In the book, ‘'The Mirror'' by Haruki Murakami, the setting of the story is in Japan. The narrator forms part of the story through giving various accounts of his early life experience. His life events are chronological beginning with his graduation from high school. After that, he joins a group of people referred to as the hippies who believed that the only honest way of living was to do manual jobs than going to college to further education. Another event he highlights is about him getting a job as a night watchman of a certain institution. One day on his usual rounds he explains how he experiences a supernatural event where he saw his reflection in a mirror despite it being a dark night. Also, the image was unusually different (Murakami, n.d). With regards to characterization; the narrator can be an important character in especially when telling the story as they give information based on their memory. The setting gives the mental picture while tone and detail elicit emotions from the audience.
Stalin is presented as ‘'haunting'' Moldova and Romania peculiarly. The narrator asserts that they smell tobacco but are not aware of the source of the smell (Burac n.d). After moving close to Joseph Stalin’s statue, they realize that Stalin who had died many decades ago is responsible for the smell as he smoked Herzegovina Flor pipe tobacco. The narrator further mentions other ghosts such as Karl, Friedrich, Adolph, and Volodya who are all important history makers in current Moldova and Romania. Metaphorically, it is asserted that the ‘’ghosts’’ cannot simply be hidden behind fake walls. Therefore, this raises the question as to how and why the ghost should be gotten rid of. The ‘’ghosts’’ as asserted in the texts represents historical personalities, whether good or bad, whose contributions cannot be easily wiped. Wiping them is like erasing the history of the nations.
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Our memories are responsible for haunting us according to Mason. Through such haunting, individuals can be driven to a state of madness, despair, and in some cases despair. However, it is ironical to note that people always want to be haunted in this particular way. Mason suggests a number of ways in which individuals can lessen the tribulations of being haunted by their memories including having a sense of hope, being resilient, and showing determination in the face of adversaries (Masson n.d). Masson further exemplifies how to face haunting memories through his life experiences during his return. He needed to remain astute even as things did not look easy and attractive on his return home.
References
Murakami, H. (n.d). The Mirror . pg 130-135.
Masson, J. (n.d). A Return. pg 610-630.
Burac A. (n.d). Between Sleep and Waking . pg 103-109.
