Literary Analysis Of 'The Seventh Man' By Haruki Murakami

By the end of “The Seventh Man”, the author, Haruki Murakami, had finally realized that in order to obtain closure from the terrible events he experienced, he would have to overcome his fears. In the story, the narrator’s best friend is killed by a giant wave right before his eyes. The narrator feels as though he might have been able to save him, but he was too scared to try. Consequently, in the closing paragraph, he states, “Oh, the fear is there, all right. It comes to us in many different forms, at different times, and overwhelms us. But the most frightening thing we can do at such times is to turn our backs on it, to close our eyes.” This further explains the underlying message, or theme of the story, which is fear. The readers can infer …show more content…
The theme of fear can be further supported through the use of figurative language. While reading “The Seventh Man,” it can be noted that a large majority of the comparisons and exaggerations were used to convey a dark or troublesome topic. For instance, the author uses the following sentence to portray a suspenseful mood in the opening paragraph. “The small group that huddled in a circle could hear the wind tearing through the darkness outside, heading west.” When I read the phrase, “tearing through the darkness,” the mood that is automatically related to the story is cold, dark, and gloomy, which carries on throughout the rest of the story. This can also be directly related to the way the narrator views the topics he talks about. By using these vividly gloomy words, the narrator reveals that the part …show more content…
In the beginning of the story, the narrator uses foreshadowing, while also manipulating the time creating a flashback. In this sentence, “‘A huge wave nearly swept me away,’ said the seventh man, almost whispering. ‘It happened one September afternoon when I was ten years old,’” the reader is taken back to when the narrator was 10 years old, and the reader learns that there was going to be a “huge wave”. Whether the wave represents a literal or figurative object is unknown, but the sentence gives some insight on what the rest of the story will be about. Later in the story, after the main incident occurs, the narrator declares, “But my life would never be the same again.” In this quote, the author uses pacing as well as foreshadowing to further develop the story and contribute to the theme of fear. After reading this sentence, the reader starts forming predictions about what will happen next. It creates a feeling of fear, and sets the stage for the next “scene” in the story. Finally, near the end of the story, the author takes the reader back to the present time that was represented at the beginning. He includes, “The seventh man fell silent and turned his gaze upon each of the others. No one spoke or moved or even seemed to breathe. All were waiting for the rest of the story.” As well as bringing the reader back to reality, this phrase also adds suspense to the story. It shows the interest of the other people, and