Chapter 4: The Girl and the Essay Contest – A Meeting of Two Lonely Souls
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary (Complete and Chronological)
The narrator reflects that he and the girl never visited each other’s homes or introduced families or friends. They were content with a world for just the two of them and had limited time to talk. The girl revealed few details about her family: her father had been a local public servant forced to resign when she was eleven and now worked at a cram school; her birth mother died of cancer when she was three; her father remarried, and a half‑sister was born. She felt closer to her stepmother than to her father. The only person she truly loved was her maternal grandmother, who died suddenly of heart disease. She often stared at her palms when speaking about her family. The narrator, in contrast, described his parents as ordinary – his father worked for a pharmaceutical company, his mother was a housewife – and his only pet was an old black cat. He felt most at ease in the school library.
The narrator vividly recalls the day he first met the girl. It was an awards ceremony for a high‑school essay contest. He placed third; she placed fourth. They were seated side by side. She wore a navy‑blue blazer and pleated skirt, a white blouse, and polished black shoes. He found the ceremony boring and they exchanged a few words in low voices. He had no literary talent and had written about his family cat because he had no human friend to write about. The theme was “My Friend,” and he described the cat’s clever personality. The girl wrote about her maternal grandmother, about the bond between a lonely elderly woman and a lonely young girl. The narrator thought her essay was far better and told her so. She said she thought his was better. She also mentioned her sister’s cat allergy – the first personal tidbit he learned.
The narrator describes her appearance: petite, roundish face, slim fingers, short hair with neat black bangs, a small straight nose, large eyes, and thin lips that seemed to hide vital secrets. At the ceremony, the five winners received certificates, medals, and fountain pens sponsored by the contest company. Just before the end, the narrator jotted his name and address on a memo pad page, tore it out, and passed it to her, saying he hoped she might write to him. Normally shy, he felt it would be unfair to say goodbye forever. She folded the paper, placed it in her blazer pocket, blushed, and agreed. A week later her letter arrived. He read it many times and wrote a long reply with his prize pen. So began their friendship, and for nearly a year their hearts were purely one, creating a special, secret world – a strange town surrounded by a high wall.
Key Events
- The narrator explains why they never met each other’s families and recounts the girl’s tragic family history.
- He describes his own ordinary, uneventful home life and his attachment to the library and books.
- They meet at a district high‑school essay contest; both write about personal subjects (cat and grandmother) and win third and fourth place.
- The narrator boldly passes her a note with his contact information; she accepts and sends a letter a week later.
- Their letter‑writing begins, and they gradually build a shared secret world – a walled town.
Character Development
- The narrator: Already known as a shy, introspective reader. Here he shows unexpected courage: defying his natural timidity to reach out to the girl. His fascination with her imbalance of features indicates a deeper attraction to uniqueness. His refusal to lie about his essay’s mediocrity shows honesty.
- The girl: Revealed as someone shaped by loss (mother, grandmother) and family tension (father’s scandal, stepmother’s jealousy). She chooses to write about her grandmother, valuing subtle emotional truth. Her calm response to the narrator’s note – folding it, accepting – suggests both trust and a readiness for connection.
- The narrator’s cat: Functions as a surrogate friend, illustrating his isolation and capacity for deep feeling toward non‑human companions.
- The girl’s grandmother: Symbolizes unconditional love; her death leaves a void that the narrator may later fill.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The walled town / secret world: First directly named at the end of the chapter. The narrator and girl’s epistolary relationship creates an enclosed, private reality that mirrors the mysterious city with uncertain walls.
- Writing and letters: The essay contest theme “My Friend” forces each to write about loneliness. The act of writing – especially letter‑writing – becomes the medium through which they construct their shared world. The fountain pen awarded at the contest is a concrete symbol of that process.
- Family secrets and silence: The girl’s family history is revealed in fragments, like “a ragged item in an old coat pocket.” Her father’s misconduct, her mother’s absence, and the stepmother’s unspoken jealousy create a background of unspoken pain.
- Cats vs. human relationships: The narrator writes about a cat because he has no human friend, suggesting that animals can stand in for intimacy when human bonds are lacking. The girl’s allergy link to her half‑sister echoes her own inability to have a cat – and perhaps a deeper alienation.
- The gaze at palms: The girl looks at her palms when speaking of family, as if reading a script she must decipher. This gesture implies that family history is both written on her body and partially opaque to her.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 4 provides the foundational backstory for the central relationship of the novel. It explains how two lonely teenagers met, what they already knew about each other, and how their private correspondence gave birth to the “walled town” – the mysterious, liminal space that will define the rest of the story. The chapter also establishes key motifs (writing, cats, family secrets) and creates sympathy for both characters by exposing their early losses. Without this chapter, the surreal elements of the walled town would feel unmoored; here, Murakami grounds the fantastic in the concrete emotional need for a world apart.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does the narrator write about his family cat for the essay contest? What does this reveal about his character at that time?
The narrator claims he had no real friend he could write five pages about, so he turned to his old female cat. This reveals his social isolation and his deep, unspoken emotional bond with the cat, which he treats as a friend. It also shows his modesty: he does not think the essay is good, yet he accepts the prize because it pleases his teacher.
2. What does the girl’s essay topic – her maternal grandmother – suggest about her emotional life?
Her choice to write about her grandmother indicates that this relationship was the most significant and loving one in her childhood. Since her grandmother died suddenly, the essay may be a way of preserving that bond. It also hints that her other family ties (father, stepmother, half‑sister) are less emotionally fulfilling or more strained.
3. How does the narrator’s bold act of passing her his contact information contrast with his usual personality?
The narrator describes himself as shy and timid, and he normally would never do something so forward. Yet the thought of never seeing her again felt like a “huge mistake,” so he forced himself to act. This moment shows that meeting her awakens a rare, decisive courage in him, making possible the entire relationship that follows.