FACTORS AFFECTING KAWASHIMA MASAYUKI’S
PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA SEEN IN RYU MURAKAMI’S
PIERCING
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Ellysa Gusniati Simatupang
Student Number: 064214074
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
FACTORS AFFECTING KAWASHIMA MASAYUKI’S
PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA SEEN IN RYU MURAKAMI’S
PIERCING
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Ellysa Gusniati Simatupang
Student Number: 064214074
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
“ONCE YOU STOP LEARNING, YOU START DYING”
-Albert Einstein-“LIVE AS IF YOU WERE TO DIE TOMORROW, LEARN
AS I F YOU WERE TO LIVE”
-Mahatma Gandhi-
“
IJUK DIPARA PARA, HOTANG DIPARLABIAN,
NABISUK NAMPUNA HATA NAOTO
TUPANGGADISAN
”
This undergraduate thesis is dedicated to
My Beloved Father and Mother
My Grandfathers and Grandmothers
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank Jesus Christ Almighty for all blessings and strength during this undergraduate thesis writing. My big gratitude is dedicated to Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., my advisor, for her time, understanding, advice, support, and patience. My thanks also go to my co-advisor, Linda Valentina Budiman, S.S., M.Hum., who willingly spent her time to read, corrected and gave valuable suggestions for the improvement of this thesis. I also thank all the lecturers of English Letters Department, staff, especially Mbak Nik.
My gratitude goes to my beloved father, Gurasa Simatupang, and also my beloved mother, Sherly M. Gultom for their prayers, patience, encouragement and being my motivator. I owe my gratitude to my lovely sister, Purnama, and my
brothers, Gerry and Debby, for their supports, and being my best friends; my handsome nephew Amos Dian, who always knows how to make me smile and laugh.
Big thanks, kisses and hugs go to Tafira, Rosa, Anissa, Saverin, Itok, Rintan, Denty, Sonson and Ariata for encouragement and friendship they have given to me. I also should thank my rock-n-roll friend, Janu Satmoko, who always supports and reminds me to finish this writing. Big thanks are also dedicated to Prayudi, Widi and Shintia for their advices and helps. Finally, I would like to thank all buddies whose names I cannot mention one by one for all the supports in helping me finish this undergraduate thesis.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. The Relation between Literature and Psychology ...13
4. Theory of Schizophrenia ...14
5. Theory of Paranoid Schizophrenia ...19
6. Family Theory in Perspective of Schizophrenia ...21
7. Psychological Factor in Schizophrenia ...22
C.Theoretical Framework ...23
A.The Characteristics of Kawashima Masayuki ...30
B.Paranoid Schizophrenia Reflected from the Characteristics ...44
1. Delusions ……... 46
2. Hallucinations ...50
3. Egocentric Individuals...53
4. Violent ...55
C.Factors Affecting Kawashima Masayuki’s Paranoid Schizophrenia ...58
1. Psychological Factors ...59
a. Mental Abuse ...59
b. Physical Abuse ...61
2. Environmental Factors ...64
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...68
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...72
ABSTRACT
ELLYSA GUSNIATI SIMATUPANG. Factors Affecting Kawashima Masayuki’s Paranoid Schizophrenia Seen in Ryu Murakami’s Piercing. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
As a field of study, psychology can be connected into the sphere of literature, because both of them have, more or less, the same purpose as a mirror of life and self-reflection. Being put together, those purposes will save values of humanity. In this study, literature is concluded as a way to express ideas through the language and writing, emerged from feeling and thought. Although seemingly connected, the roles of psychology and literature in this study are still distinguished according to their field. While psychology studies more about phenomena seen from human behavior, literature is used as a tool that can give knowledge through the experience so that people can read the social values of the novel. This is exemplified in Ryu Murakami’s Piercing that is presented in the theme of psychology.
Three issues are carried out in order to accomplish the objectives of the study. The first one is the characteristics of Kawashima Murakami; second is the reflections of Kawashima’s characteristics toward his mental illness as a paranoid schizophrenic; and third is the factors that influence Kawashima’s mental condition.
Some theories were used as the groundwork of the analysis. These theories covered theory of character and characterization, the theory of schizophrenia and paranoid schizophrenia, a family theory in perspective of schizophrenia and psychological factor in schizophrenia, and a theory about the relation between psychology and literature.
ABSTRAK
ELLYSA GUSNIATI SIMATUPANG. Factors Affecting Kawashima Masayuki’s Paranoid Schizophrenia Seen in Ryu Murakami’s Piercing.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
Sebagai salah satu bidang ilmu, psikologi juga dapat dihubungkan ke dalam lingkup sastra karena keduanya sedikit banyak memiliki tujuan yang sama, yaitu sebagai cermin kehidupan dan refleksi diri. Apabila disatukan, tujuannya akan menyimpan nilai-nilai kemanusiaan. Sastra sendiri, dalam studi ini, disimpulkan sebagai cara pengungkapan gagasan melalui bahasa dan tulisan yang muncul dari perasaan dan pemikiran. Dalam analisis studi ini, peran psikologi dan sastra tetap berbeda sesuai dengan bidangnya. Psikologi lebih mempelajari sebuah phenomena yang terjadi dilihat dari perilaku manusia, sementara sastra dapat dinilai sebagai alat yang dapat memberikan pengetahuan melalui pengalaman-pengalaman yang tertulis dalam sebuah karya sehingga, orang - orang dapat memetik nilai sosial yang terkandung dalam karya sastra tersebut. Hal ini contohnya terlihat dalam novel Piercing karya Ryu Murakami, yang disuguhkan dalam tema psikologi.
Tiga rumusan masalah dimunculkan guna tercapainya tujuan dari studi ini. Masalah pertama adalah karakteristik Kawashima Masayuki; yang ke dua adalah pengaruh karakteristik Kawashima terhadap penyakit mentalnya, paranoid schizophrenia; dan yang ketiga adalah penyebab yang mempengaruhi kondisi mental Kawashima.
