Analysis Of Haruki Murakami's 'The Seventh Man'

Indeed, fear has been the subject of a lot of literary works throughout history. For example, Hamlet’s soliloquy “ To be or not to be” discusses the fear of death. Also, the phrase “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” has become a famous maxim yet hollow rhetoric. Since fear is a part of human nature which many would rather do without, different people have different lessons to take and share about this emotion. Haruki Murakami, a Japanese novelist explores this topic in his short story “The Seventh Man”. Set in twentieth-century Japan, it is about an unnamed protagonist narrating his life’s story to a group concerning how the death of his best friend K.. adversely affected his life. Murakami develops his message of fear through the character development of the protagonist, from exposition to resolution. As a child, the protagonist was a typical bundle of innocence until he witnessed a tragedy. During a flashback in the story, he describes his childhood self as ‘kind of big and athletic, and the other kids looked up to him.” (Lines 66-69) Thus, he used to protect frail K. with whom he shared a wonderful bond of friendship. When a typhoon hit their seaside town in Province S., he and the other kids thought of it as "a great big circus..."(line 68) indicating their indifference in such a situation. Undoubtedly, this is a normal characteristic of children. However, as he and K. wandered on the beach, (when their area was in the eye of the storm) significant