by Haruki Murakami

Grade 10 HMH
Main Skill

A symbol is a person, place, object, or activity

that stands for something beyond itself. Symbols
have both literal and abstract meanings.

Two well-known symbols are the heart and the

dove. Literally speaking, the heart is an organ in
our bodies. In an abstract sense, however, a heart
represents love. In the same way, a dove is literally
a bird, while symbolically, it stands for peace.
Some symbols, like the heart and the
dove, are universal—they are widely
recognized by large numbers of
people. Universal symbols aren't
always known worldwide, but they
are often recognized by people
who are connected by the same
region or culture. Sometimes, these
symbols are even passed down from
one generation to the next.
To the people who readily recognize them, symbols can quickly
communicate ideas about life.
What do the following words symbolize?
Winter, journeys and quests, skull and crossbones
Symbols play an important role in
literature. Many writers use symbols to
add deeper levels of meaning to their
works—meanings that simple, literal
statements could not convey.

Sometimes, those symbols are universal.

More often, though, symbols are not
instantly recognizable. In fact, writers
often use symbols that are unique to a
specific work of literature.
 Read the following
examples. Each example
includes a symbol.

Here, the clouds The tree is a symbol of Lara's diploma may be

represent misfortune. life and survival. Instead a piece of paper, but it
A storm is brewing of being violently symbolizes a bright
both literally, and uprooted, it survives the future filled with
symbolically, in the ferocious storm. possibility.
character's life.
As a reader, you can use these strategies to identify
and analyze symbols, whether they are universal or
unique.

To recognize and interpret symbols, notice—

how objects, places, or activities are described

how characters react to the symbol
what theme the symbol might suggest
Practice Time

What is the symbol in this passage?

a) the cardboard box

b) the town Clea left behind
c) the quilt

The writer lingers on the description

of the quilt, which lets readers know
that the quilt is important. The quilt
symbolizes the close connection of
Clea's family members.
As you know, writers usually do not explain the significance of their
symbols. Rather, it's the reader's job to interpret the meaning.

To do so, you have to look for evidence in the text and consider prior
knowledge, or what you already know about the world. Armed with this
information, you can make an inference, or educated guess, about the
meaning of a symbol.

Consider a story about a teenaged girl and her struggle to be more independent.
Throughout the story, the writer includes in-depth descriptions of the used car the girl buys
after she gets her license. The writer also lets readers know how much the car matters to
the girl.

Prior knowledge tells you that people can only drive a car when they reach a certain age
and hold a driver's license. After considering this information and paying attention to the
details in the story, readers can infer that
Jackson's running shoes symbolize freedom.
They make him feel he can go anywhere and
do anything.
You noticed the description of the locked room
and Callie's despair. You also noticed the
contrasting description of the soft, warm
sunlight. The sunlight represents hope.
An allegory is a story that takes place on two levels—a
literal level and a symbolic one. In such a work, most of
the characters, objects, settings, and events represent
abstract qualities, such as freedom, evil, or goodness.

When you read an allegory, you have to draw on the

meaning of each symbol to interpret the story's overall
message or theme.

In some allegories, the characters have names that

describe the abstract ideas or moral qualities they
symbolize. For example, in the famous allegory The
Pilgrim's Progress, the characters' names include
Knowledge, Fellowship, Ignorance, and Honesty.
A writer might use allegory to communicate his or her ideas about life, to teach a
lesson, or to criticize institutions.

Two types of allegory are fables and parables.

In a fable, the writer draws on the characteristics for which an animal is known. The
animal character is used to make a point about human behavior.

For example, foxes are considered crafty or untrustworthy. So, many fables that feature
foxes teach lessons about the negative consequences of dishonest or self-interested
behavior.
A parable is more straightforward than a fable
or other form of allegory. The characters do
not necessarily symbolize something else;
rather, their actions are symbolic.

