The aim of this study is to reveal that the structure of Lexington Ghosts short stories of Haruki Murakami, has the same effect as “work of mourning" conceptualized by Sigmund Freud.
Lexington Ghosts is a collection of short stories, including “Lexington Ghosts", “The Green Monster", “The Silence", “The Ice Man", “Tony Takitani", “The Seventh Man", “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman".
“Lexington Ghosts" depicts Casey's loneliness that he could not convey to a narrator. “The Green Monster" is a story that the cruel heart of a woman destroys the “green monster". “The Silence" portrays a deep trauma that Osawa cannot heal. “The Ice Man" and “Tony Takitani" are stories that they have been deprived of their emotions, because they were all alone in the world.
The stories present the characters who lost hope. The sorrows have been deep in stages. The deepest loneliness is depicted in “The Silence". Then, “The ice man" and “Tony Takitani" show the process that the people have been losing their emotions, after falling into deep despair.
“The Seventh Man" features a man who talks about his process of having overcome his trauma. “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman" is a story that a man determined to live positively in the real world. The stories of delineate the process of recovery from their loneliness.
The structure of Lexington Ghosts shows the process, 1) gentle sorrow, 2) deep despair, 3) to lose the emotions, 4) to hope to live. This has the same process as that of the “work of mourning" of Sigmund Freud.