Sleep By Harakami Analysis

The darkness of night unveils the hidden cove of possibilities that awaits us in sleep. For some, sleep provides the much needed distraction and replenishment needed to perform our daily routines. As we curl up under the security of our favorite blanket, snuggle against the fluffiness that is our pillow, and as we slowly begin to shut our eyes, we succumb to the beauty that is sleep. Without hesitation we accept and welcome our nightly slumber. We don’t question our vulnerable state as we lay down in bed. We don’t question our need to wear our soft woven pajamas. We don’t question the rituals that prepare us for an eight-hour comatose state. What we take for as routine author Haruki Murakami transforms into an alternate reality. A reality where

However, she continues her daily routines and is still capable of caring out her daily life without suspicion from her husband and son. As is stated in “Sleep”, “I just can’t sleep. Not for one second. Aside from that simple fact, I’m perfectly normal. I don’t feel sleepy, and my mind is as clear as ever. Clearer, if anything. Physically, too, I’m normal: my appetite is fine; I’m not fatigued. In terms of everyday reality, there’s nothing wrong with me. I just can’t sleep” (Murakami 2). As rational human beings we are immediately alarmed by the notion that an individual is capable of surviving without sleep. With exceptional haste we begin to recite our knowledge of the human mind. As is stated in The Twenty-Four Hour Mind by Rosalind D. Cartwright, sleep allows our brain to consolidate our experiences and memories of the day (Cartwright 30) while we lay in a semi-vegetative state (Cartwright iix). The consequences of lack of sleep are evident in studies performed on individuals who suffer from insomnia. In “Sleep in the Workplace: What the Psychologist-Manager Should Know About Sleep”, the article highlights the cognitive effects that lack of sleep can have on an individual including impaired working memory, learning capability, and decision-making (Gaulltney & Collins-McNeil 135). Our rational mind dismisses Murakami’s obvious fictional short story and dismounts every claim that a human could survive without sleep. It is through his literary prowess that Murakami slowly begins to peel away at our rational mind and asks us to open ourselves to the world of “what if”. What if for a second we allowed the rational walls of our consciousness to crumble? What if we permitted the possibility that we were able to function without sleep? What if we accepted this irrational story of sleeplessness? These are the questions that Murakami urges us to ask ourselves as he