An Analysis Of Captain Bonenberger's 'The Moral Logic Of Guilt'

Should the Narrator of the seventh man forgive himself for the death of K?

To this question I say yes, there are three reasons why I say yes. First people guilt themselves into things they have no control over. The second is that natural disasters are not something easy to plan for. Finally, Third. People will make mistakes simply because they are human. The first reason the narrator should forgive himself is, his guilt is making him put all the blame on his shoulders here is a passage from “The Moral logic of Guilt” that reinforces my claim, “Pulaski had saved Bonenberger’s life twice on one day, but when Pulaski needed help, Bonenberger couldn’t be there for him: “When he was in trouble, he was alone,” Captain Bonenberger said. “When we were in trouble, he was there for us. I know it’s not rational or reasonable. There’s nothing logical about it. But I feel responsible.”(Sherman p2). This quote clearly states the guilt people fell for no reason. The second reason is natural disasters is not something that is easy to plan for, like in this next quote from The Key to “Disaster Survival”. “Since the beginning of the twenty-first century there have been numerous large scale natural disasters. The earthquake and tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan in 2011 killed more than 15,000 people” (Vedantam p1). This
“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, and K. didn’t know. As clearly as I knew what I ought to be doing, I found myself running the other way–running full speed towards the dyke, 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. I ran stumbling along the soft sand beach to the breakwater, where I turned and shouted to K.”(Murakami p4). This downright heartbreaking quote establishes human