For example, the parable of "The Farmer"

describes how a farmer, determined to
double the profits for his crops, plants twice
what he would normally plant in the same
field. This effort does more damage than
good. Instead of corn, the farmer has only
weeds to show for his greedy efforts.
Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death" is an
allegory. Prince Prospero symbolizes wealth and prosperity, his courtiers
represent humanity, and the black room in his house signifies death.
The setting in Poe's allegory symbolizes the courtiers' desire to
avoid the unpleasant realities of life by indulging in the
amusements offered at the ball.
The clock is ebony, or black, which is a color often
associated with death. Moreover, the clock stops ticking,
its life going out with that of the last of the revelers.
Practice Time What does Angela's room symbolize?
Practice Time In this fable, the grapes symbolize—

One hot summer day, a weary fox padded down a dusty road,
desperate for food and drink. He had traveled for miles without
finding so much as a berry to nibble or a puddle of water to sip
from.

Suddenly, a beautiful aroma filled the air. The fox sniffed and
sniffed, his mouth watering in anticipation. Then he looked up.
Several feet above him, trailing along a trellis, was a vine full of
juicy grapes.

The fox jumped up, but he could not reach them. Then he
backed up, took a running start, and leaped as high as he
could. Still, the grapes remained out of reach. Again and again,
he tried, with no success.

Finally, exhausted and faint from his efforts, the fox gave up and
went on his way. "Oh, well," he sneered, "no big loss. I could tell
those grapes were sour anyway."
 Main Skill

As you may
have learned,
the plot of most
stories includes
five different
stages. These
stages usually,
but not always,
appear in the
order seen here.
Writers need to show not only what
happens in a story, but when things
happen. The order in which events are
described in a story is called sequence.

Often, writers will tell about events in the

order that they occur. However, just as
plot stages may not always follow the
same pattern, events in a story may not
always be described in the order they
happen.
On the ride upstate, all I could think Writers of most stories, biographies,
about was going swimming. On autobiographies, and historical
Monday, when we arrived, we spent the writing use chronological order,
afternoon unpacking. Very telling about events in the order
disappointing. The next day, we visited those events occurred.
my grandmother, went out to eat, and
then watched a softball game. I helped We tend to use chronological order
clean up the cabin on Wednesday. It when telling stories orally, as well.
rained all day Thursday. By that time, I This is because chronological order
was really desperate to go for a swim! is easy for listeners or readers to
But Friday morning was sunny, and I follow. After all, that is how we all
finally heard the words I'd been waiting experience life: with one event
for: "Come on, we're going to the lake!" following another.
 When it comes to reading fiction, you have to be able to track the
sequence of plot events. Doing so will help you to better understand the
story. Use these strategies.
Trace events in a graphic
Notice times, dates, and numbers. Look for signal words and phrases. organizer.
 Writers will often identify the time, day, or date of events in a story. By keeping
track of these details, you can then establish the sequence of events.

Can you tell what happened first? Last?

It wasn't easy, getting up before dawn on a Saturday.

But by 6:30 a.m., we were on the road! We only had
one day to get to our destination, so we didn't want
to make many stops. At 12 o'clock, we finally stopped
to eat a snack and stretch our legs. We didn't stop
again until late at night—unless you count pulling over
to fix our flat tire at 4 in the afternoon! By Sunday
morning, we were exhausted—but we made it!
If the actual time or date of an event is not given, the writer will often indicate order
through the use of other signal words. These might be number words such as first or second,
or other words that indicate time passing, such as while, during, after, or next.
 Practice Time
Read the passage and find the signal words and phrases that show the order in which
events happen. Then, answer the question below.

The word while tells you that losing the

extra supplies and crossing the stream
happened at the same time.
 Practice Time
You've learned how dates, times, and other signal words can help establish a sequence.
Now practice identifying sequence in another passage.

Even though this is not the last event mentioned, the

passage says it happened in 1953—two years after
his most popular song was released.
By placing the events of a story along a timeline or in a flow chart, you can
get a clear picture of the overall sequence of events.
Have you ever seen a movie in which a scene suddenly
shifts to the past—showing an adult character as a child,
for example? An account of events that happened
before the beginning of a story, or at an earlier point, is
called a flashback. Flashbacks interrupt the
chronological order of events.

