"Boku" in Number9Dream and The Reluctant Fundamentalist

After reading the two stories for class, I felt like the main character, Eiji, in Number9Dream was much less like Murakami's typical protagonist "Boku" than Changez in the Reluctant Fundamentalist. Even though, as many people pointed out in class and in the blog, Hamid did borrow many of Murakami's themes and actions in the excerpts of the novel we read, I think that he captured what people enjoy about Murakami and what is one of the most interesting aspects of his writing. 

The biggest difference in Changez and Boku is that Changez is extremely accomplished and would be considered as more than just average guy, as Boku typically is. But in many other aspects of his personality, they is the same. Changez practically watches his life occur from the sidelines, frequently without emotion. For example, when he describes Pakistan to Erica he said "I told her that I had driven with my parents and my brother to China...I told her that alcohol was illegal for Muslims to buy and so I had a Christian bootlegger...she said, 'You miss home.' I shrugged" (27). This non-plussed behavior is typical of Boku in Murakami, and an important aspect as it makes Boku appear more mysterious and removed from the rational world. Changez also acts as if he is unsure of his own feelings, saying that "perhaps it was this sense of protectiveness that prevented my attempting to kiss Erica; equally likely, it was the shyness and awe that accompany first love" (87). Here, Changez is offering multiple options to explain what he is doing, without offering any hints as to which one is *more* likely, which I believe is characteristic of Boku as well. 

This is compared to Eiji in Number9Dream, who I thought was more aware of himself and present in the world than Boku and Changez. He states his emotions instead of just contemplating them, saying "I am flattered" (102) when being offered a game of pool, which makes him seem for sure of himself than Boku. Eiji also says, about Yuzu, that "He is brilliant. I meant it." (102) which seems to me also more sure, and opinionated than something that either Boku or Changez would say. 

Overall, I think both stories were distinct from Murakami's novels, but the narrators had some particular distinctions that made one more Murakami-esque than the other. It was really interesting to compare them and look at the differences in Murakami's influences on both.

-Audrey