Cultural Ambivalence in Haruki Murakami's South of the Border, West of the Sun

Abstract

This research paper explores the issue of cultural ambivalence in the characters of the novel South of the Border, West of the Sun. This is the story of Post-Second World War Japanese society. Inferiority complex cut upon Japanese people when Japan was defeated in the Second World War. As Japan badly lost its imperial power, Japanese people had misconception that western culture especially American way of life or culture to be more advanced and superior to their own. Therefore, Japanese people started to follow western culture in the name of being modern without thinking it’s probable consequences. In this way neither Japanese people totally forget their own Japanese culture nor they could totally adopt western culture, rather collision of two totally different ways of life caused cultural ambivalence on Japanese youth. Confrontation of two totally different ways of life create a kind of confusion and in betweenness upon Japanese people known as '60s complex'. With the motives of upgrading their native culture, they started to adopt or imitate western way of life. Hajime including other major character of the novel, starts listening to western music, read to English books, drink to English wine, wear to tie and shoot, open and celebrate Jazz bar and music, believe in extra marital relationships, seek for individual life and ideologies which brings negative impact on them