Existentialism Principles As Seen in the Character of Satoru Nakata in Haruki Murakami’S Kafka on the Shore

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EXISTENTIALISM PRINCIPLES AS SEEN IN THE CHARACTER OF SATORU NAKATA IN HARUKI MURAKAMI’S KAFKA ON THE SHORE

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

Bayu Kusuma

Student Number: 144214095

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2018

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EXISTENTIALISM PRINCIPLES AS SEEN IN THE CHARACTER OF SATORU NAKATA IN HARUKI MURAKAMI’S KAFKA ON THE SHORE

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

Bayu Kusuma

Student Number: 144214095

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA YOGYAKARTA 2018

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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis

Yogyakarta, December 5, 2018

Bayu Kusuma

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

Nama : Bayu Kusuma Nomor Mahasiswa : 144214095 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul EXISTENTIALISM PRINCIPLES AS SEEN IN THE CHARACTER OF SATORU NAKATA IN HARUKI MURAKAMI’S KAFKA ON THE SHORE Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada), Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolahnya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal 5 Desember 2018

Yang menyatakan,

Bayu Kusuma

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“I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people”

- Vincent Van Gogh

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Dedicated for

The people who shared their love and close to me

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To begin with, I would like to thank to the God of the universe for giving me the chance to complete my thesis. My deepest gratitude for the dearest people who have given their love and support for me. I would thank my mother for being always strong and gives me all the beautiful lessons that made me now. I thank my family who remain with me. And I thank to my slight pale Angel who always gives her love and courage to me.

I would like to express my gratitude to my advisors and co-advisors, Th. Enny

Anggraini, Ph.D and Dr. Tatang Iskarna, M.Hum for giving me their precious time and patience for guiding me to finish this thesis. My gratitude also goes to Ni Luh

Putu Rosiandani M.Hum for being the examiner of my thesis and gave me advices that help me complete my thesis. I thank to Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.PD. M.A who give me those brief inspiration during my study. I would thank to all lectures and staffs from English Letters Department and Sanata Dharma University that have given me the beautiful experiences and knowledge for my life.

Afterwards, I would like to thank my friends Oki, Adi, Theo, Bagas, Erwin,

Adong, Brandon and other friends for the great friendship and lessons. My good friend Tomy for helping me survive and finish this thesis. For the few folks of

Whitelieszoo collective who unexpectedly helping me in making dream together.

Ayu Martina Angelia for giving her precious time to the life that I live now and lastly I thank to the dreams that always kept me going.

Bayu Kusuma

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...... ii APPROVAL PAGE ...... iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...... iv LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH .... v STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ...... vi MOTTO PAGE ...... vii DEDICATION PAGE ...... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... x ABSTRACT ...... xii ABSTRAK ...... xiii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 1

A. Background of the Study ...... 1 B. Problem Formulation ...... 3 C. Object of the Study...... 4 D. Definition of Terms ...... 4

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERARTURE ...... 6

A. Review of Related Studies ...... 6 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 8 1. Theory of Character and Characterization ...... 9 2. Theory on Existentialism Principles ...... 10 a. Subjectivity or Being-for-itself ...... 11 b. Existence Precedes Essence ...... 12 c. Freedom ...... 14 d. Responsibility ...... 16 C. Review of Related Background ...... 17 D. Theoretical Framework ...... 18

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...... 19

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A. Object of the Study...... 19 B. Approach of the Study ...... 20 C. Method of the Study ...... 21

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...... 23

A. The Characteristics of Satoru Nakata ...... 23 1. Honest and Innocent Person ...... 24 2. Feebleminded Person ...... 26 3. Apathetic Person ...... 27 4. Lack of Self Confident ...... 29 5. Person with No Basic Intelligent ...... 30 B. The Character Development of Satoru Nakata ...... 32 C. Existentialism Principles Reveal in Satoru Nakata ...... 36 1. Existence Precedes Essence ...... 37 2. Freedom ...... 41 3. Responsibility ...... 47

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...... 51

REFERENCES ...... 55

APPENDIX ...... 56

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ABSTRACT

KUSUMA, BAYU. (2018). Existentialism Principle as Seen in the Character of Satoru Nakata in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Sanata Dharma. This study is conducted with the purpose to find the Existentialism principles that are seen in the character of Satoru Nakata in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. Satoru Nakata is an old man who lost his basic intelligence in his childhood. However, Satoru Nakata learned that he must find the meaning of his own existence in the world. The reason why the writer decides to choose this topic is because the character of Satoru Nakata hold a great value of existentialism that could be learned for the betterment of life, as many people in this modern era are struggling to find their own meaning of existence. There are several objectives in this study. The first objective is to find Satoru Nakata’s characteristics. The second objective is to analyze the character development that occurs in the character of Satoru Nakata. The third objective is to reveal the existentialism principles that are seen in the character of Satoru Nakata. This study uses moral philosophy approach and existentialism as the focus of the study. The writer applies library research as the method of this study. This study employs theories such as character and characterization to examine the development character of Satoru Nakata and Jean Paul Sartre’s existentialism as guidance to reveal the existentialism principles that are seen in the character of Satoru Nakata. This study reveals several existentialism principles from the character of Satoru Nakata. In order to reveal the principles. Firstly, the writer analyzes the characteristic of Satoru Nakata. Satoru Nakata is described as a person with lack of basic intelligence, honest, apathetic, lack of self-confidence and dependency on other people. Secondly, the writer analyzes the character developments that occur within Satoru Nakata. Thirdly, the writer finds several existentialism principles based on the finding on previous analysis. There are three principles existentialism, the first is existence precede essence that showed on how Satoru Nakata symbolizes his journey as the essence of his life, second principle is freedom showed on the decision of Satoru Nakata to be a free human being who is self-dependent and decides all aspects of his life by his own, third principle is responsibility showed on how the decision of Satoru Nakata begins his journey and gives impact to several individual such as Johnnie Walker, Miss Saeki and Hoshino to get a betterment with their life. Keywords: Existence, Existentialism, Principles, Character

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ABSTRAK

KUSUMA, BAYU. (2018). Existentialism Principle as Seen in the Character of Satoru Nakata in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mencari prinsip eksistentialisme didalam karakter Satoru Nakata dalam karya Haruki Murakami berjudul Kafka on the Shore. Satoru Nakata adalah lelaki tua yang kehilangan kecerdasan dasarnya di masa kecil dan sadar jika dia harus mencari tahu arti dari keberadaannya di dunia. Penulis memilih topik ini karena karakter Satoru Nakata memiliki nilai penting tentang eksistentialisme yang bisa dipelajari dalam hidup, karena di masa modern ini banyak orang merasa kesulitan memahami arti keberadaannya di dunia. Penelitian ini memiliki beberapa tujuan. Tujuan pertama adalah mencari tau karakteristik dari Satoru Nakata. Tujuan kedua adalah menganalisa perkembangan karakter yang terjadi pada Satoru Nakata. Tujuan ketiga adalah untuk menemukan prinsip eksistentialisme yang ada didalam karakter Satoru Nakata. Penelitian ini mengunakan pendekatan filsafat moral dan eksistentialisme sebagai fokus penelitian. Penulis menerapkan metode penulisan perpustakan didalam penelitian ini. Penelitan ini menggunakan beberapa teori seperti teori karakter dan karakteristik yang digunakan untuk menganalisis perkembangan karakter Satoru Nakata dan teori eksistentialisme dari Jean Paul Sartre sebagai panduan dalam menemukan prinsip eksistentialisme yang ada di karakter Satoru Nakata. Penelitian ini menemukan beberapa prinsip eksistentialisme. Pertama, penulis menganalisa karakteristik dari Satoru Nakata. Satoru Nakata digambarkan sebagai seseorang dengan keterbelakangan mental yang mengutamakan kejujuran dalam hidupnya. Namun, karakteristik tersebut juga memunculkan beberapa karakteristik lain seperti apatis, tidak percaya diri dan ketergantungan terhadap orang lain. Kedua, penulis menganalisa perkembangan karakter yang terjadi pada karakter Satoru Nakata. Penulis menemukan beberapa prinsip eksistentialisme berdasarkan penemuan yang ada di karakter Satoru Nakata. Prinsip pertama adalah existence precede essence yang terlihat pada bagaimana Satoru Nakata menandai perjalanan hidupnya untuk menjadi normal sebagai tujuan dari kehidupannya. Prinsip kedua adalah freedom terlihat dalam keputusan Satoru Nakata untuk lepas dari ketergantungan dan menjadi individu yang bebas menentukan jalan hidupnya sendiri. Prinsip ketiga adalah responsibility yang terlihat dari keputusan Satoru Nakata memulai perjalanannya dan akhirnya menginspirasi banyak individu untuk memiliki hidup yang lebih baik. Kata Kunci: Eksistentialisme, Karakter, Kehidupan, Prinsip

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Many philosophers emerge to show their opinions and their ideas. This happens to be the cause of many philosophical thinking emerge and it is rarely that those ideas are contradicted toward each other. This condition shows how life is indeed a complex thing that is impossible to be explained by only one single idea. Like what Socrates said that the true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing. By that humans are able pursuing wisdom only through their own experiences in their life, as life itself is indeed mysterious.

With the existence of philosophy in life, human be able to answer or have chances to understand many questions or interpret their moral judgments during their life into a logical thinking. One of the philosophical movements that discussed about the essence to live in this world is Existentialism which is a philosophy that discusses the essence of human being as an individual in the world.

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. It focuses on the question of human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence. It holds that, as there is no God or any other transcendent force, the only way to counter this nothingness (and hence to find meaning in life) is by embracing existence (Mastin, 2009, para. 1).

