Metaphoric Unification

Murakami’s speech, Always on the side of the Egg, delivers a straightforward enough metaphor that he uses to build into a greater message. With the delicate environment he was making this speech within and within context of, it was purposeful to use metaphors and, even when expanded upon, not attribute names to the scenes he was describing. Although he refutes sides in the Gaza conflict, he does take a stance. Here is where his egg metaphor, which he could’ve left us at with the image of a fragile egg splattered against an unmovable wall, really comes into its own as it becomes a presentation of commonality and fragility in us. He manages to spin the adage that we are all human beings into something similar that resonates instead of being a meaningless truism. What challenged my thinking here was my own knowledge of the present day conflicts between the groups in the Gaza Conflict. I think about what kind of understanding Murakami might’ve had of the events and who he personally attributed to the wall too. While I agree with his statement about The System and our creation of it, I feel that no longer holds up as well given the recent events. I will practice his belief that we are all equal and should be united in a fight against the oppressor of our creation but I will not dilute the conflict by trying to equivocate especially when I don’t have a full understanding.