Fear is consuming. It can take over your mind and constantly prevent you from experiencing all life has to offer. Concurring your fear will take most, if not all the power away from it. “The Seventh Man” elucidates the effects of fear and how it keeps one from reaching their full potential. Whether you chose to fight or fly, the impact will be as great as you let it. In “The Seventh Man”, Murakami uses similes, foreshadowing and symbolism to develop the theme that it is better to face one's fears then to turn one's back on them.
The use of similes by Murakami allows the reader to compare what is happening in the story to an event associated with themselves. This helps them to see what it’s like to be overwhelmed with fear and have it take control
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of you. Murakami states, “a wave like a huge snake with its head held high, poised to strike, was racing towards the shore.” A deadly snake preparing to attack makes you feel like it has chosen you. This malicious animal is looking to kill, while a wave is unconscious of every destruction it causes. Another example of the authors effective use of similes is: “But something ominous about them—something like the touch of a reptile’s skin…”. The narrator is talking about the waves, which is a symbol of fear. This quote impacts the theme and mood, making it mysterious because he uses imagery to describe the unknown. Some people may say that similes only affect the mood but i believe they play a big role in portraying the overall theme of the story. Similes influence the theme because they encourage the readers to use their imagination and have their own way of interpreting the message of the author. Suspense is often built through foreshadowing, which Murakami took advantage of when writing “The Seventh Man”.While in the eye of the storm, the narrator's father gives him permission to leave the house and explore around: “He said I could walk around a little if I didn’t go far.
But I want you to come right back here at the first sign of wind.” (360) This quote foreshadows the danger that the boys are getting themselves in to. While this is the start of a bad decision, it add some excitement in the plot, especially after the narrator lets K. tag along. As i was reading the story, i was more so apprehensive rather than excited when they got permission to explore. Some may say that because they were in the eye of the storm, they could have a few minutes of calmer, safer weather, but the most logical thing to do in this type of situation is to stay inside, and stay together. The narrator says “I stayed away from my hometown for over forty years. I never went near that seashore-- or any other.” This quote foreshadows the narrator's healing and coping with the pain and that he will revisit his hometown. This ties in with the theme that overcoming fear is the most beneficial for one's well-being, as he eventually does revisit and restores himself by conquering his fear. Foreshadowing triggers the reader's mind to connect associating ideas in which one may lead to the other. The tension created adds to the complexity of the story and enhances it as a
whole. Murakami favors symbolism to compliment the anonymous and powerful story. Two important symbols in the story is water and K’s watercolor paintings. The quote: “It just barely missed me but in my place it swallowed everything that mattered most to me and swept it off to another world”, shows that water represents pain and the vacuum of the good in the narrator’s life. The wave had taken some of the most important things away from him, which would scar him forever. K’s drawings was the medicine for the healing of the narrator. They are what saved him and allowed him to be free from the powerful force that fear has over him. “The more I studied K’s watercolor that evening, the greater the conviction with which began to believe there new thoughts of mine.” The battle through fear was a long one, as it took the narrator through adulthood to actually mend himself; the watercolor painting created by K. was what healed the narrator of his pain. Symbols, like water and K’s paintings develop the theme by standing for something with a greater significance than what they actually are. The story, “The Seventh Man”, proves that by overcoming a fear, one is taking back the reins of their own self. This is shown through similes, foreshadowing and symbolism. They develop the theme that running from a fear only gives it more power. Breaking through the barricade that is fear, allows one to have pure satisfaction with their life. Constantly worrying and being afraid to experience one's life head on, keeps them from growing and becoming the best version of themselves.
Fear resides within all of our souls and our minds in different forms wether it be mind, body, or spirit. Fear can be brought upon by actions, words or ever our mere imagination. Of course as one being younger your imagination can bring along fear that is non existent but, to one it may seem so vivid and tangible. In this Novel by William Golding we come to grasps with many different forms of fear being from the beast, the loss of humanity, and the fear of realization.
