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Makenzie Sakomoto

Prof Beadle

Engl 115

26 October 2020

Society can be a very scary thing

When thinking of a monstrous story what is the first thing that comes to mind? A scary

creature, anticipation, a victim, that's what is usually expected from a scary story. However in the

stories “The Mirror” and “The Silence” by Huarki Murakami, Hauraki puts a spin on the

definition of a scary and monstrous story. In the stories the monstrous aspect within “The

Mirror” is oneself and “The Silence” is the society.​ ``The Mirror '' and “The Silence '' by Haruki

Murakami both are monstrous stories but “The Silence” is the most monstrous because it deals

with society and the true evils of a person and how that when it comes to social interaction it

could lead to something horrific.

In the story “The Silence” it first introduces the main character Ozawa and his story of

the years he went through school. He describes his school years as “very intense competition

with a fellow classmate”. ​The story's true purpose was not revealed until later on in the story as

the competition and hatred heightened.​ Ozawa from his early years of school hated his classmate

Aoki. Aoki was that one student who everyone knew and loved and did well in school while

Ozawa was just the opposite. Ozawa was the quiet kid who did ok in school who nobody seemed

to know about. As the story progresses Ozawa finds out that Aoki was spreading rumors about

him acing the test and that little instance set Ozawa off the edge and it was after that he would
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find out the true evils society could bring. As the story goes on​ Ozawa​ was shunned by his

fellow classmates and even staff at his highschool because of another rumor Aoki enacted to get

revenge. The rumor that Ozawa was the reason for a students suicide.​ Something as little as a

rumor can have a catorsphic toll on a person and completely change their mental state. ​After this

rumor Ozawa experienced extreme internal struggles and isolation. He found himself imagining

different scenarios to deal with the struggles. He imagined “punching Aoki out...and “beating

his face to a pulp.” and “declaring outright that I was innocent”.(Murakami , Silence 303) Many

different scenarios but none were followed through and none would help with the loneliness and

helplessness that Ozawa felt. ​As Ozawa carried on what makes it the worst is that as he inflicted

many heartaches he could not even help his own situation as for society is a terrible thing and

even more scary than oneself even with the thoughts that come along. Society can really break

one's mental well being.

Society can have a great impact on one's mental health and that is what makes it so scary

because just like Ozawa, students nowadays experience the same pressures and isolation.

Children face harsh criticism while in school and “Social isolation is different from bullying; it is

a feeling of being invisible, left out, and without connection to others''(Talmus). Children in

school experience all the ups and downs one can experience in life. School is already hard as it

is bringing in friends, enemies, and acquaintances can add problems for many and society can be

an awful thing and create kids to have mind sets just like how Ozawa felt towards the end of the

story and him not even motivated to do what he loved, boxing. It wasn't until after highschool

and his stare down with Aoki that in college Ozawa finally felt relief and happiness and went on

with his life. He discovered the people that “think nothing of hurting some-one, senselessly,

permanently. That they don't take any responsibil-ity for their actions. Them. They're the real
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monsters. They're The ones I have nightmares about.”(Murakami, silence 306). ​“The silence”

even revealed that a society and the people in it is the most monstrous. People can be even worse

than some of the worst innerdemons.

The story “The Mirror” can be argued that the feeling of a monstrous self can be the most

scary. ​The story gives background on the narrator, a night watchman, and his adventures as a

when he worked for a school in Japan when he was young.​ ​The narrator ​ would walk the halls at

the late hours of the night to the early morning to check if everything was in order. He one night

found his night to be a little different than most he found himself not willing to wake up when

that was never a problem before. After that instance ​the narrator​ was a little weirded out but

went on with his routine of checking on all areas of the school, while checking the hallway is

when he encountered the thing that he found the scariest. He had seen a mirror and when he went

to look he found that the mirror was manipulating ​him ​and making him do the things the mirror

was doing instead of the other way around. Eventually​ the narrator ​shattered the mirror with his

wooden sword and went back to bed for the night. The next morning​ he ​arose to look back at the

shattered mirror to find it was nowhere in sight and he discovered that it was never actually

there. He states that “What I saw wasn't a ghost. It was simply-myself' I can never forget how

terrified I was that night, and whenever I remember it, this thought always springs to mind: that

the most frightening thing in the world is our own self.” One's imagination can make even the

craziest things seem real. “Our mind plays tricks on us and memories can be real and

false”(Gardner). A scary thing could be oneself with the mental torment and contradicting

thoughts that could be in one's brain. We sometimes think something is real or that something is

there that really isn't. Nowadays people are interested in different things like conspiracy theories

that create different realities and answers for the unknown. ​The mirror gives us a little display of
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the realities of our mind. The mind can think and do some crazy things and the narrator within

the story experienced this first hand. And he will forever have this scary story to tell.​ A

monstrous self is scary but not as scary as a monstrous society as it has extreme impact on one's

well being. For one's mental well being a society can be very monstrous. ​As for oneself it is

easier for one to realize that what is being thought isnt real and fake. While when the pressure of

society weighs in who knows what to think and it can be a very scary feeling.

When someone or something else is causing your pain and isolation it's the worst of them

all because you are helpless to your own situation. And yourself is not the cause of everyone

else's feelings and treatment. Just like Aoki one could not stop him from spreading the rumors

and causing Ozawas pain and Aoki didn't even think twice and people like that are the monsters.

A monster can have many different appearances, three eyes, wings, horns, or even a normal

face. Even the face of many can have a grave impact on someone's feelings and can create an

environment of isolation. We Associate fear with abnormal things. But real life society can be

pretty scary. For example life nowadays there are many different things happening in this world

that create fear and isolation in many people's lives. Not just in school can children or adults

experience this scary society. In the real world with things like a pandemic like the coronavirus it

creates a feeling of isolation for some. Coronavirus led the whole United states to quarantine

and for people to not leave their house unless it was extremely essential. During quarantine

people felt helpless and felt so alone with no outside interaction. That's exactly how Ozawa felt

when he was forced to experience extreme isolation due to his society not having faith in him

rather in a rumor. To think that all the heartache that was caused for Ozawa and even Aoki was

all started because of a middle school dispute. A dispute that was complete nonsense but brought

out the characteristics of Aoki and Ozawa and even those around them. We find that Even those
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who do nothing and​ ignore the situation at hand​ could even be the most monstrous because for

the person affected it is not nothing it is devastating.​ Feeling like the whole world is against you

is a feeling that is entirely scary whether it is true or not.

When comparing the two stories “The Mirror” and “The Silence” by Haruki Murakami

they are both monstrous in their own way however “The Silence” is the most scary. Ozawa had

to deal with many emotions going through school and the isolation was the worst of them all.

Ozawa was really able to experience how others, even classmates can be your not so typical

monsters. Huraki Murakami created two iconic stories that will in definition be in the category of

scary stories because of the scary topic that the realities of oneself and society can be pretty

scary. Isolation and contradicting​ thoughts​ can take a toll on people and especially those going

through school. Children just like Ozawa everyday experience the harsh reality and the

monstrous people they encounter during their everyday lives. ​Society can bring many people into

ones lives however what is the worst part about it is that they could be good or bad and have one

feeling a certain way out of their control which is why it can be the most monstrous.
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Work cited

“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.

Talmus, Laura.“Tackling Social Isolation in Middle School” , Published by Taylor and Francis

online In 13 Nov 2019

Gardner, Dan. “Your mind is playing tricks on you, but that doesn't mean you're a liar; We often

edit or entirely rewrite our previous experiences, research shows”, published by Proquest in Apr

2008