Today we will discuss the following questions:
- Why do you think the narrator fails to rescue K? What does this say about his character?
- What is the central idea of the text?
- Closely read “The Seventh Man” by Haruki Murakami. What inferences and/or conclusion can draw about the narrator based on what you have read? What textual evidence supports your inferences?
- What theme or central idea about fear does Murakami explore in “The Seventh Man”? How does his use of figurative language help him advance his theme? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.
We will hold a whole-class discussion of the questions. You will be graded on your responses by the following scale:
Participation
Strength of Claim: (1-Claim/idea presented is under-developed and does not contribute to discussion; 2 - Claim/idea presented is mostly developed and adds to the discussion; 3 - Claim/idea is highly developed and enhances the discussion
Quality of Evidence: (1 - Use of evidence does not support claim/idea; 2 - Use of evidence mostly supports claim/idea and shows understanding of the text; 3 - Use of evidence supports claim/idea and show understanding of the text.
Write your responses below if you didn't participate verbally. Anyone is free to submit and continue the conversation.
2b
ReplyDeleteTo answer question 3, the narrator, the seventh man, regrets not saving his friend, K. It impacted his life so much that he moved to a different place to get away from the beach, according to line 304. Lines 318-319 says “They remained a part of my life, though. They would come to me now and then…” This memory will stick with him, all because he let fear overpower him. Line 320 says that he was close to forgetting about the tragic event that occurred with K but he dreams about every small detail that he saw and experienced at that moment with K and can’t get the memory out of his mind.
2B
ReplyDeleteFor question 3.
I conclude that the narrator is a strong and bold person. Often when children experience traumatic events. They grow up to be unsocial, have mental problems, and eventually psychotic. The narrator was only 10 when he experience the death of his best friend. This led to a long period of depression and grief in his life. When he saw Ks watercolor. This became a turning point because he felt that he needed to overcome this grief once and for all. Most adults that had this experience would bawl in tears and do something unlikely to keep them distracted. However the narrator traveled back to the place where it all began and made his peace with the ocean and overcame his fear.
thanks it really helped.
Delete2B
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1
I think that the narrator failed to save K because, his instinct was to save himself first. But if his mind and body would of let him grab K and get him to safety, he would have done so. This shows that the narrator wanted to be protective by calling for K as he began to run. But he was also selfish by not calling K louder or running to get him as he felt that something was about to happen.
2B
ReplyDeleteQuestion 4
The theme of the story is that you should never try to ignore your fears in hopes of forgetting them. The author uses an extended metaphor, the typhoon wave, to explain how the narrator should accept what happened to his friend when he was a kid. When the narrator tried to forget his fear by leaving his hometown, also known as the place where the tragedy happened, he missed so much of his life. He didn’t get married because, “The terror in my bones. It was something I could never share with another person.” and even then, he couldn’t get the image of K.’s cold hand out of his head. When the narrator finally did come back to his hometown, he felt a different feeling than he did was he was last there. He didn’t feel afraid anymore. This was the point of the story when he accepted what happened and now there is no fear.
1.)I think the narrator fails to rescue K because he is worried he may not make it to him on time and because he was frozen in fear. For example, “What good would it do to run, I thought, now that K. Had been taken? Or perhaps I simply froze, overcome with fear. I can’t be sure what it was that kept me standing there.”
ReplyDelete2.)The central idea of this text is how to get over Fear. Throughout the whole story “The Seventh Man” feared for his life and his friend. In the story they tell us that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. “The Seventh Man” was to afraid to rescue is friend because he was frozen in fear, and he was scared to go back to where it all began because of the re-occuring dreams he kept having of him drowning. “There is nothing to fear but fear itself” stated the “The Seventh Man”
3.)The central idea of this text is how to get over Fear. Throughout the whole story “The Seventh Man” feared for his life and his friend. In the story they tell us that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. “The Seventh Man” was to afraid to rescue is friend because he was frozen in fear, and he was scared to go back to where it all began because of the re-occuring dreams he kept having of him drowning. “There is nothing to fear but fear itself” stated the “The Seventh Man”
4.)The theme/central idea about fear Murakami explores in “ The Seventh Man” is that you can’t just wait for fear to one day just go away you have to over come that fear. His use of figurative language can help him advance his theme because when he is afraid to go back that makes the readers wonder if he will go back or stay away, will K. come back to the beach and see him there. When “ The Seventh Man” was to afraid to go back that caused suspense which advanced his theme.
THANKS THIS IDEA HELPS ME
DeleteWarm-Up Question:
ReplyDeleteWhat are some examples of figurative language? Why do writers use those examples of figurative language?
