Chapter summaries The City and Its Uncertain Walls Haruki Murakami

The City and Its Uncertain Walls Chapter 66: The Boy’s Proposition to Merge

⚠️ 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

The narrator wakes in the dead of night to find the boy in the Yellow Submarine parka beside him. The boy explains he entered the walled town without the Gatekeeper’s permission by leaving his shadow in the other world. He reveals that the narrator was born on a Wednesday. The boy asks to merge with the narrator so he can become the Dream Reader and read old dreams. He claims they were originally one being, separated, and that merging will not change the narrator’s personality. The boy previously bit the narrator’s right earlobe to enter the town; to merge, he must bite the left earlobe. Despite paralysis and confusion, the narrator gives permission. The boy bites his left earlobe, and the narrator falls into deep sleep.

Key Events

  • The narrator wakes to find the boy in the Yellow Submarine parka watching him.
  • The boy speaks in a calm, high-pitched voice and reveals the narrator was born on a Wednesday.
  • The narrator feels paralyzed and unable to move or speak freely.
  • The boy explains he came through the wall without the Gatekeeper’s knowledge, having hidden his shadow in the forest.
  • The boy requests to merge with the narrator to become the official Dream Reader.
  • He claims they were originally one being, separated, and that merging will restore their unity.
  • The boy reveals he bit the narrator’s right earlobe earlier to enter the town; now he needs to bite the left earlobe to complete the merger.
  • The narrator, overwhelmed by sleepiness and confusion, gives permission.
  • The boy bites the narrator’s left earlobe, and the narrator sinks into deep sleep.

Character Development

  • The Narrator: Displays increasing passivity and surrender. His initial calmness despite a stranger’s presence suggests an internal acceptance of the abnormal. His inability to resist or think clearly marks a loss of agency, setting up a crucial turning point.
  • Yellow Submarine Boy: Emerges as a determined, persuasive figure who operates outside the town’s rules. He claims a deep connection to the narrator, positioning himself as both a separate entity and an essential part of the narrator’s identity. His ability to read the narrator’s thoughts reinforces his mysterious nature.
  • The Gatekeeper: Referenced as a powerful authority who must not know of the boy’s presence, underscoring the town’s strict control.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Identity and Merging: The boy’s assertion that he and the narrator are originally one being explores the notion of fragmented selfhood. The physical act of biting the earlobe symbolizes the fusion of two halves into a whole.
  • The Shadow as a Boundary: Leaving the shadow behind becomes a means of crossing the wall, reinforcing the motif that shadows represent a tangible link to the other world—and that shedding it allows entry but also creates a moral or existential loophole.
  • Sleep and Paralysis: The narrator’s paralysis and overwhelming drowsiness represent a loss of rational control, echoing earlier chapters where sleep blurs the boundary between worlds. The chapter ends with a descent into deep sleep, signaling a surrender to the unknown.
  • Earlobe Biting as Ritual: Repeated biting (right then left) functions as a repeated ritual act that grants passage and union, lending a bodily, almost magical quality to the process.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is pivotal because it introduces the concept that the narrator and the Yellow Submarine Boy are two parts of a single being. The request to merge directly challenges the narrator’s autonomy and sets the stage for a fundamental transformation. The boy’s role as the would-be Dream Reader also reframes the nature of the dreams the narrator has been reading, suggesting a deeper purpose. The act of consent—however drowsy—makes the narrator complicit in the merger, implying that his journey into the walled town is leading him toward an integrated self. The chapter deepens the novel’s central mystery about identity, reality, and the rules governing the two worlds.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does the boy claim he and the narrator are originally one?
    The boy states that they were once a single entity but were separated by unknown circumstances. He argues that in the walled town they can reunite, with his power becoming the narrator’s—allowing him to serve as the Dream Reader without altering the narrator’s daily life or freedom.

  2. What is the significance of the earlobe bites?
    The right earlobe bite enabled the boy to cross into the town without the Gatekeeper’s permission. The left earlobe bite is the final step to merge the two beings. The bites act as ritual markers that facilitate movement between worlds and between separate selves.

  3. How does the narrator’s paralysis affect his decision?
    The narrator cannot move or speak properly, and his thoughts become increasingly hazy. His physical and mental paralysis, combined with intense sleepiness, makes him unable to fully weigh the consequences. He ultimately gives consent out of exhaustion, highlighting how diminished agency can lead to profound choices.

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