The people in one's life are often more important in shaping one's future than the choices of that individual themselves. In Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood, the protagonist, Toru Watanabe, meets various women who influence him and alter his outlook on life as he progresses in his relationship with his girlfriend, Naoko. Naoko herself remembers adolescence and death for Watanabe; his mental instability reminds him of his best friend's suicide and therefore he can only associate it with his past. Hatsumi, the girlfriend of Watanabe's profitable dorm mate, is the image of what Watanabe believes he wants in adulthood; she lives a comfortable and well-adjusted life, but is disillusioned by her boyfriend's frivolous behavior despite living profitably and prosperously. Reiko, Naoko's guardian, is a reflection of what Watanabe can be; shows that even those with broken lives can heal after accepting their failures and losses. Finally, Midori, with whom Watanabe eventually falls in love, represents his future; he has abandoned all regrets from his past and lives exclusively for each passing moment. The women of Norwegian Wood each represent a different moment in Watanabe's life and determine his transition from adolescence to adulthood; Under their influence, Watanabe finally learns to cut ties with his past and look to the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Naoko remains a part of Watanabe's past; she becomes a living ghost, acting as an emotional weight on his shoulders and haunting his memories when he longs to break free and live independently. When Watanabe visits her at Ami, the sanatorium where she is hospitalized, Naoko tells him: "Kizuki may be dead, but you are still my only link to the outside world. And just as Kizuki loved you, I too I love you. We never intended to hurt you, but we probably did; we probably ended up causing a deep wound in your heart" (129). her "only connection to the outside world", forces Watanabe to stay with her, thus dragging him down emotionally along with his depression. The constant reminder that Kizuki's death is what unites the couple continues to be a painful prevalence in their relationship, and Naoko emphasizes that she realizes that their relationship is a burden to Watanabe. Even so, she takes no initiative to help Watanabe or ease his struggle. Instead, even after his death, Naoko continues to remain a psychological barrier to Watanabe as he tries to reconnect with reality. Many years after Naoko's suicide, when Watanabe hears "Norwegian Wood" on the radio, he is reminded of the girl he loved. Reflecting on this moment, he thinks: "The more the memories of Naoko within me fade, the more I can understand her deeply...she begged me never to forget her, to remember that she existed. The thought fills me with an almost unbearable pain. Why Naoko never loved me" (10). Watanabe is forced to remember his promise to Naoko and her existence: she is immortalized as a memory of Watanabe: something that will live with him forever. However, Naoko's perpetuity in Watanabe's memories creates even more pain for him as he is forced to recognize that Naoko's relationship with him was based more on emotional dependence than romantic love. Therefore, the more Watanabe thinks about Naoko, the more regrets over his and Kizuki's suicide accumulate and the more he dwells on the past. Naoko will live forever as the embodiment of Watanabe's past; contains the majorityof his memories of his college years and becomes a burden he will carry for the rest of his life. Hatsumi represents the adulthood and future to which Watanabe aspires, but her frustrations with her relationship with Watanabe's dorm mate, Nagasawa, and his eventual suicide reveal to Watanabe that adulthood is not necessarily an easy escape from his past. When Nagasawa hosts a dinner to celebrate finding a high-ranking job, Watanabe recalls an argument that occurred between Nagasawa and Hatsumi; "'You can't even call what I do nonsense. It's just a game. Nobody gets hurt,' said Nagasawa. 'I get hurt,' said Hatsumi. 'Why am I not enough for you?'" (208). Watanabe considers Nagasawa and Hatsumi the ideal couple and the image of success: beautiful, profitable and unshakable. However, Nagasawa eliminates the stress of seeking success by being unfaithful, meaning that there are aspects of adult life that are inherently unattractive. Behind the glittering appearance, adulthood hides, in fact, a constant feeling of inadequacy and a flow of feelings that cannot be conveyed. Hatsumi's disillusionment is more evident as the scene unfolds and she directly confronts her boyfriend, "'You don't care whether I understand you or not?'