Writers use words such as years ago, in the past, or then

to indicate the beginning of a flashback. They will also
often use details of sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch to
connect the flashback to the ongoing story.
Over the crackling loudspeakers, announcers
began introducing the day's competing
swimmers. Carl made his way into the stadium,
picking out a seat just above the starting
blocks. The smell of chlorine and the warm,
damp air transported him back in time. Last
year he had stood at one of those starting
blocks, muscles tensed and ready to race. It
seemed like just yesterday. Now he looked
down at the cast on his leg. Maybe next year,
he thought. No, definitely next year. I'll get this
stupid cast off, and then I won't have to just sit
here and watch.
Does this passage contain a flashback?
Arianna rushed home from school, flew through her
homework, and checked the list of chores on the
refrigerator. Whew! All done, she thought. And it was
only six o'clock. Plenty of time for singing practice. In
her room, she took out her sheet music and shuffled
through it for a favorite song. As she warmed up her
voice, she thought back to the local talent
competition last summer. She had sung in front of a
hundred people. The roar of applause when she
finished had made her fingers and toes tingle. She
couldn't wait to do it again! She ran through her scales
again, with more energy than ever.
Another way that writers can play with the sequence of events in a story is to include
hints about things that will happen later on. This technique is called foreshadowing.

Unlike a flashback, foreshadowing does not interrupt the sequence of events. Instead, it
gets the reader to begin predicting what will come next in the sequence.
The pace of a story or text refers to the speeding up—or
slowing down—of actions in the story. When many events
occur in a very short time frame, that story is said to have
a fast pace. When relatively few events take place in a
longer time frame, the story has a slow pace.

When you have finished a story or an account, look back

at the overall time frame and the sequence of events to
see what the general pace is, and when it changes.
Events in this story happen in
time order, from first to last.
 As this frame story begins, the seventh
man in a group tells about the most
devastating event of his life. The
narration then shifts to his recounting
his childhood experience of losing his
best friend to a tsunami.
He describes the far-reaching effects of that loss, including a
great sense of guilt, recurrent nightmares, and a paralyzing
fear of water and drowning. Years later, he overcomes his fear
by revisiting his friend’s artwork and returning to his hometown,
the scene of the disaster.
The main character in this story is tragically affected by a giant wave that strikes his
hometown.
Murakami is known for his eclectic style and unique vision.
“The Seventh Man” draws upon realism as well as surrealism, which introduces
dreamlike and fantastic elements.
p. 546

physical, hurricanes,
mental, floods,
emotional earthquakes.
p. 546 Talk about the mood and the setting in paragraph 3.

huddled, tearing, shook, rattling, and whistle

help them visualize the scene.

The mood is eerie. A group of people is huddled

against the wind, which seems to be trying to listen to
the story, too.
p. 547

The perspective of the narrator’s story allows him to reflect on the

experience. The author structures the tale this way to have more
impact as told through the character’s reflection rather than as an
isolated event.
p. 547

frail: The narrator describes his friend K. as

skinny and small with a delicate face and
pale complexion.

Would someone who was frail be likely to be active or athletic?

Someone who is frail, or physically weak, would not

likely be someone who could be very active or
athletic.
p. 548

The sudden onslaught of the storm increases tension, but its

sudden ceasing seems even more ominous.
p. 549

The foreshadowing fills the reader with a sense of dread, partly

because the reader already knows that something terrible
involving the ocean happens in the narrator’s life.
p. 550

The author is emphasizing the idea that nonliving parts of nature

have a destructive power similar to that of wild animals and are
capable of harming people.
p. 551

These comparisons—for example, such as “like a huge snake”

and “like part of a gigantic rug”—add to the mood of fear in
this scene and highlight the narrator’s sense of helplessness.
p. 552

entranced: The narrator says he

“stood rooted to the sea wall,
entranced, waiting for [the wave]
to attack.”

Why did the narrator feel entranced. What would a synonym be

for the word entranced?

