Dear friends, tomorrow is the 34th World No Tobacco Day, and jasmine cat would like to talk to you about Haruki Murakami's smoking cessation story.
Part 1
I took lemon candy out of my pocket, peeled the paper and threw it in my mouth. Smoke quit on the opportunity of resignation, and as a result, the lemon candy could not leave his hand. 'Lemon sugar poisoning,' said the wife, 'a mouthful full of worm teeth in a few days!' And I couldn't stop. ”
The above passage comes from Murakami's "Strange Bird Journey" (lin Shaohua translation), which tells that the male protagonist Okada Heng became obsessed with lemon candy after quit smoking.
When a smoker has just begun to quit smoking, there are various withdrawal reactions that cause physical discomfort, and chewing candy can distract and alleviate these discomforts. If you want to quit smoking scientifically, it is still recommended to go to the smoking cessation clinic, take smoking cessation drugs under the guidance of a doctor, and carry out smoking cessation treatment.
When we were in school, chinese teachers would often tell us something like, "When we read an article, don't forget the author hidden behind the article." The male protagonist in Murakami's novel always carries Murakami's own shadow, and the male protagonist of "Strange Bird Journey" is no exception, Murakami ostensibly writes about the changes after Okada Hen quit smoking, but in fact, it also reflects his own mental journey of quitting smoking.
Part 2
Cover of The Sheep Hunt Adventure
When analyzing Murakami's literary works, one thing is often overlooked by many literary critics: the change in the theme of Murakami's works and Murakami's smoking cessation occurred simultaneously.
Murakami's first three works are known as the "Youth Trilogy", namely "Listen to the Wind", "Pinball in 1973" and "Adventures in Finding Sheep". The first two novels present the reader with an image of a "me" who is addicted to reading, listening to records, smoking, drinking, and paying no attention to family, love, or social change. The main thrust of the latter novel changes, and "I" embark on a bizarre heroic adventure in search of my mysteriously missing friend Rat. (The reason the rat disappeared was that a sheep with a five-pointed star had burrowed into his brain, and the rat hid for fear of being manipulated by the sheep, and finally committed suicide in order to get rid of the sheep.) The sheep represents Asiaticism, and in future articles, Jasmine cat will interpret the sheep more systematically for everyone. It can be seen from the above that Murakami's mentality has changed in the writing of these three novels, and he has slowly changed from an individualist to a literary fighter with a social responsibility mission.
As Murakami's mentality changed, Murakami slowly began to quit smoking, and the smell of smoke in his works slowly dissipated. In his debut work "And Listen to the Wind", both the male and female protagonists smoke, as if smoking is a symbol of young people's romantic uninhibitedness:
"I lit a cigarette and pulled out a cigarette to persuade her, but the girl didn't take care of it." (Lin Shaohua translation, page 27)
"'No, don't mind.'" She lit a second cigarette and seemed to want to laugh, but didn't laugh out. (Lin Shaohua translation, p. 126)
But in The Adventure of the Sheep Hunt, the author shows his intention to quit smoking:
"Walk out of the washroom and sit on the living room couch and smoke a morning cigarette. There are also three boxes of 'good luck' in the rucksack, and when they are finished, they are gone. Smoke those three boxes and stop smoking. (Translated by Lin Shaohua, pp. 284-285)
Part 3
Smoking is harmful to health
The "Youth Trilogy" is Murakami's 30-33-year-old work, during which time he completed the transition from jazz bar owner to professional novelist, and quit smoking by the way. In Murakami's essay collection "When I Talk About Running, What Do I Talk About," he says that when he wrote "The Adventure of Finding Sheep," he officially became a professional novelist, when he lost physical strength, gained weight, and smoked 60 cigarettes a day, so he slowly became concerned about his health. After writing "The Adventure of Finding Sheep", he began to run every day and quit smoking by the way, because he could not smoke while running.
In Murakami's 60-year-old work "1Q84", basically only negative images smoke, such as Niuhe, who looks ugly and weird, and runs errands for the "pioneers" of religious organizations:
"'Can you please stop smoking, Mr. Niuhe?' The short man said. Niu He stared at the opponent sitting at the next table for a moment, and his eyes turned to the seven stars sandwiched between his fingertips. The smoke did not ignite. (Part III: Translated by Shi Xiaowei)
Write in the last words
Haruki Murakami can quit smoking through her own willpower, but it is still difficult for ordinary people to quit smoking, because tobacco dependence is a chronic addictive disease. If you want to quit smoking completely, you should go to a smoking cessation clinic and seek the help of a professional doctor.
Image from the web