Norwegian Wood Analysis

The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan are some of the many Western recording artists Haruki Murakami has mentioned in his novel ‘Norwegian Wood’. Throughout the novel, multiple Western pop culture references are often made, making it a recurring motif. Toru Watanabe has mentioned multiple times in his narration that he is one of the few young people in Japan who listen to and read American songs and books. However, the specific motif that I have noticed in the novel is the song ‘Norwegian Wood’ by the Beatles.

Its significance to the story, being the title reference itself and its perplexity of meaning makes me curious as to why Haruki Murakami chose this specific song.

Essay Example on Norwegian Wood Setting

The allusions between the song and the story are endless, making this novel in the place where it can be interpreted in many ways. ‘Norwegian Wood’, the song by the Beatles, is about a boy who is misled into believing that he was going to have sex with a girl, who instead shows him her furniture and he ends up sleeping in a bathtub.

The next day, he wakes up and finds the girl gone. He proceeds to have revenge by setting her Norwegian Wood furniture on fire. In a similar but different way, Toru was misled by Naoko into chasing after something she was not intent about offering to him, which was love. Toru wanted Naoko’s love gravely and Naoko sought sole companionship in Toru.

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In the song, it said “I once had a girl, or she once had me.”, which in my opinion defines the relationship between Naoko and Toru.

Towards the middle of the story, Toru travels to Ami Hostel, where it is in a secluded forest and hidden. Of course, it seems to be no coincidence that the title of the song is ‘Norwegian Wood’. As Naoko introduces it to Toru, he is convinced that it really is better than other hospitals in the ‘outside world’. To Naoko, Ami Hostel was her sanctuary and joy. This is similar to the way the girl in the song, who asks the b…