Comparing Midori And Pilgrimage Essay

We live in a world that is fast paced and has a constant stream of choices all following each other. We rarely give the time to reflect on and understand the decisions we make. Most are content with living life, trying to get by with the technical knowledge they know, and a superficial understanding of one’s self. However, Murakami, in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, argues that in order to understand and be confident in one’s self, one has to confront truths about themselves and the world around them, or else be consumed by self-doubt. Murakami accomplishes this by playing around with the genres of coming-of-age and literary realism, describing the disparity in Tsukuru’s self-worth and his friends opinion of him, using
“Each individual has their own unique color, which shines faintly around the contours of their body. Like a halo. Or a backlight. I’m able to see those colors clearly … it’s not innate; it’s a temporary ability. You get it in exchange of imminent death. And it’s passed along from one person to the next.” (77). The speaker, Midorikawa, describes people as having an aura of their personality based on color. This is reflective of the wide variety of personality people have and goes counter to Tsukuru’s belief that some people, such as himself, can be without any notable personality traits. This argument points to how anyone can find, no matter how deep within themselves, what makes them unique. Murakami also points out that having this capability is not something we can inherently understand. Those that are closest to death, such as the elderly, have had enough time to go through and understand their impact on life. It is the time and experience that one has gained that allows one to gain an understanding of the world and themselves. The key point is the experience, since time is inevitable. Experience gained about the world lets one confront truths about reality and face them, confident in their ability to find an