Beberapa teori digunakan sebagai landasan analisis. Teori-teori ini meliputi teori karakter dan karakteristik, teori tentang schizophrenia dan paranoid schizophrenia, teori keluarga dalam pandangan schizophrenia dan faktor psikologis dalam schizophrenia, serta teori tentang hubungan antara psikologi dan sastra.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A.Background of the Study
Psychology is an important aspect in literature. The ideas of psychology can be found in literary works like novel (Coleman 1976: 8). Both literature and psychology teach us to see the real world because literature and psychology can mirror human’s life and teach people about human values. Besides, according to Cummings and Simmons in the Language of Literature: A Stylistic Introduction to the Study of Literature, a literary work can be used “as a device for imaginative stimulation, a way to find out what we’re thinking or feeling or who we are” (1983: 1).
From the above quotation, every moment and experience happening in one’s life can teach someone to be wiser and more critical in facing a life. It can be concluded that literary work helps us understand situations and conditions around us in everyday life and make us more sensitive toward something that we read and see in front of us.
The symptoms of schizophrenic patients can be organized into disturbances in several major areas thought, perception and attention, motor behavior, affect or emotion, and life functioning (1986: 337).
People who suffer from schizophrenia usually show some bizarre behaviors because they probably cannot control their fear and anxiety because of disturbances of thought and emotion inside them. Most of them cannot distinguish between hallucination and reality. People who suffer from schizophrenia are illogical. Usually, their perception and attention are usually wrong. In this novel, the mental illness is caused by some past problems or bad experiences. That is why, considering the correlation between literature and psychology, a study of psychological aspects in literature is worth doing. In short, this study is to analyze the psychological aspect in a novel entitled Piercing.
Well-written by Ryu Murakami, Piercing is a story about the life of Kawashima Masayuki, the main character. During his childhood, Kawashima had always been abused by his mother. She always hit and said inappropriate things to him until it left trauma in Kawashima’s life. All bad experiences he had gone through slowly disturb his emotion and psychology. Every time he remembered about his mother, he would feel angry, anxious and afraid that finally made him felt strong drive of adrenaline and big anger. If it happened to him, usually those feeling would disturb his mind until they forced him to stab someone using an ice pick.
experiences make people develop and build their own characters and emotion to make them feel safe and comfortable. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that attitude, information and knowledge that children get can bring significant influences for the formation of their personality and behavior. As it can be seen in Piercing, Kawashima, who had always been abused and ignored by his mother during his childhood, later realized that what she did to him had make him become insane in some ways.
According to Kawashima Masayuki’s case in Piercing, this study focuses on the psychological condition of the main character. The physical abuse is one of two abuses that Murakami presented in Piercing. In this study, the writer also explains further about the factors that make Kawashima suffer from Paranoid schizophrenia. In the story, Kawashima’s emotion and thought that always change made him switch personality easily from a good person, husband and father, into someone else that likes violence. Being violent is the only thing that can satisfy him and enable him to overcome his fear. That is why from this novel, there are still some clumsy things in Kawashima’s behavior that show his mental illness. This can be seen from his behavior, thought and emotion.
chooses this novel to be analyzed. The purpose of this study is to find out the factors that made Kawashima suffer from paranoid schizophrenia.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to reach a conclusive point of analysis and to focus the explanation, three problems are formulated as follows:
1. What are the characteristics of Kawashima Masayuki as seen in Ryu Murakami’s Piercing?
2. How do Kawashima’s characteristics as described in this novel reflect his paranoid schizophrenia?
3. What factors affect Kawashima’s paranoid schizophrenia?
C. Objective of the Study
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid any misunderstandings about the content of this research, there are some important keywords that are listed as follows:
1. Schizophrenia
According to Gary R. Vandenbos in APA Dictionary of Psychology, schizophrenia defined as “a psychotic disorder characterized by disturbances on thinking (cognition), emotional responsiveness, and behavior” (2007: 815).
From the above quotation, the writer finds out that people who suffer from schizophrenia sometimes find difficulties in communicating because when their thoughts are disturbed by imaginations and false believe that they made, they cannot control their behavior. In short, they trust more what is in their mind
instead of the reality.
2. Paranoid Schizophrenia
Taken from APA Dictionary of Psychology, paranoid schizophrenia is defined as follow:
In DSM-IV-TR, a subtype of schizophrenia. Often with a later onset that other types, characterized by prominent delusions or auditory hallucinations. Delusions are typically persecutory, grandiose, or both: hallucinations are typically related to the content of the delusional theme. Cognitive functioning and mood are affected to a much lesser degree than in other types of schizophrenia. The DSM-III designation was paranoid type schizophrenic disorder (Vandenbos, 2007: 670).
From the above quotation, people who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia have almost the same symptoms as those who suffer from paranoid. The
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEWS
In this chapter, the writer explains some theories which are considered to be related to this study. There are three parts that will be explained further. The first part is the review of related studies containing some previous studies which are related to this study. The second part is the review of related theories to be applied to this study. And the last part is the theoretical framework which explains further about the function of those studies and theories and how they apply in this study.
A.Review of Related Studies
In the beginning scene of the novel, Kawashima Masayuki became paranoid when he saw his wife murmuring something to his baby. What he saw between his daughter and wife suddenly made him became afraid and anxious.
Murakami gets to his trademark grit on impact, with Kawashima Masayuki watching his newborn daughter sleep in her crib in the middle of the night. three pages, he is caressing her cheek with an ice pick. Imagining what it would feel like to puncture the baby’s skin. Instead of following his brutal instincts, he makes himself a promise: He will instead stab a prostitute with the ice pick. Get it out of his system, and save his little family. Kawashima begins filling a notebook with elaborate plans involving gloves, a change of clothes, a falsified accent, and the size, shape and skin color of the victim (http://christalawler.com/2010/09/02).
left or lonely caused him to be unable to control his desire to hurt someone because his bad experiences had already affected his social life.
Another related study is taken from an undergraduate thesis written by Agatha Maria W.S.P who summarized about mental illness and schizophrenia.
Most times mental illness in general and schizophrenia in particular comes the public attention’s only when behaviours are bizarre or violent, but there is still a long way to go in helping educate families and remove the stigma. However people with such illness are still human. (Palupi, 2004: 50)
Agatha Maria tried to say that everybody has the same right to be treated as a human although that person has mental illness. She believed that there is still a way to help patients with mental illness or schizophrenia and that is why she tried to find a way to change people’s mind into thinking that mental illness is something that can be cured.
