that is not simply a victim of Japanese society that places emphasis on Tōru commercialism rather than personal relationships; he is also an active culprit in his isolation from others. disengagement from the outside world is evident throughout the novel. For Tōru’s example, when listening to the events on the news he states that they all events “were from some other, distant world. The only thing happening in my world was the rain falling in the of his inability to connect with others, the events and yard.” Because tragedies happening to those outside of his world do not interest him or evoke emotion from him. However, this does not mean that is emotionless or lacks human Tōru sensitivities. In fact, he feels intense almost chronic loneliness after – – Kumiko’s departure. He describes it as of loneliness. The very water I drank, the “a violent stab very air I breathed, would feel like it seems that his long, sharp needles.” Furthermore, desire to identify with another human being intensifies once he becomes conscious of the fact that he has not made any significant connections his entire life. wanted to talk to “I someone. I wanted someone to talk to me, just me…Call somebody, please anybody…I wanted someone to talk to Strecher recognizes that this melancholia and desperation me.” for human contact stems from his desire to find his identity through receiving acknowledgement of his own existence from someone separate from himself and his narrow world. This theme of loneliness, isolation, and desperation for human contact is not alone. It runs through nearly all characters in the novel, including May Kasahara, Tōru’s a young teenage girl who takes risks even potentially fatal ones just to feel alive. – – Most often found alone in her backyard sunbathing, she and begin an odd Tōru
that Tōru is not simply a victim of Japanese society that places emphasis on commercialism rather than personal relationships; he is also an active culprit in his isolation from others. Tōru’s disengagement from the outside world is evident throughout the novel. For example, when listening to the events on the news he states that they “were all events from some other, distant world. The only thing happening in my world was the rain falling in the yard.” Because of his inability to connect with others, the events and tragedies happening to those outside of his world do not interest him or evoke emotion from him. However, this does not mean that Tōru is emotionless or lacks human sensitivities. In fact, he feels intense – almost chronic – loneliness after Kumiko’s departure. He describes it as “a violent stab of loneliness. The very water I drank, the very air I breathed, would feel like long, sharp needles.” Furthermore, it seems that his desire to identify with another human being intensifies once he becomes conscious of the fact that he has not made any significant connections his entire life. “I wanted to talk to someone. I wanted someone to talk to me…Call me, somebody, please anybody…I just wanted someone to talk to me.” Strecher recognizes that this melancholia and desperation for human contact stems from his desire to find his identity through receiving acknowledgement of his own existence from someone separate from himself and his narrow world. This theme of loneliness, isolation, and desperation for human contact is not Tōru’s alone. It runs through nearly all characters in the novel, including May Kasahara, a young teenage girl who takes risks – even potentially fatal ones – just to feel alive. Most often found alone in her backyard sunbathing, she and Tōru begin an odd