Why Did The Elephant Vanish?

I have immensely enjoyed the short story ‘The Elephant Vanishes’ by Haruki Murakami and figured out many meaningful messages through its subtle metaphors.

From my point of view, the story does not simply talk about the sudden and mysterious disappearance of an elephant as well as its keeper. I feel that the huge elephant symbolizes our giant natural environment and the old man stands for the traditional lifestyle. The way they warmly treat each other implies the empathy between human and nature. Unfortunately, they all are disappearing in our pragmatic modern life in a mysterious way, and we are losing our inner balance in our own success and development.

Even though the story ends without a clear answer of the ‘elephant mystery’, the author indirectly proposes that the root of the beautiful values’ disappearance is because our perceptions of ‘unity’ and ‘balance’ are playing a trick on our minds. “The most important point is unity… Even the most beautifully designed item dies if it is out of balance with its surroundings.” (Murakami, 1991, part. 2).

With such meaningful implications, I highly recommend the story to my friends, who care deeply about their souls, because they will discover inner connections beneath the words.

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