Carrillo 1

Iann Carrillo

Professor Beadle

English 115

2 November 2020

Society Harms More Than One’s Self

Isolation can be both physical and emotional. Physical isolation is characterized as being

distant from everyone else and away from society, but isolation can be emotional as well, such as

when an individual just can't confront or interact with others. In Haruki Murakami’s short story

“The Mirror”, the night watchman saw himself in a mirror, a form of himself that he hated,

implying that the night workers can have depressive episodes and that it can take a mental toll on

oneself. In Haruki Murakami’s other short story “The Silence”. Murakami reveals when one

person has the power of being popular, they are able to easily manipulate others because of their

kind, smart, and agreeable characteristics. “The Mirror” is monstrous because the night

watchman was repressing self hatred, he made it apparent when he imagined the mirror and saw

that side he was repressing. However, “The Silence” is more monstrous because Ozawa liked

being alone, he found peace with himself while he was alone. But Aoki altered his perception of

his own loneliness, he made Ozawa’s loneliness tragic, depressive, and forced him to isolation.

Aoki made society hate Ozawa, therefore making him lonely.

In“The Mirror”, the protagonist encountered himself in a mirror but according to him it

was not himself he saw but another version of himself on a dark and windy night where he

expected to do the same routine. Marukami employs distressing diction and a depressing setting

to create a lonely atmosphere to indulge the reader into his monstrous experience. His

supernatural experience was presented as monstrous because he considered the other character he
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created in the mirror as an “other figure loathed me. Inside it was hatred like an iceberg floating

in a dark sea. The kind of hatred no one could ever diminish.” (Murakami 59). Once he returned

to the broken mirror he saw himself in, it was gone. He wanted this dark side of him to be shown

subconsciencly, he had to imagine a mirror to be able to find a justification to express his

innermost feelings towards himself: loathe, agony, and judgment. Once he fell into his own trap

of seeing his state of mind, his response was to show fear and continue living in a state of

repressing those thoughts. He said he would never use a mirror again, for the reason to never see

that side of himself again. ​According to “Having Friends and Feeling Lonely: A Daily Process

Examination of Transient Loneliness, Socialization, and Drinking Behavior”, the night

watchman is suffering the symptoms of loneliness. Sarah Arpin states: “Loneliness, or perceived

social isolation, is one common indicator of relationship deficits associated with feelings of

dissatisfaction, anxiety, emptiness, and boredom.” (Arpin 615). Even with his carefree life, he

sees himself as lonely, and he suffers from this which results in dissatisfaction, anxiety,

emptiness, and boredom. His boredom is portrayed as all of his jobs he takes and that he never

sticks to it. His anxiety is portrayed when he says, “The wind grew stronger as the night went on,

the air more humid. My skin started itching and I couldn't focus… The gate to the pool banged

away in the wind like some crazy person who alternately shakes his head and nods.” (Murakami

58). His dissatisfaction and emptiness came when he finally saw himself in the mirror. Those

were his exact feelings when he finally saw himself alongside with hatred and loathe.​ That

imaginary mirror was his wake up call, that mirror was what let him realize his intimate feelings.

Ozawa encounters Aoki. He has been the person Ozawa has despised since middle

school. The first time he interacted with him was when Aoki spread rumors about him cheating

on a test because Ozawa did the best in the class. Another time Aoki has affected Ozawa’s life
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was when Aoki blamed Ozawa for bullying another student into suicide. This would lead to

Ozawa feeling depressed. “I went to school and silence, attended classes in silence, went home

and silence. Day after day, a vacuum. After two or three weeks of this, I lost my appetite. I lost

weight. I couldn't sleep at night. I'd lie there, all worked up, my head filled with this endless

succession of ugly images.” (Murakami, 302). This was unfair to Ozawa, he enjoyed being alone

but because of Aoki’s lie, Ozawa was in the wrong kind of alone. He was an outcast, silently

isolated from the whole school; from teachers, students, activities. The experiences that Ozawa

had with Aoki was presented as monstrous because Aoki used his power blamed a student’s

suicide. Aoki is the kind of person who makes society so monstrous. Ozawa comments on

society: “No, what really scares me is how easily, how uncritically, people will believe the crap

that slime like Aoki deals out... They don't take any responsibility for their actions. Them.

