Choose the Thing Without Form

It dawned on me that we never found the meaning behind the excerpt discussing choosing something without form versus something with form in Murakami’s short story “Chance Traveller”. The passage is as follows, 

“‘I'm in no position to hand down any advice,’ he said, ‘but there's a rule I follow when I don't know what to do.’ ‘A rule?’ ‘If you have to choose between something that has form and something that doesn't, go for the one without form. That's my rule. Whenever I run into a wall I follow that rule, and it always works out. Even if it's hard going at the time.”

At first glance, I was led to believe that this simply meant when navigating difficult obstacles during life, it is wiser to choose the less restrictive path for yourself. However, after doing some research on the internet I stumbled upon a similar quote from Murakami’s South of the Border, West of the Sun, that discusses a similar notion regarding form. Murakami writes, “Things that have form will all disappear. But certain feelings stay with us forever.” Reading this could give context to the excerpt from “Chance Traveler” and inspire a new meaning. 

By this frame of reference, when Murakami refers to something with form, he is referring to tangible things which exist in the real world. On the other hand, “certain feelings stay with us forever”, implies that objects without form, including memory, emotions, thoughts, and feelings, remain parts of us forever. As for the portion of the text talking about running into a wall, I think when people find themselves in tough situations, they like to be alone with their thoughts and memories can provide a positive mental escape.

Personally, I do not feel that there needs to be an answer to what Murakami is saying, but I do enjoy thinking about it and find the connection between these pieces of work to be persuasive.

- Alex McBrier