Guilt In Sherman's Short Story 'The Seventh Man'

Guilt Filled or Guilty?
“Traumatic events take a toll on the physical and mental well-being of the individuals who must endure them.” “The term “survivor guilt” is used to describe these feelings” (Sherman 153). Therapists and philosophers use the previously listed term, survivor guilt, to explain the internal battle that happens to many everyday people. Surviving through something that a friend did not, or feeling responsible for something that you have no control over all leads to this type of guilt. This is most likely what had occurred during the telling of “The Seventh Man”.
In the fictional story “The Seventh Man” an event is described where the main character endures a life changing traumatic event, while he just stands there and watches. This event involves his best friend, K, being engulfed in a giant wave, never to be seen again. Many people altercate about whether or not the seventh man shouldn’t or should forgive himself, the most forgiving and logical side would be to agree with the ladder. Although he may seem at fault for the events …show more content…
The seventh man may have classified his duties as saving his naive friend. People say that the seventh man had enough “time” to save his friend K. They say that in that “time” he could have ran to K and warned him about the monstrous wave that was coming. Although he may have had enough “time,” the human being reacts to certain situations in certain ways. It’s the human nature that can either make or break us. “Blameworthiness, here, depends on the idea that a person could have done something other than he did. And so he is held responsible or accountable, by himself or others”(Sherman 154). Although the seventh man did not save K, even if he tried, he would have been putting himself at risk also. If he did run to K, the wave would have had a large probability of engulfing both of them, never to be seen

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Guilt In Sherman's Short Story 'The Seventh Man'

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