A prevalent theme in the novel is survivor’s guilt. After surviving World War I while his friend, Erik Vandenburg, did not, Hans saves Erik’s Jewish son, Max, years later by letting him hide in their basement during the Holocaust. This act of kindness reveals the guilt Hans feels for surviving the war and how he conquers those feelings by saving Erik’s son. Max, however, has his own feelings of culpability. Max possesses an overwhelming sense of shame for leaving his family, likely to die, and for putting the Hubermanns in danger. Death narrates: “How could [Max] do this?…
Simon Wiesenthal’s memoir, The Sunflower, told the story of Simon when he was trapped in a concentration camp. During his time in the camp, he was told to make a decision of forgiving a SS officer. An officer who Wiesenthal was contributing to his daily torture. Instead of verbally saying he forgave Karl, Simon implied his forgiveness by staying silent. I agree with Wiesenthal’s actions because I have relatable instances from my life that make it understandable.…
Concerning the circumstances in the story Sunflower: On the Possibility of Forgiveness, the possibility of forgiveness will vary based on the individual in question. In modern society, any being characterized with having a relation to or sympathy for the Nazi party would most likely be mocked or looked down upon, as it is our way of giving punishment to the misdeeds of the past. In reference to the Fascist regime’s social persecution of the Jews, one could even call this “an eye for an eye,” but in the situation of giving forgiveness to a single soldier, one who seemed to truly be repenting, everything becomes much more complicated. It would be easy for most to say “No, I won’t forgive this person,” from a literary standpoint so as to seem…
Flannerg, a Judeo-Christian understood Simon’s struggle on whether or not he could forgive Karl on other Jew’s behalf. Uet Flannery feels that even though the sins weren’t committed against Simon, if Karl sincerely repents his sins everyone deserves forgiveness in name of God. “It is a cardinal principle of Judeo-Christian ethics that forgiveness must always be granted to sincerely repentant” (Flannery 136). Flannery took more of a moral and religious standpoint on this conflict. I understand where Flannery is coming from because it seemed as though Karl was sincerely apologetic and guilt ridden by what he had done to innocent people; that if he’s sincerely sorry, why should you deny this man his dying wish of forgiveness?…
Doing something so violent and so utterly inhuman such as torturing and killing millions of innocent people was not something Simon could so easily overlook and accept the apology for, only so the officer could die in peace. So, in this case, the possibility of forgiveness from the Jews was extremely yet understandably low.…
In John Lederach’s (2001) article, Five Qualities of Practce in Support of Reconciliation Process, he argues that the path to forgiveness and reconciliation on a global scale is a process, not just a choice. The five qualities of practice he identifies are: 1. Reconciliation as relationship centric – here Lederach (2001) explains that reconciliation starts with the relationship not just the “issues” between those involved in the conflict. 2. Reconciliation as accompaniment – He explains when a third party becomes involved in trying to resolve a conflict (a mediator)…
The Journey of Reconciliation Reconciliation involves coming to terms with past injustices and not only making peace with other individuals but also making peace with the inner self. Its main aim is to improve the relationship between two parties and to find justice for the party that has been oppressed. Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse is a narrative about the life of Saul Indian Horse who searched to find reconciliation and inner peace within his own life when everything else seems hopeless. In Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse, the story of Saul who is trying to reconcile with circumstances around him and his life at the Residential school and as a hockey player provides an insight into the life of the Natives of Canada at the time the story…
Should one be forgiven for their horrendous actions? Should someone be forgiven if they really meant it? How could one be sure they are sincere? What if the atrocities were so unhuman, and disgusting? These are the questions I was left with when reading The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal.…
As Christians, we understand God forgave of our sins, and as Christians, we must forgive others of theirs. The better understand what forgiveness is, Sande and Johnson point out what is and what is not forgiveness. Within this last step, we find a solution for the conflict, one that embodies what the Lord has commanded us to do. The method presented by Sande and Johnson is yet another way to resolve conflict. For Christians, it offers a way to resolve conflict through their values and beliefs.…
After such an incredible intro, the essay dives into the topic of religion, psychology and even a Jewish boy and an SS officer. It’s almost as if there are multiple ideas being portrayed at once rather than being expressed in an organized manner. Callwood describes multiple scenarios where a person could be faced with the option to forgive someone, allowing, the…
If someone were to bump into you in the hallway, you might be upset, but you come to a point where you forgive them for the incident. You will probably, at the end of the day, forget that someone even bumped into you because it wasn’t important enough to remember. But would you remember if the offense was the murder and torture innocent people? Simon Wiesenthal asks in The Sunflower, “Moreover, when the killing has stopped, how can a people make peace with one another who moments before were their mortal enemies? What are the limits of forgiveness, and is repentance-religious or secular-enough?…
This can be seen in the example of Conor Mcbride. Conor stated “with the Grosmaires’ forgiveness, I could accept the responsibility and not be condemned” (Kumar 74). Through restorative justice he received a second chance on life. On the other hand, Kumar also achieved his goal through the victim's family. Ann’s mother notes, “Forgiveness for me was self-preservation” (Kumar 74).…
Overall, I felt that the study was an effective foray into studying the effectiveness of forgiveness therapy, which was well defined, with extensive attention given to related empirical research on the topic. Methods for selecting pairs of subjects for comparison were logical. The battery of assessment tools was extensive and provided a well-rounded picture of the overall well-being of the subjects throughout the study. Although the attentiveness of the authors in the areas of prior research and methodology is thorough,…
Reconciliation Interrupted by the faint sounds of birds chirping and grass swaying in the gentle breeze, the calming silence became a distant memory. As the birds flapped their wings, moving at the edge of the tiny meadow, from one tree to the next, they cast their shadows over the body of a small brown skinned, black haired girl. She lay on her back in the hilltop grass, facing directly up towards the almost blinding light of the afternoon sun. Her dark skin, holding a lively warm glow, reflected the rays of sunlight off of her quickly flickering eyelids. Suddenly, they were open, revealing her dark brown almond shaped eyes and her ever so slightly off white sclera.…
A marriage is a beautiful thing, but sometimes the marriage can be complicated. It is not always a marriage between two people can keep the love, and keep their marriage, as they promise when they get married. Some people are getting a divorce, and moving on and falling in love with another person. Reconciliation is a short story written in 2006 by Polly Clark. The story is about the main character Laura who is alternate between marriage and divorce.…