In the year 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He stated, “Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other” (Essays Dedication of Death). Clearly, external surroundings affect perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although C.S. Lewis published the novel, Out of the Silent Planet, over three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory on fear, Lewis similarly portrayed external surrounding to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis revealed fear to be a weakness that leads to ignorance. It was this ignorance that apparently fueled the cycle of corruption and immorality on “The Silent Planet.” Using the character Ransom to reveal the effect of memory and morality on fear, C.S. Lewis demonstrates that fear is a quality of the “bent” race (humans), and only by eliminating fear in our lives can the human race become hnau.
The seagulls in this story are used to symbolize human frailty and nature’s indifference to it. As the men continue their journey through the fierce waves, Crane incorporates the use of imagery to describe the nature around them by giving it gloomy colors that are often used to represent death. Toward the end of the story, as the men are still hoping to be rescued, they encounter a shark swimming around the boat that symbolizes that something bad is about to happen. At the end of the story, readers learn that the Oiler, Billie, dies, but if one pays close enough attention to the detail used in this story there is enough evidence to foreshadow the death of one character. In this story, “The Open Boat,” Stephen Crane uses imagery and symbolism through the use of colors and objects in nature to depict the characters lack of power over
The way that James Dickey uses the similes allow for readers to not only read the comparison but to feel the emotions themselves as if they are the son in the poem. A part of the poem that shows the revelation of the son on life and death is when he says “the traffic increases around me/ Like a madness called down on my head,” demonstrating this revelation can be a sort of madness to some, but at the same time a gift to them (Dickey 32-33). Madness is most of the time known just to be associated with insane people. However, one must remember some of the most famous people were people thought to be mad. The author helps to instill the emotions that the son is going through when the son says “I wave, like a man catching fire,” showing to importance of showing love to a loved one that one may never see again (Dickey 15). The way the son shows hi...
There are several symbols in the story that help to emphasize that point. One powerful one is the boat. It is small and alone on the ocean, with only the occasional patch of seaweed or a seagull or two to keep it company. The waves themselves are the ups and downs of life. At any moment, a ‘wave’ can come and swamp you, leaving you stranded without a clue what to do, and more just keep coming. Just as in life, “…after successfully surmounting one wave you discover that there is another behind it just as important and just as nervously anxious to do something effective in the way of swamping boats.” Line 9.
Stephen Crane’s story “The Open Boat” concerns four people who are trying to reach land after surviving a shipwreck off of the Florida coast. During the course of the story, they face dangers that are real physical threats, but they also have to deal with trying to make sense of their situation. The characters in this story cope with their struggles in two ways: individually, they each imagine that Nature, or Fate, or God, is behind their experiences, which allows them to blame some outside force for their struggle, and together, they form a bond of friendship that helps them keep their spirits up. .
Stephen King uses imagery to describe his personal situations in his journey to the writing career. On page 1, King discusses his experience reading Mary Karr’s memoir The Liars’ Club. He begins to explain his childhood and how it was an “odd, herky-jerky childhood.” Then goes to explain how Karr presents her childhood in her memoir. He compares his childhood to hers by stating his childhood was “a fogged-out landscape from which occasional memories appear like isolated trees . . . the kind that look as if they might like to grab and eat you.” In that statement it states 3 literary elements. The first one is a simile, which is comparing two things using like or as. He compares his memories to isolated trees. The second literary element I see
It should be mentioned that the story uses a myriad of figurative and metaphoric imagery. Throughout the novel the narrator injects his own views, often leading the reader to a deeper questioning of the story as it unfolds. He frequently speaks about what would happen if the main character were to do things in a different way. Also, through the interjection of varying levels of foreshadowing the reader gets a sense of where the story is headed. At one point the narrator says “…were I to t...