In this novel, Kawashima is described as a sick, insecure, and violent person. Below is another study that is written by Irene Wanner,
time he saw and believed that his girlfriend or his wife would leave or ignored him. Usually his paranoid would lead him into committing violence.
The last literary study that supports this study is related to schizophrenia. Here, a schizophrenic patient wishes that everything must go the way s/he wants. Below is the appropriate evidence to introduce little about schizophrenia.
Events and situations in someone’s life may affect one aspect or more in his life to change. The changes can positive, negative or even both. In Nash’s case, schizophrenia has the role in developing his character into better and worse. Somehow, the development is just a process he has to live with and it cannot always be the same as he wants it to be. (Bhirowo, 2004: 57)
Environment affects someone’s psychological stance and can build a positive or negative characteristics and behavior. Here, Bhirowo wanted to say that bad experiences that have happened will usually be easy to remember because
it left trauma in people who faced it. Besides, bad experiences also contribute in shaping one’s character.
B.Review of Related Theories
This subchapter consists of some theories that will be applied in the analysis. They are theory of literature and theory of psychology that are discussed as follow.
1. Theory of Character
According to M.H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, character can be identified and interpreted by the reader through the speech and action that is
Character are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interested by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say – the dialogue – and by what the do – action (1993: 23).
Based on the quotation above, the writer concludes that to understand a character, the readers need to understand how to describe the character in the novel or play. There are two ways that must be concerned about: showing and telling. To analyze the character, the author must be concerned to the actions and expressions of the character because automatically they are dealing with the characteristic and the behavior of its character.
2. Theory of Characterization
The theory of characterization is important in analyzing the characteristic. M.J. Murphy in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novels for Overseas Students stated that there are nine ways that the writer usually uses.
a. Personal Description
Personal description is one of many steps in analyzing the character. “The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes” (Murphy, 1972: 161). From the personal description, the reader can conclude and imagine the physical appearance of the character.
b. Character as Seen by Another
Instead of describing a character directly, an author can describe it through the eyes and the opinions of another character. “The reader gets, as it were, a reflected image” (Murphy, 1972: 162). It shows the reader how to understand a character by analyzing deeply through other people’s opinion. So the author of a literary work tries to give an opinion to the reader by putting an idea through his choice of words and phrases that s/he writes.
c. Speech
The third way is speech. Through the speech in conversation, the reader will usually find the personalities of the character that will be analyzed.
The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what that person says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clue to his character (Murphy, 1972: 164).
From the above quotation, speech also holds an important role because from verbal action, it will be easy for the reader to decide the characterization of the character that will be analyzed.
d. Past Life
By knowing the background and the past life of the character, it will be easy to see what kind of person that the writer wants to describe.
By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person (Murphy, 1972: 166).
e. Conversation of Others
The fifth way is to ask the reader to see and to analyze the character through the things that are said. Through the conversation in the story, the reader will get a clue about what kind of person s/he is. “The author can also give the reader clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him” (Murphy, 1972: 167).
f. Reactions
In a story, there is a situation that will affect the readers’ perception in understanding the character. Reaction is one of the important things that the readers need to notice. “The author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events” (Murphy. 1972: 168). Every reaction that is shown will show further about the characterization of the character that will be analyzed.
g. Direct Comment
“The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly” (Murphy, 1972: 170). Here, the author is free to comment on his character in order to get a better and clear understanding of the character.
h. Thoughts
i. Mannerisms
Mannerisms are the last way that Murphy wants to share. Mannerisms hold an important role in understanding the character. “The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies which may also tell us something about his character” (Murphy, 1972: 173). So, mannerisms usually will show the reader a deeper understanding about the personality of the character itself.
3. The Relation between Literature and Psychology
In literature, people can learn about psychology, like they can in psychology. As already known, literature is a part of art. There are always meanings, reasons, moods and feeling of the artist or the authors, hidden behind all literary works.
A good novelist can communicate the feelings of his fictional characters and make them seem more life-like than the real people whose behavior the psychologist attempts to describe. Writers can use the understanding provided by psychologists to enrich their stories, and psychologists can gain in their understanding of human behavior by drawing from the deep sensitivity of good authors (Kalish, 1972: 8).
The above quotation shows that psychology and literature are connected to each other. Both literature and psychology learn about phenomena happening in the past and nowadays. Usually, a work of literature can be analyzed from many points of view, which are, from the character, the situation that the author describes and also from the biography of the author him/herself.
learning to be wiser in facing the life and doing something. Besides, psychologists believe that people cannot be separated from the cause and effect.
4. Theory of Schizophrenia
Before the writer goes and explains further about the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, it is important to know what schizophrenia is.
Schizophrenia is a disorder with a range of symptoms involving disturbances in content of thought, form of thought, perception, affect, sense of self, motivation, behavior, and interpersonal functioning (Halgin, 1994: 276).
From the above quotation, the writer found that schizophrenia is generally a type of mental illness that attacks emotion, thought and sense in general. Here, a person who suffers from schizophrenia usually has bizarre behavior every time s/he feels anxious or fear. It happens because the stimulation that comes to schizophrenic has already disturbed his thought until it makes her/him not able to think logically anymore. A person who suffers from schizophrenia does not realize that s/he is sick. In most cases, a schizophrenic person cannot control what just appears in her/his mind.
a. Delusions
Delusions usually appear to a schizophrenic person. “Delusions are false believe. Person with schizophrenia often express unusual beliefs that are not shared by others in their culture” (Wilson, 1996: 417). From this quotation, the writer concludes that schizophrenic patient believes in something that is not real. He believes what he thinks is real although the real condition is not. Here, a schizophrenic creates and builds that perceptions only in her/his mind. That is why delusions usually will lead a schizophrenic into becoming suspicious toward something in front of her/him.
