, on the other hand, seem to constantly worry about not what they are doing, but why; and they handle this in opposing ways. In these three characters, Murakami lays out the 3 responses to being faced with choice in life. J represents acceptance of his choices and position in life. He is content where he is, and doesn't feel the need to ask why. The Rat represents resentment of choice, and as a result he runs away from his life to escape the feeling of being trapped. In the end, he runs to an early grave, as the need to chose costs him his life. Boku represents lack of choice. It seems he avoids concrete decisions at every turn, and drifts though life. This allows him into being manipulated into visiting the Rat, and this indecision costs him his wife, business, beautiful-eared girlfriend, and place in the world. He confronts his lack of decision making all at once, when he smashes that guitar. The anger he feels at having no control over his direction accumulates, and at the end of the story he releases himself. The assistant in the black suit reveals that he was guided, and he finally begins to assume responsibility for his future around the time he invested his money in J's Bar. His crying at the end is acceptance of his place, and though we do not see his actions once he assumes the weight of choice, it appears that he has undergone a metamorphosis.  

Andrew