Existentialism philosophy is a way of thinking that focuses on the sense to live in the world or in other words what it is to-be-in-the-world. How an

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individual must choose their own way without anyone help and how a person has sense of freedom in their life and feels being different or being a misfit in society. Many Existentialists do not agree toward each other and mostly deny that they are an Existentialist. There are many notable existentialists such as

Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gabriel Marcel, and Kierkegaard.

After so many years, the movement have grown and the ideas are used in many literature works. Haruki Murakami is one of the contemporary writers that is often be called as an existentialist writer. In this study, the writer conduct analysis on the character of Satoru Nakata from Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. Satoru Nakata is person who tries to define the meaning and the essence of his own life. Satoru Nakata is an old man who lost his memories and all of his basic intellectual function after experiencing an incident that happened to him when he was a child. Nakata knew his disadvantage but somehow still have a courage to live his life to its fullness.

Above his own disadvantage, Satoru Nakata had a special ability to speak to a cat, which is an ability that later on brought himself into strange journey that he himself did not know what will lead him into. Satoru Nakata did the journey from his home Nakano Ward to find an answer about the incident that happened to him during his childhood.

Satoru Nakata started his journey after stabbing Kafka Tamura’s father who was a psychopath and called himself Johnnie Walker. In this journey, Satoru

Nakata met various people who were willing to help him but from all of those people he met, Hoshino, a young truck driver who abandoned his job to help

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Nakata was the one who accompany Satoru until the end of his journey. Satoru

Nakata made a long journey from his home to make people know how it felt to live as person who had a down syndrome.

It reminds people who read it that there are some people in this world that are still kind and eager to help each other. It is like showing a piece of faith for humanity. Satoru Nakata received many helps from strangers that he met during his journey, people who were just purely willing to help Satoru Nakata even though Nakata gave nothing in return but despite all of the helps, Satoru Nakata has the will of his own to keep struggling on looking the meaning of his own existence.

The writer found it interesting to find the principle of existentialism in the character of Satoru Nakata. How he used his freedom of choice and every capabilities he has to define the life he has. To be in this world and being part of it although he felt isolated and different with other people. To study the meaning of existence in life is always interesting since many people in this modern era are struggling to find their own meaning of existence. To see the characteristic and how Satoru Nakata searches for his essence of life will help the writer uncover the value of Existentialism in it.

B. Problem Formulation

Based on the background of study presented above, this study formulates three questions:

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1. What are the characteristics of Satoru Nakata in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka

on the Shore?

2. How does Satoru Nakata’s characteristic develop?

3. What principles of existentialism are presented in the character of Satoru

Nakata?

C. Objectives of the Study

Based on the problem formulation above, the first objective of the study is to identify Satoru Nakata’s characteristics. How his characteristics are developed during the struggle of his journey, the journey that meant to define his own meaning of existence. Secondly, through the struggle of Satoru Nakata the writer will reveal the existentialism principle that presented in Satoru Nakata’s characteristic and his journey.

D. Definition of Terms

In order to avoid any misunderstanding on certain terms, below are some terms mentioned in the title and in the problem formulation.

The term is Existentialism. Cited from The Cambridge Dictionary of

Philosophy second edition by Robert Audi (1999),

Existentialism, a philosophical and literary movement that came to prominence in Europe, particularly in France, immediately after World War II. And that focused on the uniqueness of each human individual as distinguished from abstract universal human qualities (p, 296).

There are many of attempted definitions from many philosophers but because of the different focus and perspectives, the term of existentialism

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remains to be undefined. Those philosophers have different focus of aspects in human’s existence which is already too complex to be explained.

Cited from Jean-Paul Sartre’s Existentialism and Human Emotion, Sartre defined Existentialism as “Existence precedes essence” (1987, p. 13). Sartre’s

Existentialism much focusing on the human’s action. How human have a freedom of their own and how that can define the meaning of their existence in the world. In other words, the only way to define someone existence is only through the action of the individual himself / herself not by the action that was influenced by someone else.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

Haruki Murakami is one of the prominent writers in the world. His book

Kafka on the Shore is one of his notable works he has ever written and it has already been discussed and reviewed many times. The writer found that there are some articles and studies related with the topic of the study. This finding can help the writer in analyzing this novel as reference.

The first study is from Sandra Reskita. In her thesis, she revealed Sartre’s existentialism principle from Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. There are several findings that she is able to reveal in her thesis. The first found is that she is revealing several characteristics of the Narrator. The characteristics are obedient, shopaholic, no self-awareness, individualistic character, liar, perfectionist, a good man, coward and unconfident person. Although with such characteristics the narrator key of development comes from the character name Tyler Durden.

The Narrator became a rebel and was able to speak or express his feelings and also had no more consumptive lifestyle. With the help from Tyler Durden, The narrator was able to come to his meaning of life, like to help others and to think that life is not merely think of one self.

In her thesis she was able to conclude that the man’s freedom is revealed by the will of the narrator to say no to something. The narrator revealed the principles of Sartrean existentialism as he made his decisions based on his

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subjective truth, did his actions based on his decisions, and became a free being once his being-for-itself appeared in himself.

The second study belongs to Wahyu Kuncara, in his thesis entitled Samuel

Beckett’s Concept of Life as Revealed through The Main Characters of His Play

Waiting for Godot: A Study of Existentialism. He found the portrayal of representation of the images of distorted human beings from the characters of

Vladimir and Estragon. In perceiving the absurdity of the world the tramps insert the religious discussion into their conversation in which they try to make sense the life of human being. On the case of human’s freedom, which is one of the trait of Existentialism, They tried to distract meaninglessness through their freedom to engage in options they had and boldly bore responsibility as the result of it. The result from the uncertainty of the person that Vladimir and Estragon waited, whether the person showed up or not to the place, arouse the anxiety feeling to both Vladimir and Estragon. Therefore, their anxiety implied that their whole existence is dependent on themselves.

The third study from Kanya Wattanagun and Suradech Chotiudompant, on a journal article entitled “The Quest Andre Construction of Identity in Haruki

Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore”. This study focused on the issue of identity in the various characters in Kafka on the Shore, the characters include Satoru

Nakata, Hoshino, and Kafka Tamura. In the study, Satoru Nakata’s identity was noted for its position in being unable to identify the sense of capitalist system.

His viewpoint revealed a hidden side of capitalist society that glorifies such superficial consumption of empty signs in the process of identity construction

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while another character like Hoshino, he is a character that depends on the system itself, his identity formation depends on superficial signs produced in consumer society. And it also mentioned that the character of Kafka Tamura be able to stabilize his shattered identity through redefinition of memories and reflections.

Based on the studies above, the theory of Existentialism is used well to find the meaning of existence in other literary works, as such will help the writer to do this study as references. The writer is conducting the same method like the study above to characterization and then define the meaning of existence for the characters but only in the different book, which is Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. As the writer still not be able to find an existentialism study on this book. The writer also takes a journal that conduct study on Kafka on the Shore in order to have more insight on the object of the study itself.

B. Review of Related Theories

This study will focus on the life of Satoru Nakata and how his struggle in achieving what he believed as the essence of his life, furthermore those struggle could represent the principle of existentialism, the way how he was trying to define his own very existence with all of his capabilities and with his own will despite with many disadvantages that he has in his life. This section will discuss some theories that help this study to answer the problem formulations as written in the previous chapter.

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1. Theory of Character and Characterization

Character is one of the many elements in literary works and it is one of the essential elements. In order to conduct a study on the work furthermore, it is important to make the study of the character as the first step. Especially in here,

Satoru Nakata’s personality can help us in understanding the nature of ourselves.

How we naturally reacting to a certain situation in this modern days.

According to Andrew Bennet and Nicolas Royle (2004),

Characters are the life of literature: they are the objects of our curiosity and fascination, affection and dislike, admiration and condemnation. Indeed, so intense is our relationship with literary characters that they often cease to be simply ‘objects’. Through the power of identification, through sympathy and antipathy, they can become part of how we conceive ourselves, a part of who we are (p. 40).

According to MJ Murphy there are nine ways for author to reveal the characterization to the readers. The first is personal description such as the physical appearance and the clothes that the character wear. The second is character as seen by another like how the character is described by other character in the story. The third is speech how the character is speaking in a conversation with other character in the story. The fourth is past life like any past event that helped shape the characterization of the character and give him motivation in his action. The fifth is conversation of others like how the author describe the character of a person through the conversation of other people. The sixth is reactions like the reaction of the character in the certain situation in the story. The seventh is direct Comment like how the author describe or give comment on character in the story. The eighth is thoughts like how the author gives direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. The lastly is

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mannerisms like how the author gives direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. To inspect the character from the literature work, it also needed to find the theory of character development. How the character traits evolve from specific trait and changes into another specific trait.

In terms of what influences character development these are the following major factors in the moral development and behavior, such as, heredity, early childhood experience, modeling by important adults and older youth, peer influence, the general physical and social environment, the communications media, what is taught in the schools and other institutions, specific situations and roles that elicit corresponding behavior (Campbell and Bond as cited in Huitt,

2004, para 9).

This theory will help the writer in establishing a study on the characters on the story, it is important to study the character first before establishing another study which is existentialism.

2. Theory on Existentialism principle

With the many ideas and theories on Existentialism the writer focuses only on the theory which belongs to Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre has become one of the prominent existentialist from the beginning of the theory existence itself. He is also one of the few existentialists who actually claimed himself as existentialist.

As what the writer mentioned before, Sartre’s Existentialism much focuses on the human’s action and the sense of freedom, where every man is condemned to be free and their action is what define their existence. Sartre also mentioned

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other existentialism principles such as subjectivity or being-for-itself, responsibilities or being-for-others, existence precedes essence, freedom.