Some examples of figurative language are metaphors, similies, idiom, analogies, and so on. Writers use figurative language to get a reader thinking and create images in the mind.
Classwork/ Discussion Questions:
1.Why do you think the narrator fails to rescue K? What does this say about his character?
I think the narrator fails to rescue K because of the fear that took over him. This may say that is character is easily influenced or isn't emotionally strong.
2.What is the central idea of the text?
The central idea of the text is to not let fear take control of you. In the text, the narrator allowed fear to take over him and it caused him his best friend, emotional stability, and his continuing life to crumble.
3.Closely read “The Seventh Man” by Haruki Murakami. What inferences and/or conclusion can draw about the narrator based on what you have read? What textual evidence supports your inferences?
Based on what I’ve read, the narrator is a visual and sensible person. In the story, the narrator vividly described what a typhoon felt and looked like. The narrator also told a common reaction of what fear does to the mind and body, by telling how he stood in shock and failed to rescue his friend. This was sensible to how fear is and how powerful it is.
4.What theme or central idea about fear does Murakami explore in “The Seventh Man”? How does his use of figurative language help him advance his theme? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.
Murakami explores the theme of the effectiveness of fear. His use of figurative language helps a reader see what it’s like to be overwhelmed with fear and have it take control of you without warning. In the text, the narrator states how seeing the wave get closer and closer to shore caused him to run away and also be terrified at the same time. The narrator was able to get safety for himself, as that is natural instinct, but was unable to save his friend K due to fear. Fear, as Murakami is suggesting and showing in his character, is able to stop someone from doing what they would like to do and plays a deeper role in how someone reacts. The narrator knew that if he went back, he might die, and the fear that he had influenced him even more of that. Murakami tells all of the effects of fear and consequences of in “The Seventh Man.” His use of figurative language advances his theme with the visual imagery he provides his readers with the sight of the wave, and the storm, and the sight of losing his friend. This all conveys emotional trauma and fear in the text.
1. The narrator fails to rescue K. because of his impedimental acts. On page 33, line 161, the narrator states, I was sure I had yelled loud enough, but my voice did not seem to have reach him. He might have been so absorbed in whatever it was he found that my call make no impression of him." This text explains that K. get easily distracted when his life was in a great danger. Even when the narrator tried to save him by shouting at him to get off the beach, this tells me that K. is stubborn and deaf which consequently took his life by a gigantic and powerful wave.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I agree with your assertion that K is deaf. So you think K was reckless and somewhat suicidal?
DeleteThe narrator fails to rescue K because of fear. (Lines 284 and 285) The narrator knew a killer wave was going to happen, and he tried to warn K - But as soon as he saw it coming up, the narrator got scared and only saved himself. This tells me that the narrator gets very frightened when he is at the scene of a catastrophe and even though he wanted to save K, he couldn't because fear took over.
ReplyDeleteThe central idea of this text is that the mistakes you make in the past from fear can come back and haunt you. In the story, the narrator describes his bad experience from a typhoon when he was younger and how it affected him in the future. The text states “Then, all of a sudden, someone grabs my right leg…. I’m being dragged down under the surface”. The narrator was scarred by leaving his friend behind during a crisis and it took a major toll later on in his life. For example, it states that he never got married because he would have nightmares about the situation.
A conclusion that can be made from the narrator is that he cares deeply about people and would do anything to save them in times of crisis, if it weren't for fear. In the text, he describes K as a “Sweet, pure hearted boy” which concludes that he did care for him not only as a friend but as a brother too. Since the narrator was overcome by fear, he failed to save K which resulted in lifelong regret.
The theme of this text would be “To deal with a fear, it is better to face it head-on, rather than letting it become apart of yourself.”. In the text, it states “And suddenly I realized that the deep darkness inside of me has vanished… I raised myself from the sand ...walked into the surf and let the waves lap at me ankles.” The narrator hid from his past for such a long time and when he finally gained the courage to go back to his hometown and see everything that has changed, he realized that K wasn't seeking revenge after all the the narrator could finally live in peace. The use of imagery text helps advance the text because it creates fear by describing the setting as “...shattered roof tiles, cars with cracked windshields". In this, the reader can feel the eerie vibe and can sense that something bad is about to happen even after what the typhoon did to the area.
Why do you think the narrator fails to rescue K? What does this say about his character?
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator failed to rescue K. because he was just too scared and was not thinking straight .
What is the central idea of the text?