4.) Ted Lavender adopted an orphan puppy. This is a coping mechanism of his. He cared for the puppy as if it was a child; from feeding it with a plastic spoon to carrying it with him everywhere he went.The war made him feel anxious and gave him troubled mind. He used drugs to ease it. Therefore, cannabis was a necessity for Lavender. The text states, “Ted Lavender carried 6 or 7 ounces of premium dope…” Lavender bled to death out of a single gunshot wound to the head. Subconsciously and without any questions asked the soldiers around him knew exactly what to do. This shows that death had become an ordinary part of life to them. They just wrap up the body and take it to the helicopter and act like nothing ever happened. In the chapter titled
During all of the attempts their spirits and moods went up and down like the waves of the ocean. Through their selfless actions, the undertone of the entire story should now become clearer. Concern for others before oneself is the first element. Staying hopeful for a better future is the second. The last and most import element, the will or determination to survive even in the toughest part of life. Now readers should see how the combination of these tones compassion, hope, and willing to survive creates the mysterious tone of the story. For courage to appear everyone at some particular time or other needs to have compassion for another person, hopeful whenever there is doubt, and always striving to survive even in the severest of times. Courage is the tone not seen until any reader looks deep into oneself. Those four men had courage from the start till the end. Even though Billie died trying to reach the shore he had concern for the rest of them, stayed hopeful, and tried his hardest until the very end. Stephen Crane was the youngest child of his family dropout several colleges yet, “his time had not been wasted” (Stephen), combined each and every tone into a special short story. “The Open Boat” is not only one of his best short stories; “The Open Boat” contains a treasure map. The treasure is not gold, silver, or precious gems. The treasure is Courage. Courage to tackle any and
In the story "The Open Boat," by Stephen Crane, Crane uses many literary techniques to convey the stories overall theme. The story is centered on four men: a cook, a correspondent, Billie, an oiler who is the only character named in the story, and a captain. They are stranded in a lifeboat in stormy seas just off the coast of Florida, just after their ship has sunk. Although they can eventually see the shore, the waves are so big that it is too dangerous to try to take the boat in to land. Instead, the men are forced to take the boat further out to sea, where the waves are not quite as big and dangerous. They spend the night in the lifeboat and take turns rowing and then resting. In the morning, the men are weak and exhausted. The captain decides that they must try to take the lifeboat as close to shore as possible and then be ready to swim when the surf inevitably turns the boat over and throws the men into the cold sea. As they get closer to land a big wave comes and all the men are thrown into the sea. The lifeboat turns over and the four men must swim into shore. There are rescuers waiting on shore who help the men out of the water. Strangely, as the cook, captain and correspondent reach the shore safely and are helped out of the water, they discover that, somehow, the oiler has drowned after being smashed in the surf by a huge wave. (255-270) “The Open Boat’s” main theme deals with a character’s seemingly insignificant life struggle against nature’s indifference. Crane expresses this theme through a suspenseful tone, creative point of view, and a mix of irony.
In conclusion Haruki Murakami exposes an insight to a world never heard of a mind blowing novel with hard to miss signs. This story unfolds in such a way that keeps the readers in suspense and finally leaving them an idea that can make them appreciate the world they leave in and the people in it. Fiction does fall into reality and expands the idea of what is really out there.
This research paper offers a study of the popular Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s novel After Dark (2004) and retraces the inherent human instincts through the exploration of the psyche. A psychological explanation is given to the violence of human beings by associating it with the psychological devices, mirror, and mask. These devices reflect the inner psyche, the primitive animal self of an individual. Jung’s tripartite division of human psyche- anima/animus, shadow, and persona is also discussed in the paper by drawing parallels with the novel. The stressed and pressured psyche is the reason for the outburst of human violence, and this is proved through the paper. The darkness assists the man and therefore the inner consciousness takes
This conflict, although very real, is more about man’s ability to persevere and realize that nature simply exists with no evil intent, that in the scheme of the universe, man’s significance should not be based upon supposed supremacy. The intensity of the conflict with nature is shown with each stroke of the oars, each crash of the waves, and each bucket of water that is thrown overboard as the life boat takes on water. It is in the brutal reality of this setting that Crane acknowledges the setting as the antagonist within this tale. Nature bombards the lifeboat with a constant assault; the men are driven by the need to persevere in order to stay alive. As a result, there are moments in which a sense of fatalism can be seen as the Captain remarks, “If we don’t all get ashore – if we don’t all get ashore, I suppose you fellows know where to send news of my finish?” (344). These are crucial moments depicting that no matter the dedication and will to survive this ordeal, the lives of the men are still dependent upon the aspect of Nature being accommodating. It becomes an inner conflict against fatalism and the external conflict against nature.
Beyond the shield of civilization and into the depths of a primitive, untamed frontier lies the true face of the human soul. It is in the midst of this savagery and unrelenting danger that mankind confronts the brooding nature of his inner self.