GI: Unfair societal expectations placed on women and their effects on relationships.

The first-person perspective throughout this extract gives us direct insight into the character’s
thoughts and emotions as we are able to witness how male and female characters behave, think,
and interact with each other, including how differently they are allowed or expected to behave.
Narration and perspective are then used to develop characterization as Murakami uses his
characters as vessels to deliver a strong message about societal perceptions of male and female
behavior. A compelling example of this is in line 4 as the daughter describes her father “not a bad
man; a hard worker but kind of a skirt chaser,” and her tone in this line is described by the
narrator as “matter of fact.” This implies that the societal perception of male responsibility in
relationships is to be providers and not emotionally mature, which allows the father’s infidelity
to be disregarded. This is then contrasted by the mother’s description by the narrator in lines 13-
14 as “the patient one--so ploddingly patient in fact that she sometimes wondered if the woman
had no imagination.” The mother personifies the societal demand for emotional maturity of
women in relationships and their expectation to never put themselves first. This is further
exemplified by her daughter in line 27 when she says, “The problem wasn't Mother dumping
Father; Mother was dumping me too.” The daughter attributes all the betrayal and hurt towards
her mother and does not hold her father with the same accountability, which again highlights the
double standard.