In this study, Sartre’s principles which are used are Existence precedes essence, Freedom, and Responsibilities. Those principles are connected with each other.

a. Subjectivity or Being-for-itself

Takes from what Rene Descartes said, Cogito ergo sum or in other words I think, therefore I am, Jean-Paul Sartre takes the different perspective of subjectivity from what was said by Descartes but existentialism always begins in subjectivity because there can be no other truth to begin from than what

Descartes said. The subjectivity that Sartre means here is the subjectivity which is realized in the actual concrete activity or the subjectivity that can be seen through a physical significance in the world. That is why in order to discover the feeling of being exist, one being have to make an effort within their life.

Subjectivity gives the sense to be different and the urge to be distinct from everything else as human being is not merely an object in this world but a subject.

Being-for-itself (etre-pour-soi) means that within a human being there is consciousness and this consciousness can be found only in human being. To have a consciousness meaning to have an ability to think for themselves. This is the fact that distinct human being from plants and animals in this world. What plants and animals do in this world is being-in-itself (etre-en-soi). Both plants and

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animals did not have any consciousness within therefore they only merely exist in this world without any significance purpose.

b. Existence precedes essence

As what mentioned above, existence precede essence. How human finds the nature of their existence is only by finding it by their own capabilities. This is also called as the basic principle of existentialism, as it can be found in every existentialist’s perspective. Sartre divide existentialist into two kinds, which are

Christian existentialism and Atheistic existentialism. Sartre was happened to be an Atheistic existentialism, as what he said,

Atheistic existentialism, which I represent, is more coherent. It states that if God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept, and that this being is man, or, as Heidegger says, human reality. What is meant here by saying that existence precedes essence? It means that, first of all, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself. If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be. Thus, there is no human nature, since here is no God to conceive it (Sartre, 1978, p. 3).

As what mentioned above, existence precedes essence. How human find the nature of their existence is only by finding it by their own capabilities. The one who decides what they are in the world is themselves. It also means that in order to find the meaning of existence from a character, it is needed to observe what the character has done for his own existence in the world. An action that able to define his existence in the world. What man does in his life is what he is or in other words he is what he do. Like René Descartes said I think, therefore I am.

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There is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills, and as he conceives himself after already existing – as he wills to be after that leap towards existence. Man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself. That is the first principle of existentialism (Sartre, 1946, p, 3).

At first existence comes to the being at the beginning and then the individual will enter the world with their action, interaction, and their present and soon after that the human being will decide his own essence based on every action and his interaction with the people, the nature and every opportunity he got from the world. Sartre also added that every human being is defined or made essentially by development of his character through his time and interaction with the world and its people. Human being starts with nothing but human being also be able to think, to choose, and make decision in their life. With all of those abilities human being be able to define their essence. To obtain an essence it takes an act of thinking, decision to make, and a will to act. Essence is not merely an action that one being done but it is more like the purpose that one being choose to make it as their goal to achieve in their life.

This is the subjectivity that Sartre means that every human has its own consciousness and it can only be found in human. Every being that has consciousness is condemned to be free and every action that human have done is always based on his own consciousness and their own choice, a being with conscious within will always have to make a decision in his life and Sartre believe that human being cannot escape this fate. This concern is connected to the next principles which is freedom and will be discussed below.

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c. Freedom

What it feels like? To have a freedom in life. Like what Sartre said that to be a man is to be able to make his own choice, to decide what is good and what is evil by his own. Man is condemned to a life of freedom in which he must choose. A consideration within those freedom also needed as every action that one being chose from the freedom they condemned to have also implicated on the life of many other people in the world. Like Sartre said one man decides for all men. Meaning that every action from one being is able to shape the world around the one being, as the other will always could see one being action and there is no escape from it. An action can always has possibilities to influence other being’s decision in their life.

The for-itself is free and can cause there to be a world because the for- itself is the being which has to be what it was in the light of what it will be. Therefore the freedom of the for-itself appears as its being. But since the freedom is neither a given nor a property, it can be only by choosing itself, the freedom of the for-itself is always engaged, there is no question here of a freedom which could be undetermined and which would pre-exist its choice. We shall never apprehend ourselves except as a choice in the making but freedom is simply the fact that this choice is always unconditioned (Sartre, 1956, p. 479).

One being who condemned to have such freedom is one being that have consciousness inside them or in other word one being has to have an ability to think for themselves. Animals or objects in the world are not able to have such freedom for they could not make a decision for themselves but human being are always able to make those decision for themselves, although it is also their choice to use that freedom in their life or not. Each human being who has

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conscious within them have an absolute freedom to make choice, as every human who has conscious will make choice in their life and there is no escape from it.

Who, then, can prove that I am the proper person to impose, by my own choice, my conception of man upon mankind? I shall never find any proof whatever; there will be no sign to convince me of it. If a voice speaks to me, it is still I myself who must decide whether the voice is or is not that of an angel. If I regard a certain course of action as good, it is only I who choose to say that it is good and not bad (Sartre, 1946, p, 4).

The ability to choose to be good or to be bad or even not to choose the option is the freedom that one being condemned to have in their life. One being will not be able to have such freedom if one being itself not able to make a decision in the first place. That is why one consciousness in one being does not always mean that they have freedom, but one being should also have an ability to make choices for themselves in order to have such freedom.

The sense of freedom that every human have and condemned to have is how every action that human have justified. It is what the human and by all rights every human can their own choice and define what their existence means for the world. Sartre happened to make three categories within his definition of freedom, a. the man whom he compares to a stone: The man who makes no choice and

make a no-choice life for himself yet he live in a bliss. A man who refuses

to commit himself in any responsibility in his life and continue to live in

his passive habits. b. the man whom he compares to plants: The man who is not satisfied with

his life yet he lacks the courage to take any actions to change it. Obeys

other people but realize the fact that he didn’t like it.

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c. the man not compared to stones or plants: The man who suffers from

freedom. The man who has courage to use all of his capabilites to make

changes in his life. He has the nobility to use freedom for the betterment

of his life.

Although human have their own complete freedom for every individual, it is also important for human to feel being for-the-others. Human, with the action that they have done (which is also a gift of freedom they have) must realize that their existence are not only merely for themselves. A man is not alone and there are other consciousness that can be affected by his action. This is where the principle of responsibilities emerged. How an action from an individual defines not for himself or herself but also have meaning for other people or the world itself.

d. Responsibility

To have a freedom and to act in this life, human have to commit himself in his action and have to be responsible in every consequences that happen by his action. To be more precise, there is a sense of freedom to act, an Individual existence or one existence may also affecting other individual existences, it is essential to aware that every individual have to be responsible with every action that the individual takes.

Cited from W. John Campbell’s review of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit. He is explaining responsibility from Sartre’s principle,

He has a responsibility before other citizens for his actions. By acting, he creates a certain essence for society ("by choosing for oneself, man

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chooses for all men"); any action which one takes affects the rest of humanity. From the moment when man makes a choice, he is committed. One must not renege on one's responsibility (as does Electra in The Flies), nor must one place the responsibility for one's actions onto the shoulders of someone else. Man should not regret what he has done. An act is an act (2018, para, 9).

Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that the freedom to act for one individual is basically limited by other people existence. It is precise that the responsibility is meant for other people, so the person has to consider every action the person is about to take.

C. Review of Related Background

The story of Satoru Nakata begins during the World War II era and ended in his late stage of life which is in a modern era of Japan. The writer itself Haruki

Murakami has been consider as a postmodernism writer who often to address his works with past historical memory and Japanese cultural identity. The writer found that it is relevant to show the related background of history in Japan after losing in World War II.

On September 2, 1945. Japan formally signed a treaty to surrender to the

United States and his allied. This treaty officially brings the end of World War

II to Japan. This unconditional surrender brings a large new changes to Japan who also known as a nation who strongly uphold their original culture. The atomic bomb that dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the death of thousand

Japanese citizen has been traumatize the nation since then. The idea of being taken from its original identity and being forced to followed the rules that the western people has always haunted the people of Japan. After the World War II

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Japan has been struggling to preserve their culture and at the same time try to keep up with the development of the world. After suffer the losses, Japan established a new identity of anti-militarism, aversion to nuclear weapons and focus only on the economic development in the country which eventually makes

Japan restore to its former stable condition.

D. Theoretical Framework

The writer needs to find out the principle of existentialism from Satoru

Nakata’s life. In order to do that, the writer will first need to analyze the character of Satoru Nakata first, like his personality, his motivation on doing the journey to define his existence, and also his interaction with other characters in the story by using the theory of character and characterization also Murphy’s theory on characters. Then the writer will analyze the character development that occurred in the character of Satoru Nakata. After that, the writer will try to find the principle of existentialism from the character of Satoru Nakata and the struggle of his journey. It is based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism, such as existence precedes essence, freedom and responsibility.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study is Kafka on the Shore. A book written by Haruki

Murakami and first published in 2002. Haruki Murakami has been known as one of the most prominent writer in the world, his books have been bestsellers in

Japan and in any other countries. His books have been translated into many languages. Kafka on the Shore is originally written in japan, so the original works have been translated into English in 2005 by Philip Gabriel under the publisher of Vintage International in New York, USA. The novel has received mostly positive reviews and critical acclaim, including a spot on The New York Times

10 Best Books of 2005 and the World Fantasy Award. For the writer himself,

Haruki Murakami have got many awards for his books, in Japan and internationally, including the World Fantasy Award, the Frank O'Connor

International Short Story Award and also the Franz Kafka Prize all in 2006 and the Jerusalem Prize in 2009.