In schizophrenia, there are four types of delusions that should be known
i. Delusions of Persecution
Person who gets delusions of persecution usually believes that someone is trying to hurt her/him or believe that someone is against him/her. “People are out to get me” (Wilson,1996: 417).
ii. Delusions of Grandeur
Person who gets these delusions usually think that s/he is a famous person and have special power and control everything (Wilson, 1996: 418).
iii. Delusions of Control
A schizophrenic who gets these delusions believe that his/her thought or actions are controlled by external factors (Wilson, 1996: 428).
iv. Delusions of Romance (Erotomania)
b. Hallucinations
People who suffer from schizophrenia usually will get hallucinations. “Sensation experienced by an individual that are not experienced by others” (Wilson, 1996: 419). This quotation means that only a schizophrenic who can feel and see it while other people around her/him cannot.
According to James C. Coleman, there are five types of hallucinations. They are auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, olfactory hallucinations, gustatory hallucinations and tactual hallucinations. Below are further explanations about those types of hallucinations.
i. Auditory Hallucinations
People who suffer from schizophrenia usually will hear voices that others cannot hear.
Hallucinations involving the sense of hearing: the individual may hear voices telling him what to do, commenting on or criticizing his actions, or warning him that he will be punished unless he repents (Coleman, 1976: 296).
From the above quotation it is obvious that the voice that a schizophrenic hear is only in his head and is not real. Usually a person who gets these hallucinations will easily accept what the voice told them. The voice that exist in her/his head will influence her/his action and thought in everyday life.
ii. Visual Hallucinations
In visual hallucinations, usually a schizophrenic will see thing that other
patients can see something in front of them like it is really happened and exist which actually only appear in their mind. That is why schizophrenic patients cannot differentiate reality and hallucinations.
iii. Olfactory Hallucinations
These hallucinations are closed to human sense. “Hallucination involving the sense of smell” (Coleman, 1976: 296). Usually people who get this hallucinations will smell bizarre things every time they are under a depressing condition or a dangerous situation.
iv. Gustatory Hallucinations
These hallucinations still connects to the sense, that is, the sense of taste (Coleman, 1976: 296). Here, people who suffer from schizophrenia will think that someone is trying to kill them. They become worry toward food and drink that they consume and usually believe that their food and drink are poisoned.
v. Tactual Hallucinations
Still related to the human’s sense, usually people who get this hallucination believe and feel that something touches them. They imagine that what touches them is real.
c. Disorganized Speech (Derailment)
People who have this symptom have difficulty to relate a question and the answer. Most of all, there is no connection between question and answer. “A
1996: 420). This person is easy to change topics without any confirmation, so it looks like s/he is answering a question that is out of topic.
d. Grossly Disorganized Behavior and Catatonic Behavior
In grossly disorganized behavior, usually people who have this symptom will do an inappropriate behavior. “It seen in childlike silliness or highly agitated behavior” (Wilson, 1996: 420). From this quotation, the writer concludes that people who suffer from schizophrenia will do a bizarre thing in inappropriate place and situation.
Grossly disorganized behavior is different from catatonic behavior. In catatonic behavior, people who have this symptom will look like they have problem with their motor abnormalities. Person who have this symptom usually
like peculiar postures, usually soldier. “Catatonic behavior refers to marked motor abnormalities, including motor immobility, excessive motor behaviors and the maintenance of fixed postures over long periods of time” (Wilson, 1996: 420). This quotation shows that this symptom will make schizophrenic patients look helpless because it looks like they need other people to help them. In short, this symptom makes them passive that can be seen from their lack of energy.
e. Negative symptoms
drive (avolition) which means a person who has this symptoms shows no interest in activity (Wilson, 1996: 421).
5. Theory of Paranoid Schizophrenia
In theory of schizophrenia, the writer finds that paranoid schizophrenia is one of the main type of schizopherenia. Here, the symptoms that are found in paranoid schizophrenia is triggered from symptoms of schizophrenia. But, in this theory, paranoid schizophrenia has particular symptoms which cannot be found in schizophrenia. “Paranoid schizophrenia are agitated, argumentative, angry, and sometimes violent” (Davison, 1986: 343). People who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia will always feel insecure and think that somebody is going to go against them. That is why, when they face a bad situation, their reaction will
appear spontaneously.
After knowing what paranoid schizophrenia is, there are many kinds of symptoms that are better to be known.
Paranoid patients are suspicious, sensitive, egocentric individuals whose lives revolve about the theme of persecution. They imagine that people are against them and in devious ways are maltreating or plotting against them. At first their delusions of persecution are limited and fairly well systematized and their attitude toward the world is one of emotional aggressiveness (Page, 1947: 254).
brave voice that makes them follow the direction of hallucinations that s/he sees or hears.
“Some diagnosed schizophrenics often behave quite normally” (Alloy, 1996: 355). It means that people who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia are sociable in her/his environment and community. Besides, “a paranoid person is usually capable of self-management in the community, but on occasion their persecutory ideas may render them dangerous” (Page, 1947: 184). It means that while on one hand a paranoid person is capable of living a normal life with a good interaction and relationship, on the other hand s/he can hurt her/himself or hurt people around her/him.
To give strong evidence to show that someone suffers from paranoid schizophrenia or not, below are some information that will help the writer in identifying this mental illness.
In rare instances a paranoid patient may become dangerous and kill or injure someone. In such an instance the patient’s feelings connected with his delusions had probably become very intense so that the violent assault seemed to him the only solution to this person. To this person it was seen very likely as a matter of kill or be killed (Strange, 1965: 313).
6. Family Theory in Perspective of Schizophrenia
Family has an important role in the development of children psychology. Every single moment, situation and treat in family’s life, children usually can easily record all actions that they see and words that they hear. Therefore, all things that happened and learned from the family will influence the children’s psychological stance in the future.
According to family theorists, psychological tensions in the home may also be a stress factor in schizophrenia, and not just for the children of schizophrenic mothers (Alloy, 1996: 395)
From the above quotation, it can be concluded that every condition and situation in the home will influence someone psychological stance in their social life. It also shows that family life is a main factor that can affect someone become schizophrenic. Not only is this condition faced by children of schizophrenic mothers, but also all people who have unstable family life.
The second theory is communication deviance. It focuses on the matter of communications between parents and children. Here, there are usually some misinterpretations in receiving words said between parents and children. Actually, most of that communication is caused by the contradictory message. Usually, to say and top express their message in verbal, they like to use a rejection and affecting but the aim of the use of them is as a complement. (Alloy, 1996:396).