They're the real monsters... And these faceless people.” (Murakami, 306). The faceless people

who follow people like Aoki are the reason it is dangerous to agree with anyone. It would lead to

unforgiving events that no one can be blamed for. People like Ozawa are the ones who have to

suffer. Ozawa, a quiet average student, the one who can’t defend himself or has anyone who

supports him. “Their silence seeps into everything like ice water. And then it all goes murky.

And I'm dissolving and I'm screaming, but no one hears.” (Murakami, 306). Aoki demonstrates

multiple forms to manipulate presented by​ “Manipulative Actions: a Conceptual and Moral

Analysis”. Robert Noggle states, “​Alternately, the manipulator can flood the victim's attention

with so much irrelevant information that she is unable to concentrate on relevant information.”

(Noggle, 43). ​Aoki manipulated Ozawa to draw attention to distract him to make him miserable.

Aoki can flood Ozawa's attention with so much hatred that he is unable to concentrate on school.

His actions and opinions usually align with other student’s beliefs. The emotions from Aoki were
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always appropriate. He was, for the most part, a joyful student. That worked in his favor because

emotions such as joy, happiness, and hope are appropriate for someone who is trustworthy and

would be taken seriously when they are helping. If Aoki had negative emotions such as anger or

fear, he would be considered suspicious and be less believable. This is supported by Noggle,

“​But in general, positive" emotions such as joy, happiness, hope, and so on, are appropriate for

someone who desires that P and believes that P is true or likely. Negative emotions such as

anger, fear, and so forth, are appropriate for someone who desires that P and believes that P is

false or unlikely.” (Noggle, 43).​Therefore, he was able to manipulate Ozawa and the school.

The reason people claim that “The Mirror'' is more monstrous over “The Silence'' is

because every person, there is a rejected, repressed side; something that the person may not be

conscious of and may not want to acknowledge. A side that the person might resent, be ashamed

or be scared of. The night watchman, when faced with his dark side, the side he fears, his

reaction was to smash it and to run away. He completely disregards his inner emotions and

decides never to face that side of him by not having mirrors.

The night watchman, Ozawa, and Aoki are all under that same umbrella. The difference

between night watchman, Ozawa, and Aoki is how they lash out with the repressed emotions

they have within. They have to lash out when they don't feel like something is right or just. For

example, when Ozawa first had conflict with Aoki. Ozawa decided to assault Aoki for spreading

the rumor that he cheated on the only test he studied. As for Aoki, he lashes out as to take

revenge on Ozawa for hitting him years ago. The way he lashed out was by blaming

Matsumoto’s suicide on Ozawa. This form of lashing out is the worst because he mentally affects

Ozawa more than a punch to the face could. Aoki pushed Ozawa into a different state of

loneliness, the loneliness loneliness. This is different from Ozawa normal state of loneliness
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where he chose to isolate himself because he found peace and relaxation. Ozawa goes into an

existential crisis, he sees himself not belonging anywhere. Once he makes the transition of being

alone as a comfort state of mind to it being a fear. Then he comes to the realization that Aoki

isn’t the problem but society is. Ozawa thought about getting revenge on Aoki because of his act

of revenge by wanting “to kill him. but suddenly, At the same time, there in the train I felt

something like pity” (Murakami 304). Ozawa had overcome the hatred he had towards Aoki and

felt pity. He felt as if “That there existed creatures so lacking in human depth.” (Murakami 304).

Aoki is the most monstrous of the three by doing these things because he acts to please himself.

“The Silence” by Haruki Murakami is more monstrous than “The Mirror” because the

night watchman now lives in peace. He lives in peace because he doesn’t have to live with his

monstrous self since he now avoids mirrors. As for Ozawa, he still has to live with the monstrous

society with the people who control it like Aoki.

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Work Cited

Arpin, Sarah N, et al. “Having Friends and Feeling Lonely.” ​Personality & Social Psychology

Bulletin​, vol. 41, no. 5, 2015, pp. 615–628.

“The Mirror” by Haruki Murakami. Copied from ​Blind Willow​, ​Sleeping Woman​ , published

by Vintage Books in 2006.

“The Silence” by Haruki Murakami. Copied from ​The Elephant Vanishes,​ published by

Vintage Books in 1993.

Noggle, Robert. “Manipulative Actions: A Conceptual and Moral Analysis.” American

Philosophical Quarterly (Oxford), vol. 33, no. 1, 1996, pp. 43–55.