The Sheep Man- Carly

Hello class,

I wanted to talk about my thoughts on whether the Sheep Man exists, as my thoughts have changed since I first finished A Wild Sheep Chase last week. When I first read the end of the story, I felt sure that the Sheep Man did not exist at all in any form. The Sheep Man’s reflection not showing up in the mirror made me think this. I now think that the Sheep Man physically exists sometimes, but “Boku” also has a habit of creating people in his head as a coping mechanism, and the Sheep Man has become one of those people in his head. Throughout the story, I thought of Boku as a very lonely person. I also think Boku’s loneliness is self-induced and a result of his apathetic approach to life. The story started with him talking about his ex-situationship from college and how she passed away in an accident. As he talked about their time together, although he could recount their encounters in detail, I did not feel like he was particularly moved by her passing or felt any regret or sadness about losing someone he had memories with. Later on in the story, when Boku is in the limo with the chauffeur, and he says he almost forgot he had a name, this shows how he barely cared about even his own existence. He had many more moments like this when he seemed like he just didn’t care enough, or seemed disconnected from life. 

It is also relevant to mention that I am suspicious of the girlfriend’s existence as well. The Sheep Man told Boku that his girlfriend left, and that Boku was “confusing,” her, and he “only thinks about himself” (Chapter 35). Instances like this in the story made me think that Boku created the Sheep Man to force him confront his insecurities about himself. In the same way, the girlfriends’ existence is also showing Boku how his lack of care for others will lead to him being alone. To prevent myself from becoming too long-winded, basically, I think Boku is emotionally stunted, and the people/characters he creates in his head are helping him to change his inability to feel. 

-Carly