I believe the central idea of this text is that we cannot let fear or regret run our lives. In the text the
"Seventh man" allowed fear to cost him his best friend.The narrator said " I knew that the wave was coming and k didn't. I found myself running away...what made me do this, im sure it was fear so overpowering...set my legs to running on their own."
He also allowed fear and regret to control his life, so much so that he had to move away from his own home town and couldn't go back untill years later.
You need more evidence for your first response.
Delete1.) The narrator failed to rescue K because he was overcome with fear that he didn’t even have time to react. This shows us that even though the main character was “athletic” and was considered as “K’s protector,” there was something that evoked so much fear into him (in this case the wave) that it took away his courage.
ReplyDelete2.) The central idea of the text is to not let fear overcome you. For example, in the text it 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 and close our eyes. For the we take the most precious thing inside us and surrender it to something else.” In this text, the reader is stating that once you allow fear to overcome you, you can lose yourself and even someone/something close to you.
3.) Based on what I have read, I predict that the narrator was emotionally and mentally affected by the traumatic incident. After the death of his friend K, he allowed fear to overcome him and it caused him to be emotionally affected. He went into a great depression to the point where he had to leave his hometown.
4.) The central idea of this story is to not let fear overcome you. The author uses many different types of figurative language to advance his theme. For example, he uses pathos to show connect the tragedy that the main character experienced with the central idea. When K died, the main character was affected emotionally, mentally, and physically. The death of K invoked sadness within the main character. In the text, it says; “K. was always thee, lying in the wave tip, grinning at me, his hand outstretched, beckoning. I couldn’t get that picture out of my mind. And when i managed to sleep, it was there in my dreams - except that, in my dreams K. would hop out of his capsule in the wave and grab my wrist to drag me back inside with him.” He allowed fear to overcome him to the point where his dreams haunted him. Also in the text, it says that he left his hometown and stayed lonely for 40 years.
For the theme, it shouldn't sound like a lesson or moral. You say it is not letting fear overcome you, but it should focus on what can happen if fear overcomes you.
Delete1. Why do you think the narrator fails to rescue K? What does this say about his character?
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator fails to rescue K because he was scared. In paragraph 31 he says . “As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way—running full speed toward the dike, alone. What made me do this, I’m sure, was fear, a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own”. This says that the character is kind of a wimp or a coward, because he just ran away when he could've did more to save K.
2. What is the central idea of the text?
The central idea of the text is that the best way to deal with fear is to face it rather than turn our backs on it and let it slowly overtake us. This is the central idea because his fear prevented him from living a happy life, he never got married, he would have nightmares about the tragedy even decades later and he was unable to return to the ocean, which he loved as a child.
The main character fails to save K because he was scared, and when you are scared (or any negative emotion, i.e. sad, angry, depressed) you tend to not think straight, and that's exactly what happened. The main character became scared, in fact fearful (page 35, " My fear was totally groundless--and totally real") and he panicked. He didn't know what to do so he chose the one thing he thought was effective he ran. He knew he should've went back to get K but her couldn't. The fear was taking over, "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....."(page 33), and he just couldn't perform the task he wanted to. The only thing I can say about his character is that in times of peril, he doesn't think straight.
ReplyDeleteANSWERS:
ReplyDelete1.)The narrator failed to rescue K because he was afraid. The narrator feared the waves and didn’t want to hurt himself trying to save his friend. In the text, he said, “What made me do this, I’m sure, was fear, a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own.
2.) The central idea of this text is that the mistakes you make in the past related fear can come back and haunt you. In the story, the narrator describes his experience with a typhoon when he was younger and how it affected him later on in life . The text states “I wake up in darkness, screaming, breathless, and drenched in sweat”. The narrator is still being haunted by this tragic event years after it occurred because of the guilt he feels inside. This event took a major toll later on in his life. For example, the text states “ That is why i'll never marry, i didn’t want to wake someone sleeping next to me with my screams in the middle of the night”
3.) I predict that the narrator is emotionally shaken, he’s filled with regret and guilt knowing he could have saved K. He was reflective and tried to overcome this tragedy in lines 390 to 394, “And then I realized that the deep darkness inside me had vanished...Almost in reconciliation, it seemed…”. He was in conflict from the death of a loved one.
4.) The theme of this text would be “To deal with a fear, it is better to face it head-on, rather than letting it become apart of yourself.”. In the text, it states “And suddenly I realized that the deep darkness inside of me has vanished… I raised myself from the sand ...walked into the surf and let the waves lap at me ankles.” The narrator hid from his past for such a long time and when he finally gained the courage to go back to his hometown and see everything that has changed, he realized that K wasn’t seeking revenge after all the the narrator could finally live in peace.