Kafka on the Shore is a story about two remarkable life. First is teenager named Kafka Tamura, he run away from home either to escape or to search for his long-missing mother and sister. The second life is about an old man called

Satoru Nakata who lost his normal intelligence when he was a child. This study will be more focused on the second story which is Satoru Nakata. Satoru Nakata is an old man who lost his intelligence but somehow was able to speak to a cat

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and did any other supernatural things like make fish fall from the sky and knowing his own destiny.

B. Approach of the Study

In this study, the writer wants to reveal the meaning behind Satoru

Nakata’s journey of defining his own life, what values of existentialism from the

Nakata’s life, what changes that happen to Satoru Nakata life in the end, what is he searching for, What Satoru Nakata’s give to the people surrounding him and the people so that they could find a better way to value the principle of existentialism.

In order to do that, the writer will use moral philosophical approach and takes Existentialism as the focus. For the search of the meaning of existence, the writer believes that moral philosophical will be the best suited approach. As moral philosophical approach is one of the basic way to find good value from reality with the truth.

As what Robert Johnson and Adam Cureton (2018) stated,

The most basic aim of moral philosophy, and so also of the Groundwork, is, in Kant’s view, to “seek out” the foundational principle of a “metaphysics of morals,” which Kant understands as a system of a priori moral principles that apply the CI to human persons in all times and cultures (para, 3).

Immanuel Kant said Categorical Imperative (CI) means that the supreme principle of morality is a standard of rationality. Kant characterized the CI as an objective, rationally necessary and unconditional principle that we always follow despite any natural desires or inclinations we may have to the contrary.

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As in the story, Satoru Nakata had a choice whether to stay or come to look for the truth about himself. With the act of freedom he chose to find the meaning of his existence by looking the real reason of him losing his basic intelligence.

With that, the writer will use philosophical approach to uncover the ideas of existentialism from it.

C. Method of the Study

This study was a library research. There were two sources of the study, the primary data and the secondary data. The primary data of this study is Haruki

Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. While the secondary data will be taken from some books, reviews, articles, and the internet sources to support the process of analyzing the data of this study.

There were four steps that the writer took in doing this study. First step was to read Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore so that the writer could comprehend the story as a whole although the study was only focusing on one of the branch story, this was essential since the other story aside Satoru Nakata’s story was also important and had an impact in Satoru Nakata.

The second step was to search and gather all the theory related toward the study of existentialism, for such helped the writer to explain and understand all the principle that needed to finish this research. The materials for the theory were in the form of books, journals, and papers. Some of materials from internet such as review about the related books and study was also be one of the materials that gathered for the importance of this research.

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The third step was to start to identifying and analyzing the study based on the problem formulations that had been made. The writer tried to identify the existentialism principles that were revealed on Satoru Nakata’s character and the values from those principles. In order to do that the writer was characterizing the character of Satoru Nakata first and also the character development, this included things like the people that Satoru Nakata interacted with, his motivation and how he interacted with other characters. It used M.J Murphy’s theory of character characterization and from it the writer tried to identify the existentialism principles that seen in the struggle of Satoru Nakata during his journey which the principles that based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s Existentialism.

In the fourth step, the writer was to reread the analysis and tried to create a conclusion based on the found in the analysis. In this part, the writer was explain all the relation between all the used theories in the study as it showed the principle and the value of human existence showed in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore novel, specifically from the character of Satoru Nakata.

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

In this part, the writer will answer the three questions in the problem formulation. The first step is to analyze the characterization of Satoru Nakata in

Kafka on the Shore. The second step is present the character development that occur in the character of Satoru Nakata. The third step is to find the principles of existentialism from Satoru Nakata’s life based on Jean-Paul Sartre’s

Existentialism.

To analysis the characteristics of Satoru Nakata, the writer will use method based on the theory from M.J Murphy in his book, Understanding Unseen: An

Introduction to English Poetry and Novel for Overseas Student. The analysis of

Satoru Nakata’s characterization is based on those qualities and dialogues that occur in the story.

A. The Characteristics of Satoru Nakata

There are two major characters in Kafka on the Shore and Satoru Nakata is one of them. Satoru Nakata’s characteristics can be seen in his action, how he describe himself and how other characters describe him. As from the beginning,

Satoru Nakata was born as a normal person until a sudden accident happened in his childhood and changed him into a person who lost his basic intelligent. Basic intelligent such as the ability to write, read, or to have a long term memories.

Many supernatural things happened since then and Satoru Nakata decided to find out the reason behind all of the supernatural things that happened in his life. So

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he made a journey from his home to Takamatsu the place where grew up and had accident when he was a child. The characteristic that mentioned below are the characteristics that Nakata had before he meets Johnnie Walker as the characteristic within Satoru Nakata changes after that.

In order to find out Satoru Nakata’s Characteristics, the writer uses the theory of characterization by Murphy. According to Murphy, there are nine way to analyze the characteristics of a character, which are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comments, thoughts, and mannerism. These are the characteristics within the character of Satoru Nakata before he met Johnnie Walker, as later on the characteristics will be developed.

1. Honest and innocent Person

Satoru is an honest and innocent person, as from the beginning of the story

Satoru does not mind at all being called as an odd person, he even called himself as person who is not so bright. With the personal description theory that Murphy states, this characteristic can be found. Here is one of the personal description that Satoru Nakata said in the story after being told that he have an odd way to speak and yet he doesn’t get upset by it,

Yes, everybody tells me that. But this is the only way Nakata can speak. I try to talk normally but this is what happens. Nakata’s not very bright you see. I wasn’t always this way, but when I was little I was in an accident and I’ve been dumb ever since. Nakata can’t write. Or read a book or a newspaper (Murakami, 2005, p, 51).

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Satoru Nakata never tried to hide his disadvantages and he didn’t even have a problem with what happened to himself. Every time he spoke to another person or to an animal he always repeatedly said that he is not a bright person even though the person who is being talk to already knew that fact. Satoru Nakata tried to say it blandly about his disadvantages so that other people would have a more understandable approach toward him.

Besides of being so innocent like all the time, Satoru Nakata is also a very honest man. Satoru Nakata ever tried to say blandly about how he just stabbed a man (Johnnie Walker) into his dead to a policeman. Satoru Nakata without any hesitation said that he just stabbed a person, when the policeman tried to make sure that he didn’t hear it in a wrong way, Nakata only said “Yes, Nakata killed a person with a knife. Just a little while ago” (Murakami, 2005, p, 175). It is easy to perceive that Satoru Nakata was not able to decide or know which situation that could bring him into trouble. As Satoru Nakata’s mind could not even bare to decide wrong and right things, so he just said anything as blandly as the fact is that he see before he completely forget it.

Satoru Nakata also always said all of his favorite straight forwardly without any hesitation. “Yes, eel is one of Nakata’s favorites” (Murakami, 2005, p, 199), this is a habit for Nakata to say it that way and if he was being asked again on the same matter Nakata will simply reply with, “Yes, that’s one of

Nakata’s favorite too” (Murakami, 2005, p, 199). Satoru Nakata always answer any question with a sincerely answer, no matter the situation. Being Innocent has been one the strongest traits that Satoru Nakata have.

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2. Feebleminded person

Satoru Nakata is not a bright person. As what mentioned before Satoru

Nakata is a person who lost his basic intelligences and it makes him so clueless on almost everything. Nakata never knew what caused him to lose his intelligences, the only thing he did know is that he got an accident when he was a child. The only things that Nakata could say about the accident it’s how it affected him and how it happened. This what Satoru Nakata said when he is being asked on how he lost his intelligences,

Nakata can’t really remember. They don’t know why, but I had a high fever for about three weeks. I was unconscious the whole time. I was asleep in a bed in a hospital, they told me, with an intra-venus in me. And when I finally woke up, I couldn’t remember a thing, I’d forgotten my father’s face, my mother’s face, how to read, how to add, what my house looked like inside, even my own name. My head was completely empty, like a bathtub after you pull the plug (Murakami, 2005, p, 54).

This condition makes some difficulties for him. In one condition when

Nakata was quite desperate he was admitting toward two young women. He said,

“I’ve never been out of Nakano Ward before. So I don’t know how to take the train. I just don’t know how to ride the city bus. I can’t read, I can’t buy a ticket.

I took the city bus here, but don’t know how to go any further” (Murakami, 2005, p, 195).

Although with that difficulties, many people are sympathy toward him and decided to help him as much as they could help. As he repeatedly saying to other people that he is not a bright person. Nakata did not know what to do with his life, the only thing that matter for Nakata is just that he see all of his need to live fulfill.

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But he had no idea where and how the world could be violent. The world was full of things Nakata couldn’t comprehend, and most things connected with violence fell into that category (Murakami, 2005, p, 88).

Satoru Nakata had hard time to follow how the world works, it is just simply too much for Nakata. Everything that Nakata had and every aspect of the way he lives in Nakano Ward were arranged by other people. How he should live in, where he live, the things he should do and do not do, were regulated by his family and the government. Nakata obey all the rules that has been set for him like his life depends on it, as he would not what he should do with his life or in other words Nakata is unable to make decisions or make judgment in his own life.

3. Apathetic Person

In his late part of his life, Satoru Nakata just wanted to live his life as the way it was meant to be. In fact after he had accident during his childhood, Nakata begin to be an apathetic person. To begin with, Nakata has always been alone in his life, most of the time, Nakata went to look for a missing cat and then sleep and eat alone. He live in ignorance and try to avoid any unnecessary involvement with other people.

The fact that people been avoided Nakata makes him being also wish to avoid the people. According to Campbell and Bond one the features that may develop a characteristic on a person is the general physical and social environment. The responses of the people toward Nakata made Nakata become apathetic with his surrounds. In this case, people tend to avoid a handicapped

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person in order to avoid an uncomfortable situation, unfortunately this also applied to Satoru Nakata.

