Haruki Murakami's The Seventh Man
The narrator should not hold himself accountable for his inadvertent part in K’s death because he acted out of fear and the consequences, though tragic, were not of malicious intent but was an innocent mistake.
Should he forgive himself? Would you, if you had seen your friend die and may have had a way to prevent it? In The Seventh Man, Haruki Murakami tells the story of a young boy who goes out to explore his ravaged town in the eye of a typhoon. His best friend K, is also outside, and does not hear the narrator’s yell to him when the typhoon approaches. The narrator runs instead of yelling again, and K dies. Should he forgive himself? The answer is clear: yes. The narrator was 10 years old, and should not hold himself accountable for his …show more content…
inadvertent part in K’s death because he acted out of fear and the consequences were, though tragic, not of malicious intent but an innocent mistake.
Guilt is a paralyzing emotion that can consume your mind and prevent any productive actions from taking place. No person should have to live their life with this as a burden, especially from the age of 10. There is a time for regrets and guilt, and a time to move on. The narrator of The Seventh Man comes to this conclusion as well, saying that “it took years to. . . recover from the experience- precious years that can never be replaced” (Murakami 133). But he did recover, realizing that K would not be angry at him.
Upon reading this short story for the first time, some readers may come to the conclusion that the narrator should not forgive himself.
This is understandable as the way K’s death is presented in the story makes it seem as if it was the narrator’s fault, however it was only written that way because it was the way he felt in that moment. Some people also think that the narrator should not forgive himself because even he admits that he could’ve saved him. This may be true. It the story, the narrator says: “As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way.” this supports some people's’ opinion that he could’ve saved K, but they neglect the rest of the passage, which strengthens the opposing opinion. “What made me do this, I’m sure, was fear, a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own” (Murakami 138). The narrator was not of clear mind and subconsciously saved himself first. It was a survivor’s instinct that saved him that day, but also took the life of K.
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, also arrives at this conclusion, but in a different circumstance. Pi, a lifelong vegetarian stranded at sea, has to kill a fish, and feels guilt for going back on his beliefs. Pi realizes, however, that it was necessary for survival and he must learn to live with it (Martel
208).
Should he forgive himself? Would you, if you had seen your friend die and may have had a way to prevent it? In The Seventh Man, Haruki Murakami tells the story of a young boy who goes out to explore his ravaged town in the eye of a typhoon. His best friend K, is also outside, and does not hear the narrator’s yell to him when the typhoon approaches. The narrator runs instead of yelling again, and K dies. Should he forgive himself? The answer is clear: yes. The narrator was 10 years old, and should not hold himself accountable for his …show more content…
inadvertent part in K’s death because he acted out of fear and the consequences were, though tragic, not of malicious intent but an innocent mistake.
Guilt is a paralyzing emotion that can consume your mind and prevent any productive actions from taking place. No person should have to live their life with this as a burden, especially from the age of 10. There is a time for regrets and guilt, and a time to move on. The narrator of The Seventh Man comes to this conclusion as well, saying that “it took years to. . . recover from the experience- precious years that can never be replaced” (Murakami 133). But he did recover, realizing that K would not be angry at him.
Upon reading this short story for the first time, some readers may come to the conclusion that the narrator should not forgive himself.
This is understandable as the way K’s death is presented in the story makes it seem as if it was the narrator’s fault, however it was only written that way because it was the way he felt in that moment. Some people also think that the narrator should not forgive himself because even he admits that he could’ve saved him. This may be true. It the story, the narrator says: “As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way.” this supports some people's’ opinion that he could’ve saved K, but they neglect the rest of the passage, which strengthens the opposing opinion. “What made me do this, I’m sure, was fear, a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own” (Murakami 138). The narrator was not of clear mind and subconsciously saved himself first. It was a survivor’s instinct that saved him that day, but also took the life of K.
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, also arrives at this conclusion, but in a different circumstance. Pi, a lifelong vegetarian stranded at sea, has to kill a fish, and feels guilt for going back on his beliefs. Pi realizes, however, that it was necessary for survival and he must learn to live with it (Martel
208).