The narrator of “The Seventh Man” should forgive himself for what happened to K. The narrator had a very stressful decision to make in a frightening moment, and the terror consumed him. There was no way to slow down and think in a scary time like that. He had to make some major decisions in the matter of a few seconds, so he can’t really be blamed for his actions. There should be no reason for him to not forgive himself.
This claim is the only one that makes good sense. The narrator was in the middle of a big storm when this happened and he would have had no time to think. “I told myself to run over to K, grab hold of him, and get out of there. It was the only thing to do. I knew that the wave was coming, and K didn’t know. As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way…” (Murakami pg 138). This text clearly shows that he mentally attempted to save K, but his fear overtook him and he ran away. “In these cases , people may be causally responsible for harm- they bring about the harm through their agency- but they are not morally responsible for what happened” (Sherman pg 155). This quote shows that even though the narrator could have stopped K. from being killed, he was not actually responsible for what happened. …show more content…
It can be said that he could have ran back to K and saved him, despite being afraid. The narrator constantly had nightmares about what happened because he never felt good about what happened. He never truly forgave himself until he went back to his hometown to see the beach where K had been swept away. “And then I realized that the deep darkness inside me had vanished. Suddenly. As suddenly as it had come” (Murakami pg 144). This shows that even the narrator didn’t forgive himself until he felt the waves that took K away lap against his feet and, in a sense, forgave him for what