Still, he never felt lonely or unhappy. He never felt sexual desire, or even wanted to be with anyone. He understood he was different from other people. Though no one else noticed this, he thought his shadow on the ground was paler, lighter, than that of other people. The only ones who really understood him were the cats. On days off he’d sit on a park bench and spend the whole day chatting with them. Strangely enough with cats he never ran out of things to talk about (Murakami, 2005, p, 223)

It is not by his choice to be an apathetic person, but because people made him that way. In Nakata’s perspective being an apathetic is not a bad thing, he believes by not interacting with other people too much would be better for both

Nakata and the society. In a way, being apathetic is how Nakata care to other people as other people would eventually got nothing to say when they talk with

Nakata. Satoru Nakata tend to avoid people as people avoid him as well.

Nakata’s well past sixty now, Mr. Otsuka. Once I got past sixty I was quite used to being dumb, and people not having anything to do with me. You can survive without riding trains. Father’s dead, so nobody hits me anymore. Mother’s dead too, so she doesn’t cry. So actually, if you say I’m pretty smart, it’s a bit upsetting. You see, if I’m not dumb then the governor won’t give me a sub city anymore and no more special bus pass. If the governor says, you’re not dumb after all, then Nakata doesn’t know what to say. So this is fine, being dumb (Murakami, 2005, p, 55).

Satoru Nakata also believes that people’s life would be much better if they have less interaction with him. The way Nakata see, the circumstances was much better when he have a conversation with a cat rather than talking with a person, because he see that people with disabilities tend to have some difficulties in their life, so he rather to avoid too much involvement with other people. Nakata feels uneasy when asking for help. Nakata does not want to be a problem for other

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people especially for his own family, so avoid other people become a priority for

Nakata.

4. Lack of Self Confidence

Satoru Nakata believed that he was not able to live without the help of other people. As mentioned before, Nakata repeatedly said that he is not a bright person thus he believed he needed to follow the system that existed around his life and every advices that his family told. Nakata was scared to stray too far from Nakano Ward not because his family told him too, but rather to avoid to create a trouble for their family as he believe he might get lost. This condition happened because of he lost ability to read things in his childhood, because of this condition he did not dare enough to leave Nakano Ward. Based on his own personal description Nakata describe how he just can’t go out from Nakano

Ward.

These days I spend more days than not out searching for cats. I don’t like to go too far away, so I just look for them inside Nakano Ward. Otherwise I’ll be the one lost and they’ll be out looking for me (Murakami, 2005, p, 52).

Nakata also believed that everything he had in Nakano Ward already sufficient for him. The government gave him monthly subsidy for the elderly handicapped and most of his needs were fulfilled by his family and even the house he lived in are an heritance from Nakata’s parents. He did not want to make any trouble for anyone. He not particularly desired anything and just wanted to live his life, that way he never tried to do anything in particular.

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Another example is seen in Nakata’s tendency to look down upon himself.

Satoru Nakata kept remind other people that he is not a bright person in every conversation even though it is not entirely necessary to say it. This made him see himself as if he was someone who not capable in doing anything. This characteristic is seen through Nakata’s personal description on himself.

Yes, No . . . I mean, Nakata doesn’t really know about that, but ever since I was little people said you’re dumb, you’re dumb, so I suppose I must be. I can’t read the names of stations so I can’t read the names of stations so I can’t buy a ticket and take a train. If I show my handicap pass, though, they let me ride the city bus (Murakami, 2005, p, 51).

Nakata underestimated his own capabilities just because he does not look like other people and it made him so pessimistic about everything. He saw himself as a liability and a mess that needed to be taking care of since he was child and stays until he became an old man. He used to being helped by other people and so that made him so pessimistic about his own self and not confided enough on his own.

5. Person with no basic intelligence

It is said before that Satoru Nakata has lost his basic intelligence. Once

Satoru Nakata was a normal boy like any other kids but then he had accident during his outdoor session to the Rice Bowl Hill with his classmates. The idea of being normal has haunted Satoru Nakata since then as he perceive that he is not a normal person. Satoru Nakata believe that a normal person is person who have a steady job, have good relation or social life, and being significant in the society, as Nakata see that he is unable to do that so he see himself as not a

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normal person. The accident itself was described mysteriously as nobody really knew what the real cause of the accident was.

But then I stood up and looked around I saw that all the children had collapsed. All sixteen of them had fallen to the ground and lost consciousness. The only one still conscious and standing was me. It was like a battlefield (Murakami, 2005, p, 18).

Soon after the teacher was running for help to the school, some the student regained consciousness. In fact the only child who was not regained consciousness is Satoru Nakata. He was the only child who had to be carried by the doctor back down the hill while the other kids are just walk by themselves like nothing had happened before. At the following day of the accident, Satoru

Nakata was taken to the university hospital in Kofu and then transferred to a military hospital. Although the accident quite bizarre and shocking, the government decided to cover up the incident. The school was banned to mention the accident ever again and it never made to the local newspaper as if the government believe that the accident only cause unrest if it ever get to the public.

You have to remember that during the war the military tried to squelch whatever they saw as groundless rumors. The war wasn’t going well, with the military retreating on the southern front, suicide attacks one after the other, air raids on cities getting worse all the time. The military was especially afraid of any antiwar or pacifist sentiment cropping up among the populace. A few days after the incident the police came calling and warned us that under no circumstances were we to talk about what we’d seen (Murakami, 2005, p, 33).

After a couple weeks, Satoru Nakata regained his consciousness in the hospital but somehow he did not recognize his family and he also lost his ability to read and write. Nakata become vulnerable just like that, without any clear explanation from the doctor. Nakata and his family were also being told to not

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speak of this incident to anyone by the government as the guarantee that the government will taking care of Satoru Nakata for the rest of his life.

Satoru Nakata always fully aware that he was not always live without basic intelligence. Satoru Nakata knew that he lost his intelligence along the way in his childhood and yet he does not seems to care about it. In fact Satoru Nakata tried to adapt with the condition he had and accepted the way he was. Satoru

Nakata knew that things was not normal in his life and it needed to be fixed but the fact that his life was sufficiently fulfills stop him to make any changes in his life.

B. The Character development of Satoru Nakata

In this part, the writer analyzes the character development that occur within

Satoru Nakata after he met Johnnie Walker. This meeting resulted many changes within Satoru Nakata’s life. As mentioned before, Satoru Nakata lived in a constant life. Everything went well for him for that he did not wish for any changes happened in his life but then he met Johnny Walker and everything started to change.

After got retired from his last job, Satoru Nakata spent his life helped his neighbors to find their lost cats, due to the fact that Nakata was able speak with

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cats. One day, Nakata was being asked by his neighbor to find their missing cat name Goma, this task led Nakata to meet Johnnie Walker in the end. Johnnie

Walker is a cat catcher that responsible for the many lost cats in Nakata’s neighborhood. Johnnie Walker is obsesses in collecting cats so he can kill them and make a flute out of the cats' souls that he just killed. Goma is one of the cats that Johnnie Walker about to kill, in fact Nakata came into Johnnie Walker’s house right before he about to kill Goma. Johnnie Walker offered a deal to

Nakata, he asked for a favor in return he will give Goma to Nakata safely.

Unexpectedly, Johnnie Walker wants to die and he ask Nakata to kill him.

Johnnie Walker wanted to die because he tired of his repetitive life of killing cats again and again endlessly that’s why he asked Nakata to kill him.

This precarious situation make Nakata do something that he never done, which is to make a decision for his own life. Nakata has lived within a strict life that he believe he cannot do anything while actually he can. He let other people to make every decisions he have to make in his life, like to live in Nakano Ward, or to just follow the rules that the government set to follow. He live on a string and for once in his lifetime he get to make decision of his own. Johnnie Walker did not intend to grant such things as he only care about his own desire but nevertheless this situation help Nakata to push himself into his own limit.

Truthfully, I’m sick and tired of this life. I’ve lived a long, long time. I don’t even remember how old I am. And I don’t feel like living any longer. I’m sick and tired of killing cats, but as long as I live that’s what I have to do murder one cat after another and harvest their souls. Following things in the correct order, step one to step ten, then back to one again. An endless repetition (Murakami, 2005, p, 150).

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Satoru Nakata had no choice to granted Johnnie Walker wish but not because he felt intimidated by Johnnie Walker but because he believes that is the right thing to do. As Johnnie threaten to kill Goma. The decision that Nakata made might save many innocent cats in the future. After Nakata kill Johnnie

Walker, this made him not able to live in his life the same way he did. Satoru

Nakata decide to leave Nakano Ward and seeks more answer in his life. Nakata becomes self-reliance and believe on his own self. He leaves Nakano Ward by his own to seek answer that he never intend to find out before and all of this would never happen if he never met Johnnie Walker.

Satoru Nakata has always been an honest man from the beginning but only lack of courage in telling what he wanted or not wanted. After kill Johnnie

Walker, Satoru Nakata did not want to miss this event slip by from his mind as he might forgot about things that he had done before. Taking someone else life is a serious thing, even for a normal people. So then he decides to report the incident to the policeman so it may be resolved, “No sir, Nakata wants to tell everything while he still remembers it. If I wait until tomorrow I might forget something important” (Murakami, 2005, p, 175). Unfortunately, although with such confidence in saying the truth, the policeman did not take Nakata’s statement seriously.

Another particular characteristic that changes on Satoru Nakata is that he is no longer an apathetic person. Before Johnnie Walker, Nakata not particularly care about what going on with his surrounding, in fact helping those cats it just his way to fill his free time during his retirement.

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You’re right. It is a pretty good life. Nakata can keep out of the wind and rain, and I have everything I need. And sometimes, like now, people ask me to help them find cats. They give me a present when I do (Murakami, 2005, p, 52).

