The Seventh Man Sparknotes

Did you know that on average there are 11 drowning deaths per day? “The Seventh Man” by Haruki Murakami is a short story about a man being haunted by the guilt of witnessing his childhood friend being swallowed by a wave. The narrator soon has to go back to his roots to accept reality. This story explores different themes and topics such as trauma, survivor guilt, and how the deaths of others impact us throughout our lives. The narrator of “The Seventh Man” should forgive himself for K’s death, eventually after years of dealing with the guilt. Imperfect duty means to have a job but not be required to be perfect at it. In the passage, the author Haruki Murakami talks about survivor guilt. It’s about learning to live with the fact that you made it and others didn’t. An

Survivor guilt is an emotionally complex topic that the narrator experiences after the tragic death of K. Nancy Sherman argues that survivor guilt is a result of our imperfect duties to others. She advocates that while we have a “duty” to help and protect others, it’s impossible to prevent others from harm or tragedy. This is one of my reasons why the narrator should forgive himself for the death of K. Another example that supports my claim is when the narrator describes the massive wave that took K away. He describes it as the ground was rumbling, the earth was shaking. The narrator looks toward the wave and illustrates it as, “A wave like a huge snake with its head held high, poised to strike, was racing towards the shore.” It was as tall as a three-story building and covered the sky. This force was so powerful that it would have been nearly impossible for the narrator to prevent the tragedy. The tsunami was unpredictable, emphasizing that he couldn't have prevented it. This example supports the claim that the narrator shouldn't bear the burden of