Category: Guilt

Throughout our lives we have done many things that we are not proud of, some may say that those experiences make us a better person and others say that those experiences still haunt them today. In the story “The Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, The main character in the story feels guilty for what he has done which causes him to go insane. After analyzing several The Tell-Tale Heart essays, I can highlight the deep-rooted themes of psychological turmoil that resonate with the human experience.

In the article “The Psychological Context of the Three Tales by Poe” by Allan Smith, Smith states that each one of Poe’s stories, “The Black Cat, Berenice, and The Murders in Rue Morgue” has its own psychological illness that the characters come face to face with and that “These first-person tales of terror should be regarded less as studies of deranged minds than as controlled exercises in madness” (paragraph 1 pg1). One of Poe’s stories, “The Black Cat”, focuses on obsession and a “murderous impulse” rather than guilt or insanity but Smith states within his article that “Poe does not need to create a motive for a motive” (paragraph 1 pg1).

Arthur Robinson, Author of “Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’”, sticks with the original story rather than taking inspiration from some of Poe’s other stories, although he still states the fact that each one of Poe’s stories has its main character obsessed with something. He states within his article that the man or rather the criminal in the story is blinded by his guilt which is causing him to fell a “deep psychological confusion”. Robinson also states how the criminal tries his best to convince himself that he is not a murderer but rather insane by saying in the article “The criminal, for example, appears obsessed with defending his psychic self at whatever cost, but actually his drive is self-destructive since successful defense upon either implied charge of murder or of criminal insanity automatically involves admission of guilt upon the other” (Robinson 369). At the beginning of the story, the criminal does not seem phased at what he has done but instead is proud at what he has done. Robinson explains this moment best by stating in his article the pleasure the criminal felt, “For example, the murderer congratulates himself that not even his victim could have detected anything wrong with the floor…”(Robinson 370).

Although this story brings many people some questions, there is one question that gets everyone asking over and over again, was the man’s actions excused due to him being insane? According to the article “Narrative Purpose and Legal Logic in “The Tell-Tale Heart”” by Brian Wall, Poe refuses to admit that the man, due to his actions, is guilty and has been considered insane without having done a psychological evaluation. “The narrator’s refusal to invoke the insanity defense both grants him ironic power in determining his destination for punishment in opposition to the ordinary course of the justice system, and allows Poe to explore the gap between the culpability-negating legal definition of insanity and actual mental illness” (Wall paragraph 3). In order to be considered clinically insane, one would have to go through a psychological evaluation which the man did not. He diagnosed himself as isane to excuse his actions and to prevent him from being arrested and being sent to prison. One may argue that this man would be guilty due to reason on insanity however,

Guilt has powerful effects on the human mind, it can even cause mental illnesses that drastically affect humans, such illnesses include Hysteria, Psychosis, and Insanity. The definition of Hysteria is a “psychological disorder (not now regarded as a single definite condition) whose symptoms include conversion of psychological stress into physical symptoms (somatization), selective amnesia, shallow volatile emotions, and overdramatic or attention-seeking behavior”, this mental illness is shown within Poe’s story “The Tell Tale Heart, Psychosis is “a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality”, this illness has symptoms such as schizophrenia and paranoia, and lastly Insanity is “the condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind”.

In Edgar Allen Poe’s story “The Tell Tale Heart”, guilt and insanity are the main themes within the story but there are many other themes hidden within. Although the man or the criminal claims that he is not guilty due to him being insane, he still felt the guilt of committing the crime and hearing the beating heart.

Works Cited

1. Brian Wall. “Narrative Purpose and Legal Logic in ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.’” The Edgar Allan Poe Review, vol. 14, no. 2, 2013, pp. 129–143. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/edgallpoerev.14.2.0129.
2. Cleman, John. “Irresistible Impulses: Edgar Allan Poe and the Insanity Defense.” American Literature, vol. 63, no. 4, 1991, pp. 623–640. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2926871.
3. Smith, Allan. “The Psychological Context of Three Tales by Poe.” Journal of American Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, 1973, pp. 279–292. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27553070.
4. Robinson, E. Arthur. “Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.’” Nineteenth-Century Fiction, vol. 19, no. 4, 1965, pp. 369–378. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2932876.
5. Shen, Dan. “Edgar Allan Poe’s Aesthetic Theory, the Insanity Debate, and the Ethically Oriented Dynamics of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart.’” Nineteenth-Century Literature, vol. 63, no. 3, 2008, pp. 321–345. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ncl.2008.63.3.321.

