Tone in

Written by: Andrew Wohlfeil

Have you ever seen a boy or girl you thought was perfect?  What did you do?  In the story "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning," the author, Haruki Murakami, speaks of seeing his perfect match.  Murakami has a tendency to write about bittersweet love, and he does so in this short story (Lange, Alexandrea).  He takes the reader though a thrilling story of how he dealt with seeing the 100% perfect girl.  In his story, the author had many different tones because the event he writes about requires much emotion, but overall, he conveyed a sympathetic tone.  There are two different parts to the story, which each contain a separate tone.  The first is, when the author reminisces about when he saw his 100% perfect girl.  The second is the actual events that took place when he saw his 100% perfect girl.

The story begins with the author reminiscing about seeing his 100% perfect girl.  The tone is very intimate and uplifting.  When someone states they met their 100% perfect match, it is an exciting event.  In fact, not many people have an opportunity like that in their life, so knowing the author was given this opportunity, the tone starts out very bright and hopeful.  The author soon lets his readers in on secrets of what he thinks his 100% girl is like, “Sometimes in a restaurant I’ll catch myself staring at the girl at the table next to mine because I like the shape of her nose” (Murakami 285).  His tone gets very intimate because he wants his readers to think back to a person they thought was perfect.  Also, he wants his readers to be as emotionally evoked as he was when he saw his 100% perfect girl.  In addition, the author engages his readers by sharing details about what he thinks his 100% perfect girl is like, which provokes the readers to think about what their perfect match would look like.   An example of the author doing this is, “Maybe you have your own particular favorite type of girl-one with slim ankles, or big eyes” (Murakami 285).  Here, the author insists the reader imagines their own perfect match.  By doing this, there is an instant emotional connection to the story because everyone wants to meet their perfect match.  Thus, we can share the joy of the author meeting his. Moreover, the author was so excited that he met his 100% perfect girl, he told a random person about his experience.  The following excerpt from the story shows the uplifting tone, “'Yesterday on the street I passed the 100% perfect girl,' I tell someone" (285). Most people only share what they consider their perfect match to be with their close friends.  In the story, the author told a random stranger, which shows the author was so happy he met his 100% perfect girl that he just had to tell someone, anyone for that matter.  He just needed someone to know what had happened to him.

As the story continues, the tone changes when he starts describing what actually happened when he met his 100% perfect girl.  The tone starts to become more anxious and regretful.  The change of the tone is especially evident when he sees the girl for a second time, and he stops and knows he needs to talk to her.  He was going to get a cup of coffee, and she was mailing a special delivery letter at the post office.  As he walks towards her, going to the coffee shop, he plays the different situations out in his head over and over, all ending up in a negative outcome.  “'Good morning, miss.  Do you think you could spare half an hour for a little conversation?' Ridiculous. I’d sound like an insurance salesman. 'Pardon me, but would you happen to know if there is an all night cleaners in the neighborhood?' No, this is just as ridiculous.  I’m not carrying any laundry" (Murakami 286). Here he provides an anxious tone because he is nervous to talk to her, and most people are when they see their 100% perfect match.  He ends up walking past her, never saying a word to her because he couldn’t figure out the perfect words to say.  As he passes her, he figures out the perfect thing to say, but it’s too late, she is gone.  Sadly, at this point in the story, the tone of regret takes over; joy and hope are no longer present.  The story he would have told her was their story.  One day the two came upon each other on the corner of the street, “This is amazing,” he said.  I’ve been looking for you all my life.  You may not believe this, but you’re the 100% perfect girl for me.”  “And you,” she said to him, “are the 100% perfect boy for me” (Murakami 286).  Now, this happened when they were teenagers, so they decided to test their compatibility.  As part of the test, they went their separate ways and decided if they met again, they would know they were perfect for each other.  At this point, the readers begin to see what will happen, and the tone corresponds with the emotional feeling the story evokes, which is sadness and regret.  In the meantime, years after they met, they both got influenza.  Actually, both were on the verge of dying, but neither do.  Because the illness was so serious, the memories of their past, which included each other, were gone.  Eventually, after several years pass, they meet again.  Neither of them know it at the time, but they had the feeling they were a perfect match. However, because neither of them could remember what their perfect match looked like, they walked past each other never saying a word.  In short, this is the story the author wished he had with the girl that was his 100% perfect match.  Little did he know, the story he wanted to tell was real, and the girl he saw again was the girl from his teenage years, but he just couldn’t remember.  

After hearing what the author wanted to tell his 100% perfect girl, the general tone of the story is prevalent, which is sympathetic.  The readers start off with the wonderful feeling of meeting their 100% perfect match, but soon are brought to a sad reality, which is full of anxiety and regret because the two characters in the story don’t speak to each other.  A lot of people can relate to this happening because when they're young and in love they may do they same things these two did.  They say if we are meant for each other, we will meet later in life.  Sadly, in this case, influenza prevented the two in the story from remembering exactly who the other person was.  Once the reader gets the background information on the perfect match, the tone becomes very somber.  In the end, the readers see that the two characters were meant for each other, but neither of them realized it.  The saddest part is when the author comes up with the perfect story to tell his 100% perfect girl.  Ironically, the story is real, and it’s about the two of them, but he had no idea.  He just continued to walk, never knowing the truth.  

In short, this story is able to use tone in an engaging way because a lot of people can vividly imagine their perfect match, but not many people are able to meet that person. This tone allows readers to sympathize with the author missing the opportunity to talk to his perfect match.  Furthermore, people can relate to missing an opportunity, and they feel that regret and anxiety while reading the story; not from the events in the story, but from memory of personal experiences.  This story’s tone is meant to evoke very personal and strong emotions, and it does so successfully.  Overall, the reason for writing such a bittersweet story is to show that life is not perfect.  It would have been a fairy tale ending if they talked and fell in love again, but that is not how life happens.  The story is very realistic, which it why it's so powerful.  The story relates to the dark part of life where things don't work out, and you miss ideal opportunities.  The general population can relate to this story, where very few could relate to meeting their 100 perfect match again, later in life.  

Works Cited 

Murakami, Haruki. "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning." 1992. Literature Across Cultures. Ed. Heidi Jacobs and Matthew Wright. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008. 285-288. Print.

Lange, Alexandrea. "South of the Border, West of the Sun." New York Magazine. Salon.com. 1 March 1999. Web. 7 Nov. 2009.

Check out other stories by this author.

Haruki Murakami Short Stories

Other Short Story Analysis. 

"Characters of 'The Metamorphosis'"

"Metaphor in 'The Things They Carried'"

"Narrator in 'The Yellow Wallpaper'"

"Theme in 'The Things They Carried'"

This is cover of the story in Literature Across Cultures