1. The narrator failed to rescue K out of fear. He wanted to but was paralyzed and could not help.
ReplyDelete2. The central idea is that we should not let fear control us and to realize that fear is the only thing holding us back from being our true selves.
3/4. The central idea is to get over fear. Textual evidence supports this as when he says "the only thing to fear is fear itself".
I think that the author failed to rescue K because of fear. The waves were scary and didn't want to risk himself trying to save a friend. It says that he's a scaredy cat. The central idea of the text is we should not let our fear overcome us and we should learn to face it. The effect of his fear is losing his best friend. It also broke his life and his emotions. I can conclude that running away from your fears will just bring you bad things. They will just continue to chase you until you face them. In the story "Seventh Man", the narrator failed to rescue K because he was scared. It took away his friend, his future, and emotions.In Lines 304, he wanted to move to another town to get away because he didn't want live in the sight of the beach where K got swept away and his nightmares wouldn't stop.
ReplyDeleteI believe the character failed to rescue K due to human nature getting the better of him, fear. The text basically revolves around the idea of how fear and regretful emotions left unchecked will eventually consume us and rule our lives allowing us no freedom from its darkness. Based on what I have read from the story "The Seventh Man" I can infer that the narrator is a person who is secretive and likes to keep things to himself so as to not worry anyone, since he does this to not worry anyone I can also draw that the narrator is a kind and caring person due to that, also since he feels this horrible after failing to save his dearest friend showing how good-hearted a person he is, he stated to have nightmares because of this inability in saving K back then. The theme the story was trying to represent throughout the story is *that the best way to deal with fear is to face it rather than turn our backs on it and let it slowly overtake us* the narrator's fear did overtake him at a time, however he did eventually came to terms with it, he turned around to face it directly and dissipated it.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator fails to save K. because he was filled with fear. He could not react accordingly to the situation because the fear was too crippling. Situations such as a typhoon about to engulf you triggers the fight or flight response. In the narrator’s case, his body chose flight. “I told myself to run over to K., grab hold of him, and get out of there...As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way...a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own.” No matter how much the narrator wanted to save K., he couldn't because instincts overpower thought in times of distress. His instincts value self preservation more than saving others first.
ReplyDeleteThe central idea of “The Seventh Man,” is self preservation. During a natural disaster, a person’s natural instinct is to stay alive. People do everything they can to stay alive and protect their valuables. This can include putting storm shutters on houses, having an emergency kit that they can survive on for days, potentially not saving someone in order to save yourself. All these things come into play in self-preservation. The narrator of “The Seventh Man,” left his best friend in the wake of a typhoon out of great fear, triggering his instincts to self-preserve. “I found myself running the other way...a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own.” Without the human instinct to self-preserve, humans would not survive and thrive.
The narrator of “The Seventh Man,” is emotional. In the wake of a typhoon, the narrator did not save his best friend from an incoming deadly wave. He did this out of crippling fear and following his instincts. Because the narrator was unable to save his best friend, he fell into deep depression, unable to confront the situation. “I stayed in bed for a week...my life would never be the same.” It took him forty years to finally make peace with the situation.
The central idea about fear is that "fear is uncontrollable." Murakami uses imagery to expand this idea. He describes the tsunami in great detail. This allows the reader to visualize the situation in which he was in. "The sea had suddenly stretched out it's long, smooth tongue to where I stood on the beach...I heard a deep rumbling sound. It seemed to shake the earth." The reader can see how this situation can be terrifying. So terrifying that it takes over the body. "As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way," said the Seventh Man. Fear is a very powerful force.
1. I believe the narrator fails to rescue K because he was scared and didn't want to risk his life in the process. This shows that he is very concerned over his own life and also he lets fear control his actions.
ReplyDelete2. The central idea of the text is don't let your fear control you.
3. I can conclude that he was caring and strong. I can tell that he deeply cares about a lot of people especially K. In the text he described K as a "Sweet, pure-hearted boy." This shows that he actually cared about him and he would have saved him if it weren't for fear that got in the way of his actions.
4. The central idea of the text is fear cannot be controlled. Murakami describes the tsunami in great detail which allows the reader to use imagery about the incident. It allows the reader to visualize all the aspects of the event. "The sea had suddenly stretched out it's long, smooth tongue to where I stood on the beach...I heard a deep rumbling sound. It seemed to shake the earth." This quote uses a lot of terms to allow the reader to use imagery and see how the event was very awful. The narrator then begins to run away from the situation which shows how his fear took over him.