7. Psychological Factor in Schizophrenia
Psychological factor is one that affects someone to become schizophrenic. Trauma that was felt during childhood usually will affect someone’s personality and behavior.
Karl Menninger has provided a vivid picture of the defenses – and special vulnerabilities – of adolescents and young adults who have suffered deep hurts and have come to view the world as a dangerous and hostile place (Coleman, 1976: 316).
The above quotation shows that children who had some bad past experiences usually will build their own defense to avoid the deep hurts in them appear. Besides, people who were tortured and ignored when they were children will see the world as a dangerous and hostile place. It happened because words and actions that children see and hear will be easily recorded in their mind.
In some instance the outcome seems to be a “stormy” personality. Here, instead of withdrawing, the individual tries aggressively to relate to people. He is highly vulnerable to hurt, however and his existence is usually an anxious one (Coleman, 1976: 316).
C.Theoretical Framework
This study focuses on factors that make Kawashima Masayuki suffer from Paranoid schizophrenia. The theories that are already explained above will support the analysis of Kawashima Masayuki’s characteristics and what makes him suffer from paranoid schizophrenia.
In this study, the writer puts theories of intrinsic element of a literary work, which are character and characterization, to analyze the characteristics of Kawashima Masayuki. Murphy’s theory of characterization states that there are nine ways that the writer can choose to find out the characteristics of the character that want to be analyzed in the novel. Some ways that the writer chooses to support the analysis in this study are speech, past life, reactions and thoughts. These four ways are significant to be used in analyzing and answering the first problem formulations.
from paranoid schizophrenia. Theory of paranoid schizophrenia will show deeply about the specific symptoms shown in a paranoid schizophrenic patient.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A.Object of the Study
The object of this study is Piercing, a novel written by Ryu Murakami, a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. This novel was published by the Penguin Group, Penguin Group (USA) Inc, New York, in January 2007, translated by Ralph F. McCarthy. The novel consists of 11 chapters with 185 pages. The genre of this novel is psycho thriller.
The writer thinks that this novel is interesting because it is related to human values. Negative and positive attitudes will influence someone in seeing and facing the world and life. From this novel, the writer also thinks that abuse in family not only happens in people’s imagination but in real life. That is why it cannot be ignored anymore.
Through this study, the writer wants to open people’s mind through the messages that the writer shares in this research, that actually every action taken both consciously and unconsciously will influence our environment, relatives or friends. That is why the writer thinks that Piercing can be a good example to show the reason why someone has psychological problem in her/his life.
Ginza, for the first time he met a woman named Yoko. Kawashima fell in love with her. Shortly, a year and eight months after their first meeting in Ginza, they decided to get married and finally have a baby named Little Rie.
After short introductory about Kawashima’s family, the story began with Kawashima taking bath with his baby. After they finished taking a bath, Yoko usually dries his baby, and when Yoko was drying Little Rie, Kawashima saw Yoko murmuring something to Rie. After he saw his wife murmuring something to Rie, he felt something burning inside him and it made him anxious. Since then, he became suspicious and wanted to stab his daughter. Every time his anxiety came, he became sweating, then continue by smelt something weird like a pungent whiff of something organic burning, and so on.
B.Approach of the Study
The focus of this study was to analyze the factors that make Kawashima suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and to prove that he has problems with his psychological condition. The psychological approach was used in this study. This approach focused on the behavior of the main character like symptoms, and reasons why he can be categorized as having a mental illness like paranoid schizophrenia.
To know deeper about the mental illness in the Piercing and relate it to the writer’s analysis, the writer applied the psychological approach by Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods, Jr. in Reading and Writing About Literature. “Psychological involves effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns” which “draws on a different body of knowledge” (1971: 13).
Psychological approach would help the writer to understand human behavior such as problems related to learning, perception, emotions, motivations, and thinking. Those behaviors usually are written as an object. In short, the psychological approach was used because it was related to the problems and factors that affect the main character in the novel.
C.Method of the Study
The data collection was done through a library research. In this study, the writer took the data from literary books, psychological books and dictionary, and some internet sources. There were two parts of sources that the writer used in this
support the analysis in this study were taken from books related to the character, some previous undergraduate theses, psychology and literary books, and articles from the internet
In this study, the writer took some steps in the analysis. The first step was to read and reread Ryu Murakami’s Piercing to gain a better understanding about the story until the author found an interesting topic to be studied. The second step was to determine the problem formulation. The third step was to start to find out the previous undergraduate theses, literary books, such as theories and approach to support the analysis, internet sources to find some reviews to get better understanding about the topic that would be analyzed.
The fourth step was to analyze the data by using those books and internet sources. From those books, the writer tried to prove and answer three problems that have already been formulated. The last step was to report and make a conclusion until it became a good research and useful for other future researchers that took the same topic.
In this study there were some books that the writer used to gain better understanding and to complete the information that was needed. The analysis of the character was taken from Glossary of Literary Terms by M. H. Abrams, and in analyzing the characterization, the writer used M.J. Murphy’s theories about characters and characterization in his book entitled Understanding Unseens: An introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Student.
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter discusses the answer to the problems formulated in the first chapter. There are three main parts that are discussed. The first part is about the characteristics of the main character in Piercing. Here, the writer explains and give detail information about the characteristics of Kawashima Masayuki.
The second part discusses how the characteristics of the main character can be categorized as having paranoid schizophrenia. This part presents the description of paranoid schizophrenia’s symptoms in Kawashima’s characteristics in order to reveal the details of this mental illness.
The last part discusses the factors that influence the main character to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. This part will observe some events that had happened to Kawashima Masayuki. Here, the writer will analyze it through his past life, environment and his psychological stance as the important factors that cause him to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia.
A.The Characteristics of Kawashima Masayuki
Kawashima Masayuki is the main character in Piercing. He is the central person in the story because from the beginning to the end of the story, the author described him in detail. Murakami wrote his story starting from Kawashima’s past life when he was a kid until he had became an adult. According to M.H Abrams,
man with a normal life, but having bad childhood experiences. Here, he is described as a husband of Yoko, a father of a daughter named Little Rie and worked as a graphic designer.
