Green Monster

“The Little Green Monster” Literary Analysis Short stories are always much more difficult to review compared to novels, simply because the author uses so many metaphors and symbols within. Usually the audience reads it, and then analyzes it as a whole. In “The Little Green Monster” Haruki Murakami tells a story about a strange green monster that digs it way out from under the soil to ask the heroine to marry him. She responds in a very repulsed way stating that “It is rude and presumptuous” along with “What a rude little creature you are to come seeking my love!” (153), even though the little monster meant her no harm. The heroine then starts to kill the monster (who can read her mind) with her evil thoughts, until there is nothing left. Murakami uses symbolism, imagery, metaphors and little figurative language to prove that society as a whole tends to reject and dislike anything that is different or unfamiliar. Murakami’s stories are always stocked up in symbols, leaving it up to the audience to decide for themselves what the story may mean. Many short stories use similar techniques because it leaves a lot of possibilities for the actual mean, and is very ‘abstract’. Murakami doesn’t hesitate to throw in symbols in his very first paragraph when he writes “of all the things in my garden, the one I looked at most was the Oak Tree. It was my special favorite, I had planted it when I was a little girl and watched it grow.” (152) Oak trees are viewed upon as ‘big’ and ‘strong’, they usually symbolize stability, strength, tolerance, etc. This Oak tree could very well be used to represent society. Society is steady, unchanging and sometimes very resistant towards change. The tree suggests that society, as it has always been, will resist and hold up anything that could possibly change it. Since Oak tresses have stability, it represents society as stubborn. The color green may also have something to do with society or maybe just separate individuals. Green is often