Noboru Wataya is first truly introduced in the 6th chapter of book one, “On the Births of Kumiko Okada and Noboru Wataya”. For thirteen pages, we hear a long narrative about a boy pushed so hard by his parents to do well academically that he grows into a pompous, solitary monster devoid of any feelings. The beginning of the narrative- about Noboru’s upbringing- makes it easy to predict the man’s troubled and alienating character as an adult. By refusing to allow Noboru Wataya to have a social life, and be pressuring him to be competitive (to the point where he would do anything to knock down his adversaries in the process), Noboru’s parents deprived him of one of the most important human skills (socialization/interaction with other human beings of one’s age), and made him skip the step of childhood entirely. In fact because of this, the boy was unable to establish a relationship with his sister Kumiko (who arrived too late for him to ever be able to attach himself to her), and established a relationship perhaps too strong with his other sister, the only girl in his surroundings while growing up. Because he was never able to see other girls during his teenage years, he may have developed a sexual attraction to his late sister, which would explain his masturbating while smelling her clothes.
Throughout the description of Noboru’s difficult childhood, however, Toru never actually seems to pity him. On the contrary, he sees him as his arch-rival, the personification of evil, even though their interactions are scarce. At the end of the chapter, he even says he hates the man. I think the main reason for such hateful feelings is that, from the beginning, Noboru Wataya made it clear that he felt Toru Watanabe was not worth a minute of his life. Because Toru was not awarded the benefit of the doubt in the eyes of such an intimidating and crushing character, he does not want to give the man a chance either. There is nothing more insulting than being considered worthless by someone, and Noboru immediately makes you feel that way in his presence.
Noboru is also described as being fit for the screen: “Once he got a taste of the world of mass media, though, you could almost see him licking his chops. He was good. He didn’t mind having a camera pointed at him. If anything, he even seemed more relaxed in front of the cameras than in the real world.” (75). I think the reason why he is so comfortable behind the screen is that, with his good looks and seemingly intelligent and sensible opinions, he is able to sit atop society without even making much effort; I believe that his parents made him addicted to power (they treated him like a prince and persuaded him that he was born to be number one, things that only encouraged his narcissism). Either this, or he feels he can conceal his real character behind the screen and fool the audience by being someone/something he is not: a charming, impressive, sociable, perfect being.
Why do you think Noboru Wataya likes the limelight so much?
I believe that he likes the limelight because it empowers him to conceal his real self, as you have stated. It is a protective veil through which other characters cannot see, but through which he can observe them. For the people that adore Noburu, it does not matter what lays underneath the veil because they are blinded by what they see on the surface.
ReplyDeletePopularity, or "persuasive power" (79), is one of those tactics of Noburu Wataya that Toru despises. Toru says that "It was like boxing with a ghost: your punches just swished through the air" (79).
Another quote that caught my attention, relating to Noburu's character is the following:
"Noburu Wataya was an intellectual chameleon, changing his color in accordance with his opponent's, ad-libbing his logic for maximum effectiveness, mobilizing all the rhetoric at his command" (79).
Here, Murakami uses a metaphor comparing Noburu to a chameleon in order to bring to life the character's personality. He stirs the reader's imagination and enables us to see him even clearer as the deceitful egoist he is. One admires his ability to "change color," while also disliking the image of a treacherous and yet harmless reptile-like being.