In this story, there are several characteristics of Kawashima Masayuki. The writer analyzes those characteristics using the theory of characterization by M. J. Murphy. In this theory, there are nine ways that can be used to find the characteristics of the main character. But, in this analysis, only four ways are used. They are speech, past life, reactions, and thoughts. These four ways are considered the most significant ones that will support the analysis of the characteristics of the main character. They will help to analyze the characteristics of the main character seen from the mental or personality point of view.
Based on the analysis, there are six characteristics that are appropriate to describe Kawashima Masayuki. The six characteristics are suspicious, anxious, fearful, spiteful, violent and in doubt. To understand further about Kawashima Masayuki’s characteristics, the explanation is as follows.
1. Suspicious
he wanted to be. For him, it could be a threat. Below is the evidence that shows the reason that caused Kawashima to be suspicious toward his daughter, Little Rie.
“Ten nights ago. He was in the bathtub with the baby, having just finished washing her. He handed her over to Yoko, who was waiting with a fluffy bath towel, and then he leaned back in the tub, leaving the pebbled-glass shower door partially open. Yoko was murmuring to the baby as she dried her, and he was aware of himself smiling at them. And then, with no prelude or warning, a thought came percolating up into his brain and he felt the muscles of his cheeks twitch and freeze” (Murakami, 2007: 16). After he saw Yoko murmuring something to his baby, Kawashima smiled. Actually behind his smile, he hid fear and suspicion. As the writer already explained in the previous page, Kawashima was always afraid of losing someone he loved, liked and cared about. Kawashima became suspicious because he thought that Yoko was getting closer to his baby. In Kawashima’s mind, what he had just seen between his wife and his baby was something that terrified him. That is why he became suspicious toward his baby.
Other evidence that also shows his suspicious characteristic can be read when he thought that Sanada Chiaki had already read his notes, the note that contained his planned to stab someone in order to release his fear of stabbing his baby.
“Kawashima grunted agreement and stood up. It was then that he noticed his overnight bag lying on its side against the opposite wall, and his open notebook beside it. His blood turned ice. She must have read the notes, he thought, and a shiver emanating from his bitten finger rippled through every cell in his body. He experienced a surge of nausea and looked over at the girl, who had turned her back to him and was climbing into her slip. I have no choice now, he thought, and the chill and the nausea merged with a peculiar, bubbling excitement. I have no choice but to kill her” (Murakami, 2007: 117).
From the quotation above, Kawashima Masayuki thought that Sanada had already read his plan. He was afraid that she would go away after she read it. Here, Kawashima was suspicious toward things that he did not know whether it was right or not. He played with questions and suspicions in his mind until that feeling made him feel insecure and led him to one choice, that was to kill her. At that time, he believed that Sanada would tell all his plans to stab a woman to anyone. Facing that situation, he became suspicious and it drove him to stab her before she left him or turned against him.
Same as the previous paragraph, and still in the same situation, between the conversation of Sanada and Kawashima, below is the quotation that the writer finds as other evidence that proves Kawashima as a suspicious person.
“Hey,’she said softly, smiling up at him. ‘What hotel are you staying at really?
Kawashima’s body stiffened.
I knew it, Chiaki said to herself – he’s a secret rich man.
2. Anxious
In the story, Murakami described Kawashima Masayuki as an anxious person. The following quotation will prove that he is anxious. His anxiety began when he saw his wife murmuring something to his baby.
“The mental and emotion torment of the old cycle of anxiety – unable to bear being alone, wanting someone always near but growing anxious when someone does get close, fearing that if they get any closer there’s no telling what might happen, until the fear itself becomes unbearable and solitude seems the only solution – had seemed to be fast becoming a thing of the past” (Murakami, 2007: 14-15).
In the story, seeing Yoko murmuring something to the baby made Kawashima anxious. According to Murphy, the appropriate way to describe Kawashima Masayuki’s anxiety is reaction. From the quotation above, the writer concludes that the reaction when he saw his wife murmuring something to his
baby is the evidence that shows he was anxious. Here, it also can be summarized that at the time he became closer to someone, or when someone got closer to him, he would feel anxious. His fear made him anxious, and his anxiety disturbed his thought and emotion.
In this novel, the writer sees that what Yoko did to Little Rie made Kawashima afraid. He felt that there was a strong tension in him. In this case, Kawashima did not want to be alone but he could not let someone get closer to him, either. The writer sees that there is a trauma left from his past life in Kawashima’s self. Whether he realized it or not, he became insecure and that feeling made him aware of and suspicious toward everything that happened to
worried about what would happen to him if Yoko became closer to Little Rie. That is why the author concludes that he is anxious.
Still explaining about the quotation above, Kawashima became anxious when he faced a certain situation and condition related to someone he loved, cared about and liked. He became anxious toward something vague in front of him. The following quotation will show how Kawashima Masayuki became anxious when he was disturbed by his own thought. Here, he felt anxious when the tension in him increased. At the time when his emotion and thought were in tension, some questions appeared in his mind and it ended into fear and anxiety that were united to disturb his own thought.
“Yoko had awakened but hadn’t seemed to notice anything, and for the moment, standing on the empty street of their neighborhood in Kokubunji, away from the room with the sleeping baby, he felt a certain degree of relief.
It’s just my neurosis, he reasoned with himself. I just get freaked out imagining I might stab the baby. It’s not as if I actually want to stab her. Who doesn’t imagine things that make them anxious?” (Murakami, 2007: 20).
The above quotation shows how anxious Kawashima Masayuki was. His emotion and thought made him think clearly toward all acts and imaginations that he wanted to do. Here, his anxiety appeared every time he got closer to his baby, which caused him to sweat and at the same time, the desire to stab his baby increased and then continue to imagine that he might stab his daughter.
The imagination that appeared in Kawashima Masayuki’s mind is caused by the reaction that he felt and thought of. Through this novel, the writer sees that
thinking are influenced his anxiety. Murphy said that a secret that appears in the main character’s mind reveals some oddity from Kawashima Masayuki’s life.
