Chapter 2: How well do we actually know the people that surround us?

As I was reading the novel, I realized that it is simple to read and to understand because unlike works such as Tess, the author uses simple language. Chapter two is particularly interesting because it begins to discuss deeper questions about life and human relations. When I read the book, the first word that comes to my mind is neutral; it seems as though the main character is nonchalantly living his life. (This aspect of the novel reminds me of The Stranger.) In this chapter, Toru Okada the main character, realizes that he perhaps does not know his wife as well as he thought he did. As a matter of fact, the first sentence of the chapter is a rhetorical question, "Is it possible, finally, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another." (p25) This peculiar question brings up an interesting point because as human beings, we frequently claim to know the people that are closest to us. We are nonetheless surprised when we discover new aspects of their person that we were unaware of which is the case with Toru. He seems to be almost shocked that his wife detests patterned paper and beef with green beans. These are absolutely trivial details of his wife's personality but when one thinks of it, they are nonetheless important. This chapter is equally the first time that the reader witnesses a proper conversation between the main character and his wife; what is interesting is that their topic of conversation should not be particularly interesting yet it is fascinating to the reader because it reveals a truth. Okada who believed and appears to know his wife, especially when he discusses her mood swings that come with her menstrual cycle, realizes that in reality, he may be going to bed every night with a complete stranger. He also begins to question his own life style and the choices that he has made. At the end of the chapter (page 31) he asks three succeeding rhetorical questions that he does not have the answer to. The fact that he is unable to answer these questions cause him to deeply think about them and he says, "This is what I thought about that night and what I went on thinking about long afterward from time to time." (page 31) Although it may seem that not knowing that your companion hates beef with green beans is of negligible importance, the author dedicates an entire chapter to it to prove that on the contrary, people assume to know others when in reality they do not. I do not believe that it is possible for one human being to fully and genuinely understand another.
Furthermore, this chapter introduces one of the story lines and does so by focusing solely on the relationship that he has with his wife. It can be perceived as a foreshadowing to the remainder of the plot. The fact that he explicitly states that he was perturbed by the small details he did not know about her suggest that it will come up again in the novel and that it will become of greater importance. I truly enjoyed this chapter because the author is able to, very subtly, allude to an extreme important (and almost philosophical) aspect of human life and existence that many never realize.