Imagine taking a daily stroll down the street and witnessing something unexpected: a bully in action. As a witness to this terrible incident, the immediate thought is to intervene, but the physical response is to ignore and avoid the situation. This is the exact dilemma the seventh man faced in the story ‘The Seventh Man’. Many people believe that the seventh man should not be held responsible for K.’s death because he was only a child and ran away in fear. Others argue that he should be condemned for leaving his best friend behind. The fictional story ‘The Seventh Man’, written by Haruki Murakami, is a framed story about a boy who lives with fear and guilt after watching his best friend die but learns to accept his mistake in the future. The seventh man should be culpable for not rescuing his friend because he disregarded the early warnings of the typhoon and decided to run away alone.

The seventh man knew about the forewarnings of the waves and decided to escape on his own. As the seventh man and K. were on the beach, the seventh man knew about the waves and had an ominous feeling, yet he did not take the proper action to evade the upcoming wave. The author states, “I knew instinctively that they were alive. The waves were alive. They knew I was here and they were planning to grab me” (Murakami, 27). This quote demonstrates that he had knowledge about the waves, but did not take immediate action to return back home, as his father told him to do. He also personifies the waves as ‘alive’ and ‘planning to grab me’, indicating his fear of the waves, which resulted in his ultimate decision to run away. Furthermore, the seventh man claimed to be his protector, but ran away on his own, even after knowing about the waves. In the story, he claims, “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” (Murakami, 30). This statement displays the seventh man’s action of running away was completely opposite to what he believed to be the right thing to do. Also, K. did not know about the approaching wave due to the seventh man’s unsuccessful attempt to save him. As a result of the seventh man’s actions, K. was swallowed by the wave, and therefore, the seventh man should be held responsible.

On the other hand, some would argue that the seventh man did attempt to warn K. and he ran away because of fear. While K. was occupied with something on the beach, the seventh man told him he was going to leave. In the passage, he states, “My fear was totally groundless—and totally real… ‘I’m getting out of here!’ I yelled to K. He was maybe ten yards down the beach, squatting with his back to me, and looking at something. He might have been so absorbed in whatever it was he found that my call made no impression on him. K. was like that” (Murakami, 27, 28). Although it is true he warned K., this statement mentions a problem K. has—getting absorbed into things and forgetting everything else—and hence shows that the seventh man had prior knowledge about K.’s issue and knew about the possible consequence. Furthermore, he claimed he had time to save K., which shows that he did not truly attempt to rescue him. While it may be true he warned him and his true intentions were to save him, there is a confession from the seventh man that he had time to protect K. The author claims, “I knew the truth. I knew that I could have saved K. if I had tried. I probably could have run over and dragged him out of the reach of the wave. It would have been close, but as I went over the timing of the events in memory, it always seemed to me that I could have made it” (Murakami, 41). The fact that the seventh man confesses he had time to save K. shows he had the capability to rescue him from the wave. In addition, the seventh man describes in detail what he could have done to save K. While, some would argue that he did attempt to warn K., in the end, it was his actions that escalated to K.’s death.

In Haruki Murakami’s story, the seventh man’s ignoring the signs of danger and escaping on his own demonstrates that he should be liable for K.’s death. Multiple evidence has been presented to demonstrate that the seventh man was indeed responsible for K’s death. The seventh man was fully aware of the warnings but did not take the necessary steps to save K. Moreover, his thoughts clearly indicated that he had a strong desire to save K., but his actions ended up being otherwise. In closing, when faced with a situation in which a difficult decision needs to be made, actions are what ultimately matter in the end, rather than thoughts. Now, looking back at the bullying incident, what was the right thing to do?