The last evidence that also supports Kawashima Masayuki’s anxiety can be seen when he met a young prostitute named Sanada Chiaki. In the story, Kawashima thought that Sanada read his note about his plan to stab someone. Here, Kawashima did not know that actually Sanada had mental illness. She was described as a person who had bad experience in childhood life and got abused by their parents. That is why every time she felt uncomfortable with the situation in front of her, she would hurt herself and Kawashima made her feel insecure because he shouted ‘idiot’ to her (p.89). In short, Kawashima did not realize that Sanada Chiaki was a fragile person, just like him.
Below is the quotation showing that he was anxious after he prevented Sanada from committing suicide.
“Kawashima grunted agreement and stood up. It was then that he noticed his overnight bag lying on its side against the opposite wall, and a shiver emanating from his bitten finger rippled through every cell in his body. He experienced a surge of nausea and looked over at the girl, who had turned her back to him and was climbing into her slip. I have no choice now, he thought, and the chill and the nausea merged with a peculiar bubbling excitement. I have no choice but to kill her. If she read the notes and lived, there couldn’t be a next time. She’d be sure to tell someone: I had a client like that once” (Murakami, 2007: 117).
3. Fearful
Kawashima Masayuki is described as a fearful person. The abuse that he received during his childhood made him afraid and fragile. Every time he was scolded by somebody, he felt guilty and thought that he need to be punished or he would be left alone. His fear of losing someone made him do everything to relieve his fear in order to keep that person to stay with him. It can be seen from the quotation below.
“The woman had just go back from work and was sitting before the mirror, removing her make-up. He tried to hug her from behind, and she wouldn’t let him. All she said was, ‘Don’t touch me,’ but her manner was so cold and harsh that it terrified him. He put his arms around her again, and again she spurned him, prising his fingers loose this time and shaking him off. ‘Stop breathing your fucking thinner fumes on me!’ she snarled. Kawashima was devastated. All he could think was: I need to be punished. She’s mad at me, but she won’t hit me, so I’ve got to be punish myself. If I don’t, she might leave. He walked to the heater and shoved his right hand into the pot of boiling water” (Murakami, 2007: 26).
The conversation happened when Kawashima stayed with a late-thirties stripper who was his ex-girlfriend. Kawashima stayed with her for nearly two years and he felt comfortable with her. One day his ex-girlfriend was angry at him because of his passive attitude. At first, when his ex-girlfriend was angry at him, he did not take it seriously because he thought that she just showed common anger for a while. For him, it was impossible if she was really mad at him because he thought that he was the only one who cared about her. Actually his ex-girlfriend was really mad at him until she did not allow Kawashima to touch her. At that time, her manner was so cold and harsh until it terrified Kawashima. The reaction
More evidence that shows his fear is when he heard the voice that he used to hear at Home. That voice made him remember the situation and condition at Home (a place for children who get abused by their parents). Every time he heard it and remembered his past life at Home, he would imagine it then he became terrified and fragile. He remembered what he felt when he was at Home. There, he saw that many kids at Home were similar to him, children who wanted to be loved and cared by their own parents. Therefore, every time he remembered a life at Home, he felt afraid. It can be seen from the quotation below.
“Keeping them closed was no more defence against the images that accompanied the sparks than plugging his ears was against the voice from inside, the voice he heard echoing off the interior walls of his skin. Only voices and images from the external world could neutralise those from inside. That was why Kawashima’s greatest fear-far greater for him than the fear of death – was of losing his sight and hearing to some illness or accident. Cut off from actual sights and sounds, with the unchecked terror swelling inside him, he knew he’d go mad in no time” (Murakami, 2007: 141-142).
Another fear that also terrified him also can be seen when he thought that what his mother used to say to him when he was a kid was right. It happened when Kawashima was at Sanada’s apartment. There, he learned about Sanada until he remembered the terrifying story that he got from his mother. Usually, when his mother got angry and beat him, his mother also said bad words to him like he would hear voices that could not be heard by people around him, he would be manipulated, and would become crazy like his mother’s friend who suffered from schizophrenia (p.152). Below is the evidence that shows his fear of being
“People like the one his mother had described were called schizophrenics. And one of the symptoms of a schizophrenic breakdown was the delusion that someone or something was manipulating you, making you say things or do things against your will. I didn’t plan to kill her, officer. It was She’s just a servant, a slave.” (Murakami, 2007: 152-153).
The statement from Kawashima’s mother really influences his life. Children are usually easy to save memories and it happened to Kawashima. Since he was kid until he had become an adult, he could not forget every single word that came out from his mother’s mouth. Kawashima thought that what his mother used to tell that he had already been manipulated by the condition that he had faced was true. That is why he started to think about what he would have to say if
he was interrogated by the police if he killed Sanada. Here, he thought that it was not Sanada who manipulated him but some random suicidal erotomaniac that
From the above quotation, the writer sees that what happened to Kawashima in his past life leaves a big trauma in him. The abuses that he received from his mother made him terrified and angry every time he remembered his mother, and those feeling usually appeared together in his mind. The reason why the writer concludes that Kawashima is a spiteful person is because through the above quotation, the destructive image of his mother when he made some plans to stab a prostitute suddenly disturbed his mind. Here, it is described that Kawashima could not forget his dark past life and he did not want the image of his mother to distract his mind and all activities that he did.
5. Violent
Bad experiences during childhood influence Kawashima’s behavior. Here, his fearful, anxious, spiteful and suspicious characteristics led him to become violent. Feeling afraid of being left alone and ignored by someone whom he liked made him think that he must kill her before she left him. Kawashima is a man who during his childhood never felt love and affection from his mother. The way his mother treated him when he was a kid made him become someone who was spiteful and violent. All abuses that he accepted when he was a kid such as physical and mental abuse from his mother had already affected Kawashima’s behavior in his adult’s life.
The above quotation shows his first violence that he did when he was nineteen years old. When he was seventeen, Kawashima lived with a stripper who was older than him. That stripper was his ex-girlfriend. One day his ex-girlfriend was angry at him. At first Kawashima thought that his ex-girlfriend only showed common anger at him so he did not respond it seriously. He thought like that because he thought that he was the only one who cared about her but he was wrong. His ex-girlfriend was really angry at him until she did not allow him to touch her. The reaction that was showed by his ex-girlfriend already terrified him. He was afraid that she would leave him.