The narrator felt entranced because he likely felt a

huge sense of wonder and amazement at the power
of the wave and thus could not move. Synonyms might
be “paralyzed,” “mesmerized,” and “awed.”
p. 553

The motif of the wave as a threatening force is

reinforced by the terrifying sight of K. in the wave.
p. 554

delirium: High fever or shock may cause

delirium. Someone experiencing “bouts of
delirium” suffers from periods of mental
confusion, hallucinations, or incoherent
speech.

Why did the narrator fall ill and was delirious?

The narrator experienced a traumatic shock, witnessing his

friend get pulled out to sea by a giant wave. The shock causes
him to lose consciousness and become sick with a fever.
p. 554

How have the typhoon and the tsunami affected the characters in
the story? What effects has the storm had on the community?

K. died and the seventh man almost died. Their families were
grief-stricken, as was the seventh man himself. Local fishermen
and other people in the community tried searching for K. The
storm probably ruined houses and businesses. People might
also have developed a greater fear and/or respect for nature’s
power.
p. 555

The symbolism of the dream reflects how the narrator’s peaceful,

carefree childhood is destroyed when he witnesses K.’s death. The
narrator feels the burden of the memory and the guilt that he
could not save K.
p. 555

sociable: The narrator says he is not

overly sociable, or friendly, but he does
have a few friends.

Describe the qualities of a sociable person.

Someone who is sociable is outgoing, friendly, and not shy.

p. 555

premonition: A premonition, like a

hunch, is a feeling about something
that may happen in the future.

What is the narrator’s premonition about?

The narrator has a premonition that he will drown.

p. 557

The paintings may symbolize his carefree,

innocent childhood and his close friendship with K.
p. 557

permeate: The narrator describes a

feeling that something is permeating,
or spreading through, his body as he
looks at K.’s artwork.

Describe a feeling that permeates them as they look at

something that was important to them as children.

A feeling of happiness permeates me

as I look at an old toy that I used to love.
p. 558

sentiment: The change in his

hometown does not cause him to feel
any strong emotion, or sentiment

Are you surprised that he shows little emotion about the

town’s changes?

No— because he moved away so long ago.

p. 559

reconciliation: The narrator describes the

gentle waves on the beach “fondly washing
[his] feet,” as if the waves are seeking a
reconciliation, or the end of a conflict.

How is the description of the waves seeking reconciliation an

example of figurative language?

The waves are personified—they are given human

qualities of reconciling, or resolving
p. 559

Returning to the present amplifies the statements the man made

before telling his story. By framing his story with present-day reflections,
the author uses the story as an illustration of his theme of salvation,
recovery, and reconciliation. Students’ plot diagrams and timelines
may vary but should include all the main events in the story.
p. 560

The advice summarizes one theme of

the story that it is more damaging to
avoid fear than to face it.
p. 561

B
p. 561

A
p. 561

D
The frame story highlights how the death of
K. has plagued the seventh man his entire life. The
frame story expresses his moments of reflection when
he shares what he has learned with others. See
sample responses shown on chart.
Event 4
The author writes that the waves “swallowed” K., but
later they “fondly washed his [the man’s] feet.” These
descriptions highlight our complicated
relationships with nature, as it can be both dangerous
and wonderful. A more fearful mood in the first half of
the story contrasts with a more peaceful mood at the
end.
At the end of the story, the narrator describes the
wave as something that represents fear for him. In
paragraph 9, he is telling the rest of the group that
each of them has something that represents fear like
the wave did for him.
The huge wave that swallowed K. may symbolize loss,
the end of childhood, or uncontrollable fear. Students
should cite text evidence that describes the wave as a

forever.
himself from the huge wave, with devastating consequences.
Throughout most of his life, the man ran from his fear
leaving his hometown, avoiding water, deciding not to marry.
Only when he returns to the village of his youth and faces the
sea again is he able to let go of his fear and try to restart his
life.
He may have rejected them, as even later in his
adult life, fear still controlled his actions (for
example, in not pursuing relationships).