By saving Goma from Johnnie Walker, Nakata started to care with his surroundings. In the middle of his journey after leaving Nakano Ward, Satoru

Nakata encounter with another precarious situation where he sees a man being beaten down by a group of young men. Nakata decides to help that stranger even though he does not know him. Before Nakata left Nakano Ward, He was at best try to avoid other people, he only talk or interact with other people if he must or it related to his need.

Nakata closed his eyes. He could feel something welling up inside him. Beyond his control. He felt slightly nauseous. The memory of stabbing Johnnie Walker suddenly came back to him. His hand still remembered what it felt like to plunge a knife into a man’s chest. Connection. (Murakami, 2005, p, 203).

By this time, Nakata also have a much better confidence than before. He started to see himself capable in doing something, as the old Nakata self would not have such bravery. Satoru Nakata save the stranger by make the sky rain with leeches and it made the young men run away. This way Nakata was able to save that poor man. “You’d better call the police, or else he might die” (Murakami,

2005, p, 204) said Nakata toward one of the employees in the nearest restaurant after saving the man. Such bravery would not emerged without Nakata’s action of killing Johnnie Walker. As mentioned before Satoru Nakata always avoided any responsibilities or any engagement with the society and yet here Nakata just saved stranger who he never met before.

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Satoru Nakata was known as a feebleminded person who cannot decide anything with his life. For once in his life he decide everything on his own, in fact in his journey Nakata is the only person who decide where to go and what to do as later on Nakata will be helped by Hoshino during his journey but

Hoshino just follow Nakata’s direction blindly. Hoshino helped Nakata because he see the impression of his grandfather on Nakata but later on it grow more than that. Nakata decide to look some answer about the cause why he lost his memories because Nakata’s only wishes is just to make things normal for everyone especially for himself.

That’s exactly right. I’m not very bright, but I could build furniture, and I did it day after day. I liked making things desks, chairs, chests. It’s nice to make things with nice shapes. Those years I made furniture, I never thought about wanting to be normal again. And there wasn’t anyone I knew who tried to get inside me. Nakata never felt afraid of everything. But after meeting Johnnie Walker I got very afraid (Murakami, 2005, p, 321).

Johnnie Walker becomes the key figure that trigger all of the characteristics changes that occur on Satoru Nakata, as he become not feebleminded, not apathetic, have a much better confidence on himself.

C. Existentialism principles revealed in Satoru Nakata

In this part, the writer tries to reveal the existentialism principles that happen to be seen within the character of Satoru Nakata, by that the writer recaps all the events that happen within the character of Satoru Nakata, that include the development of the character and his struggle during his journey.

In order to do that, the writer divides the discussion into several category based on the existentialism principles that being discussed. The principles of

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existentialism that discussed are taken from Jean Paul Sartre’s existentialism and it is include principles such as, existence precedes essence, freedom and responsibility.

1. Existence precedes essence

As what Sartre said that the essence of human life can only be found by one individual own doing and his own will. This principles is happen to be the sole principle of every existentialism theory and it is seen in the character of

Satoru Nakata. Essence for a human being is a purpose of life that one human being choose to pursuit or dedicate in their life. Every human being in this world have to have an essence in this world so that one being can fill this meaninglessness of the world with their essence.

Existence is absurd. Life has no meaning. Death is the ultimate absurdity: It undoes everything that life has been building up to. One is born by chance, one dies by chance. There is no God (Campbell, W. John, 2018, para, 2).

Satoru Nakata was just an ordinary person who never questioning his own existence and in fact he live in a bliss with that condition. Satoru Nakata started to wonder about his existence after he stabbed Johnnie Walker into his dead which is a situation that eventually forced Satoru Nakata to left Nakano Ward and to find an answer about his existence. Satoru Nakata was never dare to leave his neighborhood, not even once, due to the fact that he lost his memories and his family who are not permit him to travel too far from his home. Nakata couldn’t read so it made him not able to travel away from Nakano Ward. He

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scared that he might get lost if he ever left Nakano Ward. It also clear that Satoru

Nakata was satisfied with what he had and what he knew about himself.

By killing Johnnie Walker, Nakata realized that he just cannot stay in

Nakano Ward anymore. That situation push him to leave Nakano Ward.

Previously, Johnnie Walker personally ask Nakata to kill him in exchange of

Goma’s life, this way Johnnie Walker push Nakata to make a choice and for once in Nakata’s life he must. Satoru Nakata have to make choice for his own as before he always let other people to make one for him.

You need to make a choice right here and now. This might seem an outrageous choice, but consider this most choices we make in life are equally outrageous (Murakami, 2005, p, 151).

Johnnie Walker did not have any intention to get involve in Nakata’s personal life, in fact he ask that favor because he is not happy with the way he live his life. Johnnie Walker hate the fact that he must keep killing innocent cats and he know that the only way to stop him is by kill him.

This situation triggered Nakata’s deepest desire to emerge. Satoru Nakata was once a normal person with his basic intelligence and so on, completely normal person until someday during his childhood he had a mysterious accident that made him lost his basic intelligence. Satoru Nakata was never desire anything as everything in his life is well sufficient but then after he being push

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to left Nakano Ward he started to wonder about his own existence. Nakata want things to be normal again as it used to and then he decide to begin his journey.

Satoru Nakata dedicated his life to this journey, in hoping to make things normal again like what it used to. Nakata decide to himself that there are some things need to be done and something to resolved in his life. This journey become his essence, the path that Nakata’s choose to be his essence. Once before Nakata was just a simple person who decide to follow every rules that the society provide for him, avoiding too much involvement and do not want to attract too much attention. Nakata just want to live his life peacefully but Johnnie Walker push him out from those mundane ordinary life.

Toward the end of his journey, Satoru Nakata did find the stone that he is looking for, the stone that he believed as the entrance stone that need to be closed so that things would back to normal again. Unfortunately, Nakata died before he actually closed the entrance. Hoshino his friend realize that Nakata’s journey was never meant to finish but the way how he finally do it and how he end it is the only suitable way for Nakata to finish his journey.

Maybe death would take Nakata back to the way he used to be. When he was alive, he was always good old Nakata, a not-so-bright, cat-talking old man. Maybe death was the only road back to being the “normal Nakata” he’d always talked about (Murakami, 2005, p, 427).

Hoshino believe that now that Nakata is died, it is his responsible now to close the entrance stone. He also know that the journey or the essence that Nakata dedicated in his late life was never to be complete or finish. What is matter from it is that the act of doing the journey. By doing the journey, Satoru Nakata help so many people toward the betterment of life. Implied from what Miss Saeki

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said, “Yes, it was. The process of writing was important, Even though the finished product is completely meaningless” (Murakami, 2005, p, 411). In the end, what matters is not how the journey end but how the journey impact many people and inspire them all. The journey is what made of Satoru Nakata existence in the world, as he left a part of him or his essence to the few people who met during his journey.

Another of interesting thing that happen during Nakata’s journey is when

Nakata and Hoshino went on burn Miss Saeki’s files. Miss Saeki is the person who give place for Kafka Tamura (other main character) to stay in her public library that she own. In here, the explanation of what happen in Nakata’s life started get its clearer picture as he started to get the brief explanation about his life. Miss Saeki explained how she opened the entrance stone once ago and it was the cause why Nakata lost his memories as he just lost half of his shadow so that some other people’s life would be better.

Back to the previous matter, Hoshino said something that somehow trigger interesting opinion about what happen to Miss Saeki. Hoshino said, “I don’t know what was written in it, but it’s all gone. A bit of shape and form has disappeared from the world, increasing the amount of nothingness” (Murakami,

2005, p, 424). Nakata then asked Hoshino, “Can nothingness increase?”

(Murakami, 2005, p, 424). Hoshino replied, “If something returns to nothing it becomes zero, but even if you add zero to zero, it’s still zero” (Murakami, 2005, p, 424). What Hoshino tried to say that something that was already nothing could not be changed as the life itself is just full of nothingness. What people always

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try to do like finding essence to fill the nothingness in the world is an act of vain that won’t change anything even people try to, but the least human could do in life is just to fill his life with their essence although there is no escape from the meaninglessness and the nothingness of the world.

2. Freedom

All men are condemn to a life of freedom in which he must choose be free and to be a man is to be able to make his own choice, to decide what is good and what is evil by his own. Every human being that have consciousness within have the right to make choices and even to make no choice is also consider as a choice.

Satoru Nakata is also have the right to have that freedom and he embrace it for the betterment of his life. Before all of that, Nakata was chooses to live without that freedom, in fact he let other people to decide every aspects in his life for him. Satoru Nakata was known as a man with lack of confidence within him and the fact that his life is well sufficient make him did not have interest to find more explanation about his own existence.

Nakata understood this well. In that world there was no writing, no days of the week, no scary governor, no opera, no BMWs, no scissors, no tall hats. On other hand, there was also no delicious eel, no tasty bean-jam buns. Everything is there, but there are no parts. Since there are no parts, there no need to replace one thing with another. No need to remove anything, or add anything. You don’t have to think about difficult things, just let yourself soak it all in. For Nakata, nothing could be better (Murakami, 2005, p, 90).

Satoru Nakata was live an insignificant life and happy with that condition.

He did not mind to be in an insignificant role in society. Nakata quite satisfied with his condition in Nakano Ward even though he trapped in a life where

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everything happen constantly. The only interesting activity that Nakata do in his life is just when he help his neighbors to find their missing cats and when nobody is giving him any job, Satoru Nakata will just wait aimlessly for nothing and spent time alone in his home. It is also a fact, though Nakata did not have a normal intelligent, he realized that he was avoiding all the responsibilities that a normal person would get. Responsibilities, like getting a decent job for paying bills, involved more in society and other responsibilities. He knew that he created a little paradise for himself where everything was just happened constant and nothing happened, or in other words a meaningless life. As what Sartre said that human being is nothing without their own free will and their essence of existence that lead human being away from the nothingness and meaningless life. Nakata’s portrayal of being satisfied with his meaningless life just the exact portrayal of someone that Sartre despised.

