Theme of Forgiveness and/or Guilt

[Danielle]

This is a place for you to discuss how the theme forgiveness and/or guilts appears in the books you are reading. Think of what your characters have experiences and their feelings. What are they struggling with? Do you only see forgiveness in the novel or guilt? What are your personal thoughts? Don't forget to tell us what book you are reading.

[Alison]

The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God: What Honesty and Pain Taught Us about Faith, Family, and Forgiveness
You can see forgiveness in The Good, the Bad, and the Grace of God in that Jep and Jessica both went through stuff in their pasts and they had to forgive themselves and each other when they met. Jessica had to forgive herself because she divorced a pastor. Jep had to forgive himself for letting himself go and doing drugs and drinking.

[Austen]

I am currently still reading Thirteen Reasons Why. The current theme occurring in the novel is guilt. As he continues to listen to the tapes and the suspense builds up, his guilt is eating him alive. He will never receive forgiveness though, because Hannah is dead.

[Diana]

love you miss you hate you by Elizabeth Scott
is about two teenagers with various problems and ideas about life. Amy has an alcohol problem and i can infer she also has depression and latter on anxiety j, her best friend had a drug problem and a hopeless romantic. All was fun and games with boys, parties, and skipping school just to get some ice cream. till a terrible accident had happened.Everything has changed now Amy had to learn how to go through life with at j. nothing could ever be the same.

[Lilly]

I am currently reading The 4th of July by James Patterson. This is a thriller and a mystery. It starts out with the main character, Lindsay Boxer, having to make a hard decision. Lindsay Boxer is a cop and in the first couple of chapters partakes in a high speed chase. When she catches the driver she finds out that the driver is only 15 years old with her 13 year old brother in the passenger seat. Lindsay doesn't for see herself to be in any danger so she holsters her gun and begins to help the children out of the car. Once the children get out of the car, to Lindsay's surprise, the girl pulls out a gun and shoots Lindsay's partner twice then shoots Lindsay. After Lindsay is shot she fires two shots at the girl and kills her and shoots the boy leaving him in a wheelchair for life. This book has the theme of guilt because Lindsay feels very guilty for killing a girl and majorly injuring a little boy.

[Grace]

In the book I am reading, Where She Went, the theme of guilt and forgiveness is shown slightly in the main character. The young boy in this book has gone a year without his high school girlfriend and cannot forget about her. I am currently at the part where they reunite and it will take much forgiveness from the boy for the relationship to go back to normal. I am excited to see how it goes.

[Lilly]

I am still reading the book, The 4th of July by James Patterson. The main character Lindsay Boxer is still struggling with guilt and feeling upset for the decision that she had to make at the very beginning of the book. I have a feeling forgiveness will come up in the book but it just hasn't come up quite yet. Lindsay is currently trying to relax in a small beach town.

[Emily]

I am almost finished with "The Mortal Instruments: The City of Heavenly Fire" and the main antagonist, Sebastian, dies. In the beginning of the series we learn that Sebastian was born to do evil in the world. By the end of the series, Sebastian is injured and all of the evil is burned away from inside of him. What is left of Sebastian, before he dies, is the person he would've been if there was no evil in him. Throughout the book, Sebastian has killed many people, but when he dies he is instantly guilty of everything he has done. He regrets all of the destruction and despair that he has caused. His mother, disgusted of Sebastian since he was a baby, forgives him of all that he has done just before he dies. I don't think I would be able to forgive someone like that, even if they were dying; I think it would take time to forgive someone.

[Spencer]

I am currently reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," and there is a big theme of forgiveness and guilt. Tom frequently makes mistakes and does things that he knows he shouldn't. This subsequently gets him into trouble and he feels guilty about it. His family also has to forgive him for all of the things he has done.

[Lauren]

In my book The Flipside, the main character Charlie is trying to live a double life. Charlie is training to make the 2012 Olympic trials to later compete in the 2012 Olympics. At school, Charlie, goes by Charlotte, and doesn't speak about her gymnastics career to anyone, not even her best friend. At gymnastics camp, Zoe calls Charlie multiple times asking how things are at her "Aunt's Ranch house" but Charlie feels guilty about not tell Zoe where she really is and the Truth about who SHE really is. She wants to tell her but knows that this is the only way to keep her two lives separate.