Here, his fear led him to think that he must stab his girlfriend using an ice pick before she finished taking a shower and left him. Kawashima was sure that to keep someone to stay and be what he wanted them to be, he must do something to hold it or just to make that person afraid of him. In this novel, Kawashima is a cold man who had psychological problem. Although he did not really kill someone yet, and the desire to kill or stab someone only appeared in his mind, they are still part of violence because it is a crime.
Other evidence that also shows he is violent is the way he thinks. In the beginning of the story, he always played with his mind and sometimes his mind controlled him until it built wrong or negative perception. Below is the evidence that shows his second violence when he suddenly remembered the situation and condition at Home.
pick, facing down the enemy hordes. Flushed with a sense of omnipotence, he summoned up the faces of the children in the Home one by one and told them: Just wait and see, his lips grazed the window-pane, and several drops of water ran down the glass like little bugs scattering. I’ll kill them all for you, Kawashima muttered again and again” (Murakami, 2007: 58). Kawashima’s bad experience was the same with all children in Home. powerful because children who were like him are children who were struggling to feel love from his parents but they had never obtained it. The situation and condition in Home made Kawashima think that he was the representative for all children in Home; the one who could take revenge and help other children to be happy. Here, the thought of killing someone is categorized as a part of violence.
The last evidence that shows he is violent is when he slapped his mother. Here, what he did made him think that he is strong and powerful.
“Look at the woman standing there. See how she fears me. The whole world shall learn to fear me.
The above quotation shows how happy and satisfied Kawashima was when he slapped his mother for the first time. How happy he was when he saw his mother begging for his forgiveness. What he did to his mother was the beginning of his violence and it made Kawashima feels great and powerful.
All behaviors that grew in Kawashima, especially violence, are one of the many effects from the abuses that his mother had done to him. Here, Kawashima did not realize that his behavior led him to do violence. That behavior is beyond his control. Every time he felt afraid, anxious or suspicious about a person, he usually thought that he must stab that person using an ice pick. Automatically, he thought of a concept of “to kill or to be killed”. He could think about and do it because he was lack of love and affection when he was a kid until it made him to
want to be understood and does not want to be ignored by someone.
6. In Doubt
In the story, Kawashima was described as a person who wanted to stab his own daughter, Little Rie. Every time he tried to stab his daughter he became anxious and it began from the fear that came suddenly then continued to become suspicious.
“Kawashima stroked the surface of that fine layer of fuzz, first with a fingertip and then with the tip of the instrument. It really is alright, I’m not going to stab the baby” (Murakami, 2007: 5).
Kawashima Masayuki faced doubtful situation. He felt in doubt toward the action that he wanted to do or take. In the beginning of the story, every midnight
a bath with his baby and had his baby dried by his wife Yoko. At that time, he saw Yoko murmuring something to Little Rie. Since then, the desire to stab his baby started appearing. Kawashima thought that Rie is a threat. As the result, he wanted to stab his daughter. The desire to stab Rie appeared because he did not want Yoko’s love to him to decrease. Bad experiences with his mother in his past life had made him suspicious to Rie and led him into irrational thinking.
Here, the writer concludes that Kawashima is in doubt because the writer sees that he was not sure whether he wanted to stab his baby or not. According to M.J Murphy in Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novels for Overseas Students, the author of a literary work can give her/his direct comment on a character in the story to make the character understandable (Murphy, 1972: 161). In this novel, Kawashima played with his own thought. Everything that he saw in front of him would disturb his thought and finally it provoked a reaction. The reaction that appeared when Kawashima played with his own thought put him in doubt. Here, he was in doubt because he faced a situation that forced him to make a decision between becoming a murderer or a father.
B.Paranoid Schizophrenia Reflected from the Characteristics
he had a daughter, Kawashima’s life was going alright, but suddenly he was disturbed by his own thought when he thought that his baby offended him. Actually in this story, his daughter did not offend him. The negative perception only existed in his mind. It existed because he thought that his daughter could not make him feel comfortable as Yoko did.
Based on Kawashima Masayuki’s behavior and psychological condition, this subchapter tries to prove that Kawashima‘s characteristics reflect paranoid schizophrenia. As already stated in the previous chapter, after his father died when Kawashima was four years old, his mother started to abuse him and ignore him. Everything that happened to him when he was a kid until he became a teenager influenced his behavior, and it was the beginning of him to be a paranoid schizophrenic. Every time he faced a situation that made him feel insecure and uncomfortable, he would usually get suspicious, anxious and then feeling afraid. He could not hide what he felt because his thought was disturbed by things or event in front of him.
1. Delusions
“Delusions are false believe” (Wilson, 1996: 417). In this novel, the main character is described as a man who was afraid of losing someone that he liked, loved or wanted. The writer concludes that Kawashima got delusions because he always thought that someone would leave or ignore him and it provoked his thought and action. Kawashima Masayuki always became suspicious toward things that were not clear. He always misunderstood toward things that happened to him especially if he was dealing with somebody else. The feeling of being agitated toward object or action in front of him made him think illogically.
In this story, Kawashima believed that someone who was close to him could leave him easily. Here, he believed that Little Rie could take Yoko away from him because Rie had a way to get Yoko closer to her than him. Actually it is only in Kawashima’s mind because logically Yoko only did what she must do as a mother to her daughter. Facing that situation, his fear controlled his mind and action. Below are some delusions that Kawashima Masayuki felt when he saw Yoko murmuring something to Little Rie.
“Yoko was murmuring to the baby as she dried her, and he was aware of himself smiling at them. And then, with no prelude or warning, a thought came percolating up into his brain and he felt the muscles of his cheeks twitch and freeze.
I wouldn’t ever stab that baby with an ice pick, would I” (Murakami, 2007: 16).
From the above quotation, it is clear that Kawashima’s mind is disturbed by the actions that happened in front of him. Here, the moment when he saw
to be insecure. The fear that appeared in him raised the desire to stab his own daughter. Shortly, it was triggered by jealousy and suspicion.
