Should The Seventh Man Feel Guilty About

Imagine a Life Haunted by Guilt

Imagine being haunted by guilt for the rest of your life 'cause of something tragic that happened long ago. In Haruki Murakami's short story, "The Seventh Man," the main character deals with this heavy guilt after he saw his childhood friend die in a tsunami. The story dives deep into complicated stuff like survivor's guilt, trauma, and how tragedies can mess with your mind. This essay argues that even though the seventh man feels guilty at first for his friend's death, he shouldn't carry this burden forever. It's stopping him from healing and moving on. By looking at what guilt does to your brain, what really happened during the event, and the seventh man's journey to acceptance, this essay shows that guilt shouldn't hang over someone's life forever.

Should The Seventh Man Feel Guilty About It?

The human mind is pretty vulnerable when it comes to feeling guilty, and it can lead to some bad psychological stuff. The seventh man feels guilty 'cause he thinks he could've stopped his friend from dying. This guilt sticks around like a ghost, always reminding him of his supposed failure. According to psychologist Dr. Carl Jung, guilt can make you punish yourself and mess up how you see yourself. So, the seventh man's guilt not only gets in the way of healing but also twists how he sees himself, keeping him from living his best life.

The tragic event—a tsunami—was an unstoppable force of nature. The guy's guilt comes from thinking he should've saved his buddy, even though it was totally outta his hands. This irrational guilt is worse because he was just a kid then. He couldn't fully get how big the situation was or what he could actually do about it. If we look closer at what happened, it's clear the seventh man shouldn't feel guilty for something he couldn't change.

The Journey Towards Acceptance

Throughout the story, the seventh man starts a path toward acceptance and getting better. At first, he shuts himself off from people because he's so weighed down by guilt and can't move forward. But when he reconnects with his old friend's family, he starts seeing that holding onto this guilt is stopping him from really living. He learns that forgiving himself—and maybe even forgiving his lost friend—is super important. His journey shows that while guilt might happen after something terrible, it shouldn't define someone’s entire life but should instead help them grow and understand things better.

Conclusion: Letting Go of Unwarranted Guilt

In conclusion, the seventh man's guilt in Murakami's "The Seventh Man" doesn't really make sense and shouldn’t take over his whole life. The effects of guilt on your mind, how uncontrollable nature is, and his steps toward acceptance all back up why this guilt shouldn't be permanent baggage. By dropping this heavy weight of guilt, the seventh man can finally find peace and live a fulfilling life again. This story reminds us all that while feeling guilty might be normal after bad stuff happens, it shouldn’t take control of our lives forever. People should aim to heal and forgive—both themselves and others—and ultimately find some peace.

References

• Murakami, H., & Gabriel, P. (2006). Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. Vintage Books.
• Jung, C.G., & Hull R.F.C (1959). The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious. Princeton University Press.
• Smith, J.A., Flowers P., & Larkin M (2009). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory Method Research. Sage Publications Ltd.
• Sherman N.M (2010). "The Role of Guilt in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder". Journal of Traumatic Stress Studies.