Nakata had no interest to find out the cause of his lost memories or even to know the reason why he was able to talk to cats due to his well sufficient life.

This happens to be suitable with one of Sartre’s freedom categories which is the man whom he compares to a stone, the man who makes no choices and make a no-choice life for himself yet he live in a bliss. Nakata seemed to avoid any unnecessary problems and stays to be in his safe zone. Even though, he helped his neighbors to find their missing cats and did it all with full responsibility but he always kept play it safe and not questioning anything about his life. The activity that he choose to make him happy would not bring any value to his

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existence as he remain insignificant and leave nothing good to the society for he do all of that just to just follow the rule that the world presented for him.

One day during Satoru Nakata’s constant mundane life, Nakata was asked by The Koizumis to find their missing cat named Goma. This particular job is what made Nakata meet Johnnie Walker for the first time. As mentioned before,

Johnnie Walker is a person who used to kill many cats and harvest their souls.

Despite the fact that he keep doing the killing Johnnie Walker actually hate the way he live his life. The figure of Johnnie Walker represent Sartre’s theory which is the man whom he compares to plants, the man who not satisfied with his life yet he lacks the courage to take any actions to change it and realize the fact that he did not like it. As what Johnnie Walker said when he asked Nakata about his deal,

Johnnie Walker realized the fact that he is unhappy with his life and yet he decided to keep doing what he has been doing and not took any action to change it. This to be another type of the people that Sartre despised. To have a change in life, human being have to do it with their own capabilities not by waiting or asked other people to change it for them. In here Johnnie Walker refused to take lead on his own life, in fact he asked Nakata to do it for him.

I can’t just suddenly say I quit and stop what I’m doing. And taking my own life isn’t an option. That’s already been decided too. There’re all sorts of rules involved. If I want to die, I have to get somebody else to kill me.

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That’s where you come in. I want you to fear me, to hate me with a passion and then terminate me (Murakami, 2005, p, 150).

This unexpected outcome somehow pushed Nakata into another boundary in his life that he never dared to take leap which was to take decision with his own will for his own life. “You need to make a choice right here and now. This might seem an outrageous choice, but consider this most choices we make in life are equally outrageous” (Murakami, 2005, p, 151). In the end, Nakata decided to stab Johnnie Walker into his wishful death. After everything that happened with Johnnie Walker, Nakata’s life changed completely.

As mentioned before, there are some changes happen within Nakata’s characteristics. One of the important decision is that Nakata ready to take a big step to leave Nakano Ward for good and to find an answer about his condition.

This to be the last step and the last category of freedom that Sartre discussed in his theory. The man not compared to stones or plants, the man who had courage to use all of his capabilities to make changes in his life and had the nobility to use freedom for the betterment of his life. Satoru Nakata never had any desire in his life but then after Johnnie Walker everything changes and Nakata decide to makes things back to normal.

He always knew that he is not always born with no intelligent. Nakata knew he was once a normal boy and yet he never complain about it until Johnnie

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Walker push him to into his limit. Nakata also knew that the obstacles will be many as he cannot read or understand how to travel at all and yet he left Nakano

Ward anyway and used his will to endure it or in other words, he knew that there will be some suffering that he must pay for the freedom he choose to have.

Nakata wished to be normal like other people become one of the biggest motivation for him doing the journey.

During his journey Nakata meet various people, one of them is to be Miss

Saeki. Nakata had a meeting with Miss Saeki in the end part of his journey. Miss

Saeki lost his lover Komura in her twentieth. Miss Saeki and Komura were childhood sweethearts who believed they were meant to be together. The time when Miss Saeki still a teenager, Miss Saeki wrote a song entitled “Kafka on the

Shore” which is the song to express her love for Komura, the song which also became a painful reminder for her. For Miss Saeki, the past is a painful thing to be remember and yet she did not have any intention to let it go.

My life ended at age twenty. Since then it’s been merely a series of endless reminiscences, a dark, winding corridor leading nowhere. Nevertheless I had to live it, surviving each empty day, seeing each day off still empty (Murakami, 2005, p, 410).

Komura, Miss Saeki first love, died in his twentieth. Since then Miss Saeki lost her interest to live any longer yet she did not want to let go her memories with Komura. Miss Saeki knew that she lived in despair and sadness that she knew that if she kept going she will make more mistakes in her life and yet she kept going and did not want to do any action to change it. “Living longer than I should have has only ruined many people and many things” Miss Saeki said

(Murakami, 2005, p, 409). Miss Saeki admitted that she had done a shameful

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thing, as she just had a sexual relationship and made love with a fifteen year old boy named Kafka Tamura, which also stated by Miss Saeki it would not happen if she had not living longer than she should have had. Satoru Nakata who acted with his will to makes things normal again was trying to help Miss Saeki to do thing that she should have done long time ago, which is to die peacefully. Same like Johnnie Walker, Miss Saeki is a person that not satisfied with their life yet didn’t take any action to change it nor to have any will to bring any changes into her life.

Nakata yet another helped other individuals to gain their wishful death but this time with a different way. Miss Saeki gave her lifetime work or should have been her only reason to live in the world to Nakata. The three files that told everything about Miss Saeki’s life, Miss Saeki wanted Nakata to burn those three files. Nakata promised to Miss Saeki that he won’t read those files and will straight burn them right away and so he did.

The works that implied as not important in the end but have an essential value in process of making it. “Yes, it was. The process of writing was important,

Even though the finished product is completely meaningless” (Murakami, 2005, p, 411). Miss Saeki symbolized the works that she wrote in her whole life as her life itself, as the process in the making of the works is the essence that Miss Saeki believed as her only purpose to live after the death of Komura or in this case it become her new essence in her life. As what it is implied that in the end her works meant nothing as her life ended when the works finished. Not long after

Miss Saeki gave Nakata her lifetime works, she just passed away.

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Miss Saeki had the figure like Johnnie Walker, as she live her life miserably and she did not take any decision to make her life better. All she doing is just trapped in her essence and it hurt her so bad that she just wanted to died.

Miss Saeki represent Sartre’s freedom category the man whom he compares to plants as she is not happy with the condition of her life and did nothing about it.

Another particular person that Satoru Nakata meet during his journey is

Hoshino. Hoshino is a truck driver that he met at the Fujigawa rest area, Hoshino his grandfather’s impression on Nakata so he decide to help him. Hoshino is a man who live within the straight line that the world presented, he got a steady job, always follow the rules that the society presented, and not particularly wanted to be significant. As like the figure of Satoru Nakata was, Hoshino is the man whom he compares to a stone. Nobody ever demand Hoshino to have a much significant life and he is happy with the way of his life. There is nothing wrong to have such life but Satoru Nakata made Hoshino realize how pointless his life is. Hoshino does finally decide to quit his job and promise to himself to have better life in the end of the journey as he see Satoru Nakata’s figure as his inspiration for the betterment of life.

3. Responsibility

Like what Jean-Paul Sartre said, by choosing for oneself, man chooses for all men, this mean that even though men are condemned to be free they must have sense of responsibility in every decision that they make in this world. As

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every man decision in this world are always could affect other human’s life aspects, this condition also applied in Satoru Nakata’s life.

As mentioned before, one of the biggest decision that Nakata makes is to start his journey. This decisions particularly affect some people’s life. The first group of person that is affected by the choice that Nakata’s takes are Johnnie

Walker’s life and maybe the rest of his neighbors in Nakano Ward. Johnnie

Walker would have had kill all innocent cats in Nakano Ward and still not satisfied his desire. Not to mention, it may also even expand to a larger area if

Satoru Nakata did not kill him in Nakano Ward. The death of Johnnie Walker, saves Goma’s life and other innocent cats that captured by Johnnie Walker.

Nakata’s decision to end Johnnie Walker’s suffering saved many innocent cats and it also triggered his own motivation to seek a resolution for his lost memories condition.

The journey itself also give impact to several people, although the journey itself was never meant to help other people or in fact it just merely for the interest of Nakata’s himself it gives impact to other people anyway. During the journey,

Nakata was helped a stranger from some motorcycles gang members who beating him down. Obviously, this stranger would have died if Nakata did not decide to help him on that time. During the end part of his journey Nakata met

Miss Saeki on her private library. Miss Saeki only wishes is to forget his long gone lover who died in her twentieth, she always knew she would never could let him go from his memory and so she asked Nakata to burn all of his writing works so she may live in peace.

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The last person who affected by Nakata’s decision to start his journey is

Hoshino. As he helped Nakata until the end of the journey itself. Hoshino was inspired greatly by the will of Nakata had to bring changes in his life although everything was absurd for him.

The most amazing thing of all has been you, Mr. Nakata. You changed my life. There past ten days, I don’t know things different to me now. Stuff I never would’ve given second glance before seems different. Like music, for instance music I used to think was boring really gets to me now. I feel like I’ve gotta tell somebody about this or bust, somebody who’ll understand what I’ve gone through. Nothing like this ever happened to me before. And it’s all because of you (Murakami, 2005, p, 426).

Nakata helped Hoshino to see the world much clearly. By choosing for oneself, man chooses for all men. Hoshino learned so much from Nakata’s life, even if he had to lost his job because of helping Nakata, Hoshino did not mind as he learned something far more greater knowledge about life from Satoru

Nakata. Like Johnnie Walker and Miss Saeki, Nakata in the end also did succeed in achieving his goal or to complete his journey. Satoru Nakata died in his sleep after helping Miss Saeki. Although death considered as an absurd way of finishing a journey, this is the only way Nakata finishes his journey and get what he always wish for, the wish to make things in his life normal again.