Good Morning everyone and welcome to today’s rehearsal of Macbeth. Now, Megan, firstly I’d like to congratulate you on earning the role of Lady Macbeth, I am more than confident that you will execute this play in flying colours. I am sure most of you are familiar with the play thanks to your Year 12 English. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very night. In other words, Lady Macbeth knows what she wants, and when she wants it. Lady Macbeth is perhaps Shakespeare’s most powerful character. Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a sly, vicious and rancorous woman, one who is initially incredibly overpowering and overambitious, however, eventually the guilt of her actions mentally deranges her to the point where she forfeits her own life.

After King Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth faints, but it is up to your own interpretation whether the faint was in fact real or not. I want you to implement my invited reading that it was in fact a fabricated faint as she cries “Help me hence, ho!”. In the scenes towards the middle of the play, her power and control over Macbeth significantly decreases when he becomes more independent, which leads to her fall to madness. I’m going to go through two key scenes with you. In Act 1, you receive a letter from Macbeth about how the three witches correctly predicted his appointment as Thane of Cawdor, and how they also predicted that he was destined for kingship. After reading this, your mind quickly thinks of the idea to murder the king and expects the vision of Macbeth being crowned king and yourself as queen. In this incident, you ache for Macbeth to hurry home so you can convince him into performing the act and abolishing anything stopping him from doing so. Utter each word keenly with hatred and rush while grinning contentedly, make sure you perform harsh gestures throughout this scene.

In the concluding act, my invited reading of Lady Macbeth is a devastated woman who descents into insanity when the guilt takes complete control of her mind. In these scenes you will be seen confessing your sins as you sleepwalk, holding a candle as fear grips you and your voice will be soft and croaky, but also annoyed, overall an extreme difference to your previous parts.

Karen, by now I hope you’ve developed a stronger understanding of how to represent Lady Macbeth. In summary, Lady Macbeth is a toxic, evil and spiteful woman with a lack of morals and whose overambitious notions eventually lead to both her and her husband’s death. Karen, what I’ve seen so far from you is brilliant. I’m assured you’ll stick to my invited reading and desired depiction of Lady Macbeth. I look forward to seeing what you can come up with.  

Guilt appears as a key theme in Macbeth, presented as a dire consequence of heinous acts by Shakespeare. Guilt is shown through its link with the motif sleep, the appearance of Banquo’s ghost and the recurring mention of the Macbeths’ inability to wash the blood of their crimes from their hands. They construct their own personal hell where they are tormented by guilt and insanity, leading to drastic changes of character, and through this Shakespeare warns us of committing immoral acts.

Shakespeare explores the importance of guilt through linking it with the motif of sleep. In scene 2 of act 2, Macbeth says ‘the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up the ravelll’d sleep of care, the death of each day’s life’, to create contrast when, in the same scene after killing Duncan, Macbeth hears a voice cry out to him ‘sleep no more: Macbeth does murder sleep’. This key quotation illustrates that after committing murder, he has ‘murdered’ his own sleep as he has stripped himself of any innocence, and shows he is, and will continue to be, plagued by a guilty conscience. This motif is continued when in act 3 scene 2, after the apparition of Banquo’s ghost, Macbeth says ‘better be with the dead – that on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave. After life’s fitful fever, he sleeps well.’ Macbeth confesses he is tortured by his harrowing guilt and sleep deprivation, and Shakespeare’s use of the oxymoron ‘restless ecstasy’ shows the inner confusion and turmoil of his mind, and how he is racked with guilt. Ecstasy can also refer to emotional frenzy, which ties in Macbeth’s state of mind here, as a result of his guilt.