...'So it's a mistake for me to feel like I want to be understood by someone? - from you, for example?' That was the first and last time I heard her scream" (210). As Watanabe watches this moment happen, he realizes that in adulthood there is no honesty; as people get older, they become more and more tired, so much so that they hardly recognize themselves or show their true personality. By raising her voice, Hatsumi distances herself from the submissive girlfriend character she had always played; it's as if Hatsumi and Nagasawa are putting on a show, as if all of adulthood is simply a theatrical facade. Even so, as Watanabe reflects on the moments spent with the older couple, he describes that "the image of Hatsumi flashed in my mind... It was a kind of childish longing that had always remained - and would remain forever." -- dissatisfied...What Hatsumi awakened in me was a part of myself that had long lain dormant...Someone would have to do something - anything - to save her" (211-212). Watanabe realizes that Hatsumi reminds him of a life wasted waiting for Nagasawa to settle down Instead of living a fulfilling adulthood and doing what is expected of a successful adult, Hatsumi finds himself waiting with dreams that will never come true and a lover who. he will never marry her. Hatsumi's final suicide ends the vicious cycle, revealing that even the most perfect of couples is secretly corrupt, with both parties unable to find a way out of the mess they have created of what Watanabe can become; he is in the process of healing after a crippling loss and failure, but ultimately learns to let go of his past and start over able to see the parallels between him and Reiko when he observes, "And just as Naoko and I had shared Kizuki's death, Reiko and I shared Naoko's death" (279). Here, Watanabe implies that death, or loss, is what brings people together, and while Naoko's death will be another weight on their shoulders, it connected Watanabe and Reiko on a personal level. By sharing their pain, they are able to help each other accept death. As Watanabe mourns Naoko, Reiko tells him, "That's why you have to take every chance of happiness where you find it, and not worry too much about others. My experience tells me we don't get more than two or three." such opportunities in a lifetime, and if thelet it go, we will regret it for the rest of our lives" (269). Reiko speaks from experience; she has experienced the same regret she is telling Watanabe to avoid, and she wants to help Watanabe overcome his pain and grief by asking him to letting go of her past and starting a new life. She continues to give Watanabe life advice until, finally, they part ways at a train station after Reiko leaves Ami. Watanabe reflects, "We were alive, she and I. And the only thing we had to think about was continuing to live... 'Be happy,' Reiko told me as she boarded the train. 'I've given you all the advice I need to give. I have nothing more to say. Be happy. Take my share and Naoko's and unite them for you'" (293). Reiko's final advice is for Watanabe to find happiness, which she had been unable to do, thus sending her to the Ami in the first place. She asks Watanabe to take her and Naoko's happiness, which has been lost while living in Ami, and take it for herself. From this advice, Reiko teaches Watanabe how to let go of Naoko and her obligations to her and Kizuki, as well as how to accept their deaths. At this moment, Watanabe is truly alive, having learned to free himself from Naoko's memories; she still has the chance to live life to the fullest. Midori represents freedom and a break with the past for Watanabe; having been tormented by death in her past, she rejects the social expectations that bind her and enjoys every moment while living in it. Midori not he never seems to hold back regrets or cry over the things he has lost: when Watanabe expresses concern for Midori after her father's death, she simply ignores him; "Nah, a funeral is child's play. We practiced a lot... we were exhausted, my sister and I. We couldn't even cry. We had no tears left. Except when you do, they start whispering about you... Those bastards! The more they wanted to see us cry, the more we were determined not to give them that satisfaction" (221). Midori has gone through so many deaths in her life that she no longer cares: she stops dwelling on the people who existed in her past and instead focuses solely on her relationships in the present. He regards death and funerals as a mere formality and despises those who criticize his lack of sympathy. Midori refuses to conform to expectations that her father's death is something she should mourn, and to continue to defy those expectations, she refrains from crying. Midori's idiosyncrasy can also be seen when Watanabe visits her home and says at her father's shrine, "Night-night, Daddy... I'm sure you're not suffering. If so, you'd better complain to the gods. . Tell him he's just too cruel. I hope you meet mommy and you two actually do it... So give it all you've got" (230). Midori's carefree approach to addressing her father, even after his death, shows that she no longer cares about his loss. Instead, he makes sexual jokes about his father up there in heaven, which shows how quickly he is able to let go of what happened in the past. She does not dwell on or mourn her father's death, but is relieved that his suffering is over. These instances reveal how Midori has learned to deal with pain, and in doing so, becomes what Watanabe ultimately realizes she desires: a way to free herself from the past and continue living with an eye to the future. Watanabe's eventual success in letting his past disappear is a result of his attraction to Midori's independence and his realization that his love for Midori is what will ultimately set him free. When Midori talks about her ideal relationship, she says a,.