A Philosophical Odyssey through Murakami's Magical Realism

"South of the Border, West of the Sun" by Haruki Murakami entered my life during my freshman year of high school, leaving a lasting impression as a magical, descriptive, and transformative read. However, as time passed, the details faded from memory, only to resurface in my senior year, presenting the perfect opportunity to re-engage with Murakami's enchanting literature.

Initially drawn to incorporating elements of philosophy or psychology into my research project, I explored philosophical literature and theories. A chance moment involving a quiz question about my favorite book—Murakami's work—led to a surprising revelation. Murakami's writing, with its specific themes, particularly the exploration of human desires, became the focal point of my research on the philosophy of desire.

Having defined the broad scope of my project, the next challenge was establishing the methodology. Given the limited application of desire theories to literature, I turned to the established practice of applying other philosophical principles to novels. Thus, my primary methodology revolves around previous approaches of integrating philosophy into literature.

With a structured methodology in place, I sought to define the purpose of my project. Applying the theory of desire, I aimed to gain insights into relevant types of desire theories, particularly magical realism that could be applied to our lives. Additionally, I aimed to explore whether these theories of desire might evolve over time. By examining a specific case study of an author, Murakami, known for his primary genre of magical realism and frequent exploration of desire, my research could be extended to other works. After identifying these elements of connections between desires and Murakami's works, methodology, and significance, I was able to gain approval to pursue this literature driven project.

This study seeks to understand how magical realism literature promotes the confrontation of desire, offering insights into how fictional novels influence our perception of desire within the rich tapestry of storytelling.