earticle

영어

Being the eleventh novel of Murakami Haruki, After Dark features Chinese prostitutes and the Chinese underworld that make up the core characters of the work. This paper intends to investigate images of the Chinese and their linkage to the Japanese metropolis. In particular, there will be detailed discussion of Mari, a Japanese college student, and her relationship with Mr. Shirakawa, an office worker. By analyzing the significance of Mari’s sister, Eri’s slumber there is an attempt to configure the Chinese image of the novel. Furthermore, by means of describing the Chinese elements in the novel, this paper reconstructs the Chinese perspective of Murakami Haruki and raises an innovative argument on the novelist’s vision of Chinese images.