Echolalic Keiko

 

     Sayaka Murata is a Japanese writer who often prioritizes questioning social restrictions in her works. The Japanese convenience store worker and writer drew immediate global attention after her novel Convenience Store Woman. She won the 155th Akutagawa Prize, a prestigious literary award, for her novel Convenience Store Woman and was named one of Vogue Japan's Women of the Year in 2016. Her novel Convenience Store Woman is an atypical, vivid portrayal of an anomalous character in a society that exalts conformity and toeing the line. Vacillating between subtle and blatant, the satirical tone is undeniably insinuated in a thought-provoking manner. Out of many approaches that could be utilized, the psychological approach can be used as the reader’s lens to “explore the relationship between language, communication and autism” that could be spotted in Keiko, the protagonist (Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center and University of Massachusetts).

     All through the novel, and although it is not directly stated, Keiko shows a lot of autism symptoms and behaviors from her early life. When she is in nursery school, Keiko sees a dead bird in the park and instead of joining the rest of the kids in their crying, she takes it immediately to her mother saying “let’s eat it! Daddy likes yakitori, doesn’t he? Let’s grill it and have it for dinner” (Murata 9). Her mother and her friend’s shocked reactions do not make sense to the little Keiko as she takes things literally and with inflexible adherence to social incidents. Then comes the genius, sharp-minded observation when she says: “Everyone was crying for the poor dead bird as they went around murdering flowers, plucking their stalks, exclaiming, “what lovely flowers! Little Mr. Budgie will definitely be pleased.” They looked so bizarre I thought they must all be out of their minds” (Murata 10).  Keiko is Sayaka’s mouthpiece, voicing out the hypocrisy of her society and that what is viewed as eccentric, from the society’s stance, can be reversed.  In another incident, when her classmates fight and the other kids ask for someone to stop them, she simply hits one of the boys with a spade over his head: “But everyone was saying to stop Yamazaki-kun and Aoki-kun fighting! I just thought that would be the quickest way to do it,” (Murata 10). Even after the explanation of her bewildered teachers that violence is wrong, the meeting held for teachers, the apology of her mother bowing to the teacher, Keiko still does not get the reasons behind their disappointment. She is totally detached, because of her autism, from any ordinary or expected reaction in social situations. Consequently, she chooses to completely shut herself, sinking further in her developmental disorder; “keeping my mouth shut was the most sensible approach to getting by in life” (Murata 12).  

     Withdrawing into herself, Keiko starts to develop more serious symptoms as she grows up. In the forefront, discrete trial, which is “a task that is broken down and taught in steps and then built back up to the entire task” (KID’S GYM), and it is a way of simplifying tasks and teaching them to autistic people. The convenience store management is heedless of Keiko’s condition, yet its system provides an ideal environment for her as she is trained, in her first days, to deal with every simple detail, leaving no space for surprises or improvising. Echolalia which is “the repeating of sounds, words, or phrases” (KID’S GYM) is another shown indication of her disorder. she does not only echo words and phrases, but also, she copies the style of clothing, lies, and gossips of her managers, colleagues, friends and sister. Keiko is never able to voice her authentic emotions as she has none. All of her so-called experiences and expressions are parroted and borrowed from others: “My present self is formed completely of the people around me. I am currently made up of 30 percent Mrs. Izumi, 30 percent Sugawara, 20 percent the manager, and the rest absorbed from past colleagues such as Sasaki” (Murata 20). Scripting is Keiko’s only way to dive through life. She is masking and mimicking the way people talk, make face expressions or even pick their fashion, “good, I pulled off being a ‘person’” (Murata 22). Besides, Keiko is a savant who cannot easily accept going through transitions or shifts in life. She stays in a dead-end job for 18 years while having 20 different managers and job-hoppers as work colleagues. Speaking of someone autistic, this is so foreseeable, as it is hard for them to change their activity or environment. Even when she is not in the convenience store, the convenience store does not leave her: “Sometimes I even find myself operating the checkout till in my dreams. I wake up with a start, thinking: Oh! This new line of crisps is missing a price tag, or, we’ve sold a lot of hot tea, so I’d better restock the display cabinet. I’ve also been woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of my own voice calling out: “Irasshaimasé!” When I can’t sleep, I think about the transparent glass box that is still stirring with life even in the darkness of night. That pristine aquarium is still operating like clockwork. As I visualize the scene, the sounds of the store reverberate in my eardrums and lull me to sleep” (Murata 18).  

     Unforgettable novel with a cherished heroine etched in your mind, that is what Convenience Store Woman is and stands for. Murata did not include bullies, physical pain, domestic violence, direct hatred, painful rejection or anything of the likes, yet this novel is to be considered one of the dystopic, melancholic novels that leaves the readers in a spiritual awe.