Similarly, in the opening scene of act 5, the audience sees Lady Macbeth agitatedly sleepwalking. She wanders aimlessly, holding a candle, repeatedly washing her hands and speaking to herself in prose. Shakespeare’s central characters rarely break from iambic pentameter, and so to see Lady Macbeth do this here could show her lack of control over her words, as she is so restless and sleep deprived, because of her inner anguish and regret. The gentlewoman informs the doctor this ‘is an accustomed action with her’, and Lady Macbeth appears unable to rest. This informs the audience that Lady Macbeth, much like her husband, is no longer able to sleep or exist peacefully due to her role in the murders Macbeth committed. In lines 30-31, she says to herself ‘Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then ’tis the time to do’t. Hell is murky.’ It could be said that the short sentences combined with the abrupt, frequent punctuation and caesuras here demonstrate Lady Macbeth’s distress and unease. Seeing Lady Macbeth so agitated and out of control while sleepwalking shows the audience the calamitous consequences that guilt can have on the human mind.

More analysis of her character in A5S1 to emphasise contrast :

Additionally, Shakespeare’s juxtaposition of her previous characterisation with that shown in act 5 shows that guilt is inevitable and can bring the most powerful of us down. In Act 1 scene 5, Lady Macbeth is presented as a woman so determined and inhuman that morality and guilt never cross her mind. Upon first hearing the prophecy, her mind does not waver, unlike Macbeth, immediately beginning to plan. She admits she will ‘pour [her] spirits in [Macbeth’s] ear and chastise with the valour of [her] tongue’, verbally poisoning her own husband to achieve a higher societal status. Her lack of hesitation to plot Duncan’s downfall shows her lack of morality, and her willingness to manipulate her husband for her own gain demonstrates her cold and unloving nature. Likewise, she asks to ‘stop up th’access and passage to remorse’. Remorse is a vital part of human nature, and so to see her wish this away as if it is nothing suggests she wishes to become less human to achieve power. The juxtaposition of the remorseless and determined Lady Macbeth in these scenes, compared with the powerless women we see before us, so tormented by the past, shows the extensive and powerful effects of guilt.

Shakespeare’s linking of sleep with guilt shows its harrowing consequences and indicates that guilt has a perpetual and lasting effect on the human mind.

Furthermore, the supernatural appearance of Banquo’s ghost in Act 3 scene 4 explores both the significance and effect of guilt on one’s mind. After hiring murders to kill Banquo, Macbeth hosts a dinner at his castle, when the ghost of Banquo appears. The structure in this scene is important, as the supernatural apparition appears when Macbeth utters his name, suggesting it is a trick of his mind inspired by his immense sense of guilt. This demonstrates its importance through its perturbing effects. Shakespeare uses lots of exclamation and question marks when Macbeth speaks, such as ‘prithee, see there! Behold, look, lo! How say you?’. This heightens the pace creating a sense of panic and anxiety on Macbeth’s part, and could be said to show his lack of ability to articulate his words, beginning his descent into insanity, as a result of his actions and subsequent guilt. Moreover, he also cries out to the ghost ‘Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold, thou hast no speculation in those eyes’, saying so to convince and reassure himself that Banquo is truly dead. The audience can infer from this that his guilt is so great he has lost his sense of reality and cannot tell what is real and what is fake, revealing a tormented mind. Overall, the appearance of Banquo’s ghost, triggered by Macbeth’s guilt, shows the role it plays in his growing insanity. It is used by Shakespeare to portray the tormenting consequences of guilt and could be said to serve as a warning against ‘sinful’ actions as they always come back to haunt us.