Hoshino was left alone in the room hotel with Nakata’s corpse on the bed.

The silent of the room made and the sadness of being left alone give some space for Hoshino to rethink everything he had when he was with Nakata. Nakata might not have much contribution to the society but Hoshino admired how

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determine Nakata was toward his goal, how kind and pure was Nakata in helping other people. Waiting for the uncertainty, Hoshino have time to rethink about his life. Hoshino started to remember all things that he ever done in his life, like how many girls he ever slept with. What happened with Nakata’s life made Hoshino realized how pointless his life had been. With the death of Nakata, now the responsibility to close the entrance stone passed down to Hoshino. This to be the act that Hoshino believed to repay everything that has happened in his life, to repay the past time when he was ignorance and denied any responsibility in his life. In the end, Nakata’s will to make things normal helped and changed not only his own life but the life of many other people.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

In here, the writer tries to draw conclusions based on the previous analysis above. The result of analysis above are used to answer the problem formulations that the writer previously already formulated.

There are several characteristics that Satoru Nakata has. The first characteristic is that Nakata is an innocent person. This characteristic is seen through his reaction from the beginning of his story. Satoru Nakata did not mind being called odd person in fact he told other people that he is not so bright. After

Johnnie Walker incident, Nakata kept holding on his principle of being honest as he did not try to hide the fact that he just stabbed a man into his death to the policemen.

The second characteristic is that he is a feebleminded person. Nakata is known as a person who lost his basic intelligence, it is also a fact that Nakata did not know what or where he should go during his journey. Nakata just blindly went to the place based on a vague goal that he just randomly knew. This particular decision also made him unable to make any necessary judgments in his life.

The third characteristic is apathetic. During his life in Nakano Ward,

Satoru Nakata always avoid any unnecessary interaction with other people as he always knew that people would get uncomfortable with Nakata’s existence. The fact that people avoid him in the first place makes Nakata to avoid people so that people would not need to have an unnecessary interaction with Nakata.

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The fourth characteristic is lack of confidence. Satoru Nakata was always see himself in a pessimistic view. As he always knew that he is not a dependable kind of person. Nakata knew that he is not like other people, he is different and because of that he did not believe on himself. So he always let other people to make every important decisions for him although in fact he actually could make the decision by his own.

The fifth characteristic is that he is a person with no basic intelligence.

Satoru Nakata was lost his basic intelligent during his outdoor session when he just a child. He had an accident that causing him to lose some of his memories.

As the incident happened during the wartime in japan, the government decide to cover up the incident but in exchange the government have to taking care of

Satoru Nakata’s life. This condition mostly become one his motivation to begin his journey.

Johnnie Walker is the key figure of the character development that occur within Satoru Nakata. As mentioned before, Nakata was feebleminded person who never desire anything in his life and see himself so drastically with negative things. Johnnie Walker, unintentionally, become the person who triggered

Nakata’s strong will. Nakata was a person who try to just blend in with the society, the man whom he compares to a stone, a man who is happy being in an insignificant in his life. The life that Nakata lived in was always supported by other people and he did not mind about it, only then after he met Johnnie Walker,

Nakata started to bring changes into his life as he left his home Nakano Ward.

Johnnie Walker didn’t intend to change Nakata’s life in fact he only want

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somebody to help him to bring changes into his life, as Johnnie is not satisfied with his own life and yet did not dare to bring any changes into his life. For

Sartre, Johnnie Walker is only a man that he despised like what he describe them as the man whom he compares to plants. The man who is not happy and lacks the courage to take responsibility for his own actions.

From an insignificant person, Satoru Nakata transform himself into someone who dared to bring changes into his life, the man not compared to stones or plants. Nakata wants things to be normal like what it used to be like when he had an accident during his childhood. In his struggle of understanding his own existence, Nakata also helped some people during his journey. As Sartre said, by choosing for oneself, man chooses for all men. Nakata in fulfilling his essence changed some individual’s life, such as Hoshino, Miss Saeki, and

Johnnie Walker.

The idea of losing his basic ability can also be traced back to the historical event that happened in Japan during World War II. As Satoru Nakata loses his basic intelligence after he saw a mysterious flash of light. After those incident

Satoru Nakata loses his basic intelligence or in a sense also losing his identity that supposedly he have. This condition is similar with the condition of Japan after suffering heavy losses during the World War II, how the impact cripple the whole country and how the country was forced to be something that is not their way. Satoru Nakata struggle in tracing back his identity is represent the same struggle of Japan as country after the incident of World War II. How Japanese

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people were oppressed by the westernized and losses some of their identity in the way and eventually it restored.

Based on the previous finding on characteristic and the existentialism principles that showed in the development character of Satoru Nakata. The process of doing the journey is the essence that Nakata fighting for. It is not about what Nakata’s tried to achieve in the end of his journey but it is about the act of doing it. By doing the journey and struggling within it, Nakata brought changes to some few people’s life into the betterment of life. Johnnie Walker and Miss Saeki are both the person who suffered by their own action and unhappy with their life yet doing nothing about it. Nakata’s help them by bringing the changes that they always waiting for.

As for Hoshino, he was also the person who always been content with his insignificant life. Hoshino was always been tried his best to be like anybody else, got a steady job and followed the rules that applied in the society. By helping

Nakata’s in finishing his journey, Hoshino started to rethink about his life.

Hoshino started to notice things that he never care before, like listen to the music or read any literature books. Hoshino lost his job because his decision to help

Nakata but Hoshino did not mind about it as he knew that it gave him chance to a new fresh start for him.

The principles of existentialism that revealed by Satoru Nakata is seen in his action that he has done by his own decision, his strong will that appeared from him, the will to be a free individual that decide his own fate. The decision that he made and how it gave impact to other people, so that other individuals

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that are not realize or realize their insignificant life and their unhappiness may have some betterment with their life.

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REFERENCES

Abrams, M.H. (1999). A Glossary of Literary Terms, Seventh Edition. Boston: Earl McPeek. Audi, Robert. (1999). The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Second Edition. USA, Cambridge University Press. Barry, Peter. (2009). Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory third edition, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2009. Cheuse, Alan. World Literature Today, Vol. 80, No. 1 (Jan – Feb, 2006), p. 27 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40159020. Essays, UK. (2013, November). Existence Precedes Essence Essay. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/religion/existence-precedes- ssence.php?vref=1 (on 15 September 2018). Hudson, William Henry. (2006), An Introduction to the Study of Literature. New Delhi, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Ltd. Huitt, W. (2004). Moral and character development. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. (On 25 September, 2018), Johnson, Robert and Cureton, Adam. (Spring 2018 Edition). Kant's Moral Philosophy. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Sartre, Jean-Paul. (1987). Existentialism and Human Emotion. Citadel. Sartre, Jean-Paul. (1956). Being and Nothingness, New York, Philosophical Library New York. Sartre, Jean-Paul. (1948). Existentialism is Humanism. USA. Yale University Press. Study.com. http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-surrealism-definition artists.html. (On 12 September, 2017). Mental help.net, https://definedterm.com/intellectual_functioning, (on 12 September 2017). Murakami, Haruki. (2005). Kafka on the Shore. New York, Vintage International. Murphy, M.J. (1972). Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and Novel for Overseas Student. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. Wattanagun, Kanya, & Suradech Chotiudompant. (2015). The Quest and Reconstruction of Identity in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore, 26-29.

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APPENDIX

Appendix: Summary of Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore

This novel tells the life of two characters, the first character is a boy named

Kafka Tamura and another character is an old man named Satoru Nakata. The first story is focus on the life event of Kafka Tamura, a boy who decided to run away from his home in order to escape from his unavoidable destiny. While the other story tells about Satoru Nakata, an old man who lost his basic intelligent by a mysterious accident that happened during his childhood. After the accident, Satoru

Nakata’s life became unexpectedly changed, as he suddenly be able to talk to cats and experienced many anomaly events. Satoru Nakata was accepted the way he is although he always realizes that he is not always dumb. Satoru Nakata also spent his whole life depending on other people, as he let other people finished his business and paid all of his needs.

The figure of Johnnie Walker, a man who dedicated his life to kill cats and harvest their souls, becomes the key figure that changes Satoru Nakata’s life. After his encounter with Johnnie Walker, Satoru Nakata finally decided to do something with his life, he decided to make his life back to the normal state again. So then he started his journey from Nakano Ward to find the ‘entrance stone’ and closed it, as he believed after he has done that Nakata be able to back normal again like what he used to. Along the journey, Satoru Nakata encountered many strangers who decided to help him to finish his journey. The journey itself did bring a lot of changes inside

Satoru Nakata’s life. One of the essential situations that show those changes is when

Satoru Nakata decided to save a complete stranger from a gang of young men.

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Satoru Nakata always avoids any unnecessary interaction with people as he believed that other people did not like to speak with him. Satoru Nakata somehow did save the stranger by making the sky falling with leaches and making the gang ran away from the scene. In a way, Satoru Nakata also become an independent person who found himself able to make his own choice and not depend on other people anymore, in a sense he did not even need the stone to become normal as he is already normal in the middle of his journey.

Satoru Nakata met and then helped other people into a betterment of life, people like Johnnie Walker, Miss Saeki, and Hoshino would not have any improvement in their life without the existence of Satoru Nakata. Satoru Nakata believed by achieving his goal he could become normal like any other people but then in a sense he did not need that stone to be normal. As Satoru Nakata inspired and helped many individuals during his journey and became a much better person than any other normal person would do in their life.