The Sunflower on the Possibilities and Limits of...

Forgiveness is to stop feeling angry, to stop blaming someone for the way they made a person feel, and stop feeling victims of whatever wickedness was directed towards them. Is forgiveness necessary? Can everyone be forgiven despite the circumstances? If forgiveness depends on the situation, then is it necessary at all? Does forgiveness allow someone to continue their life in peace? Is forgiving someone who causes physical pain to someone, as a pose to forgiving someone who murdered a member of the family the same? If someone can forgive one of these acts so easily can the other be forgiven just as easy? Forgiveness allows for someone to come to terms with what they have experienced. In the case of murder forgiveness is necessary because†¦show more content†¦The conversation between Wiesenthal and Bolek is another example of forgiveness is necessary. When Wiesenthal tells Bolek of what he experienced in the dying SS man’s room, Bolek says he describes it as a man who showed signs of â€Å"repentance, genuine, sincere repentance† (Wiesenthal 82). He means that Wiesenthal believes the dying SS man’s apology was sincere. He believes that Wiesenthal seen his apology as genuine and that he deserved the â€Å"mercy of forgiveness† (Wiesenthal 82). Wiesenthal spots a sunflower behind a bush, he takes it as the sunflower has come to â€Å"remind [him]† (Wiesenthal 84) of what he describes as a â€Å"feeling of duty† (Wiesenthal 84). Wiesenthal â€Å"duty† (Wiesenthal 85) and his planning on visiting the mother of the deceased SS man show that he is beginning to realize that he needs to come to terms with his experienced at the hospital in Lemberg. He visits her for closure and ultimately to decide within himself if he should finally forgive the man responsible for the murder of hundreds of innocent Jewish people. Edward H. Flannery states that The Sunflower presents â€Å"an important moral question† (Flannery 135). Flannery argues in favor of forgiveness. He states that Karl, the dying SS man, could had asked for forgiveness for what â€Å"he had done† (Flannery 137) not forgiveness on the behalf of others. Flannery states thatShow MoreRelatedMorals and Forgiveness in Simon Wiesenthals The Sunflower Essay1584 Words   |  7 PagesIn Simon Wiesenthal’s The Sunflower, he recounts his incidence of meeting a dying Nazi soldier who tells Simon that he was responsible for the death of his family. Upon telling Simon the details, Karl asks for his forgiveness for what he helped accomplish. Simon leaves Karl without giving him an answer. This paper will argue that, even though Karl admits to killing Simon’s family in the house, Simon is morally forbidden to forgive Karl because Karl does not seem to show genuine remorse for his committedRead MoreEssay about A Look Inside Forgiveness1056 Words   |  5 Pages Everyone has the control within them to forgive or not to forgive someone. Forgiveness comes down to taking responsibility for the choices we make and doing what we believe is right. By forgiving others, authority of our own lives can be regained by letting go of the conflicting objects from the past and moving into a more significant direction. The world today is full of conflict and people are being hurt every day. Conflict is seen today in politics, between countries, and between yourRead MoreOf Silence and Sunflowers: a a Response to Simon Wisenthals Question in â€Å"the Sunflower†691 Words   |  3 Pagesquestion poised to the reader of Simon Wiesenthals â€Å"The Sunflower†. Many answered his question, philosophers, nuns, survivors of genocide and an ex nazi and each provide a different answer. Joining each different response is the act of forgiving, either giving or denying each provide a scale on the limits of forgiveness. What are my limits of forgiveness what would I have done? Fist of all what is forgiveness? Many of the contributors to Wiesenthal â€Å"The Sunflower† give their own definition, butRead MoreThe Sunflower1833 Words   |  8 Pages The Sunflower: Compassion and Forgiveness A fact which we all have to emit is that humanity existence always creates conflicts and fighting which we call WAR. In war, people kill each others for many reasons ---- resources, personal benefits, territories, powers, revenge, etc. In war, one becomes a hero for killing human lives and eventually he gets honored and well-known in people s heart. The Holocaust, according to Germans, was the war between Germans and Jews. Approximately six millionRead MoreThe Sunflower1414 Words   |  6 PagesGeorge Makreas Prof. Christopher Dowling ENG 100 T-TH G00848186 The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness The Holocaust will always be remembered by the world as a period where human evil was most prevalent, and where millions of innocent lives were taken in cold blood. It doesn’t matter whether your ancestors were involved, or if you were around to experience it, you only have to be human in order to feel for all of the people who were affected. Over the years studiesRead MoreFrom Human Wrongs to Human Rights Many Novels1045 Words   |  4 Pagesin both Night by Elie Wiesel and The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal. The Holocaust was a devastating event that opened our eyes to just how cruel humans can be, and why human rights must be enforced and protected. Inside the barbed wire fences of Holocaust concentration camps, it was hard to tell the corpses from the living. The Jews didn’t seem like humans anymore, degraded and abused. In The Sunflower, Simon describes the concentration camps: â€Å"TheRead More Forgiveness Essay1329 Words   |  6 PagesSimon Wiesenthal’s question â€Å"What would [you] have done† if one had the opportunity to forgive a Nazi soldier forces humanity to understand and apply our moral repertoire. My moral repertoire I mean the set of moral beliefs that informs our understanding of forgiveness and the criteria by which we evaluate its Karl the Nazi Soldier, who initiates our inquiry into forgiveness, represents multiple identities. He is at once a rational human being, a member and supporter of the Nazi military, a