Blood is a motif seen multiple times throughout the play, often signalling guilt haunting characters as a punishment for immoral actions. The imagery provides us with a key insight into both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s minds and their troubles due to self-torturing guilt. In act 2 scene 2, after killing Duncan, Macbeth asks ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No: this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine.’ Shakespeare juxtaposes the idea of blood with water here, contrasting the themes of guilt and purity, which occurs throughout the play. The use of the rhetorical question and hyperbole, ‘Neptune’s great ocean’ and the ‘multitudinous seas’, highlight how immoral and wrong Macbeths actions were, and his regret over this. This emphasises that the blood of this murder cannot be washed from his hands, therefore showing that Macbeth will be perpetually followed by his regret and guilt over his heinous crime. Additionally, by stating that Duncan’s blood will turn oceans ‘incarnadine’, it could be suggested that Macbeth’s actions have corrupted nature, further emphasising his immorality and consequently, his guilt. Likewise, when we see Lady Macbeth sleepwalk in scene 1 of act 5, she makes multiple references to blood, such as when she says, ‘All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.’ Similar to Macbeth’s references to blood, the hyperbole here signifies the magnitude of the blood on her hands, and the guilt she is doomed to suffer eternally as a result. This line also links back to act 2 scene 2 when she says, ‘A little water clears us of this deed’. The stark contrast between these two lines, combined with her previous determination and cold-heartedness towards murder, shows how the guilt has taken hold of Lady Macbeth, poisoning her mind and condemning her to insanity. We see the importance of guilt as Shakespeare uses the characters of the Macbeths, and their descent into insanity as a consequence of this guilt, to show that it is a destabilising force that strips people, no matter how strong or determined they are, of their control and power in their life.

In conclusion, Shakespeare presents guilt as a significant theme within Macbeth, through the motifs of blood and sleep, in addition to the apparition of Banquo that plagues Macbeth. He demonstrates that guilt is a dangerous and powerful thing, that has a continuing effect and can destroy one’s state of mind. Shakespeare provides a commentary on human nature, and it could be argued that his purpose is to warn of the evil and greed that exists within humanity, highlighting its consequences through the Macbeths’ tragic downfall as a result of their guilt. It leads the audience to question whether any unjust act truly goes unpunished, as the regret and guilt that manifest and warp the human mind will inevitably act as a debilitating punishment for those deserving of it.

Context

To fully understand Macbeth and Shakespeare’s reasons for his dramatic downfall, it is important to look at the historical context of the time period it was written. In 1605, one year before Macbeth, the gunpowder plot occurred, where a group of assassins tried to kill king James. This made him feel incredibly insecure and at risk in his kingship. Furthermore, King James was previously the king of Scotland and not a direct heir of the previous queen Elizabeth. Consequently, there were many who questioned his claim to throne, threatening his power. Both of these events took place at the time of Macbeth and posed a great threat to the king’s rule. King James was a patron of Shakespeare’s theatre group, and the play was performed to him directly, so it was important for Shakespeare to appease him and make him feel secure through his play. Shakespeare illustrates the danger and consequences of guilt as it plagues the Macbeths’ minds, clearly showing he is condemning regicide to the audience and public. By doing this, he is both encouraging and showing support to the King and pandering to him so he feels more secure. This context plays a vital role in Macbeth’s downfall as it would have been outrageous and impossible to do anything but condemn Macbeth’s actions, as it would have gone against the King and almost certainly ended Shakespeare’s prospering career as a playwright.

Guilt has the power to inspire a person’s motives and shape who they are at their core. In 2003 Khaled Hosseini wrote the moving and powerful novel The Kite Runner which has a major focus on guilt’s intense power. Throughout The Kite Runner characters use their guilt as the driving force of their actions as the plot progresses. The narrator of the novel, Amir, witnesses his playmate get horribly abused and does nothing about it, plaguing him with guilt for the next thirty or so years. Amir’s guilt leads him to seek redemption, causing him to travel across two countries to do so. Guilt has an extreme power many people fail to realize; it has the ability to completely undo a person and push them towards redemption, as evident in the characters of Amir, Baba, and Sanubar in Hosseini’s The Kite Runner.

In The Kite Runner the character Amir’s guilt drives nearly all of the decisions he makes throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel Amir witnessed his playmate and closest ‘friend’ Hassan being raped. Amir realized that in that moment he had only two choices he could “step into the alley [and] stand up for Hassan” or he could run, “in the end [he] ran” (77). Amir’s guilt sprouted from the very moment that he ran away from the alley, leaving Hassan to be raped. Hassan had stood up for Amir throughout their entire lives, and the one time Hassan needed Amir most, Amir had failed him. Amir’s guilt from the situation followed him throughout his life. Soon after the event happened Amir whispered into the darkness that he watched Hassan get raped. He desperately hoped that “someone would wake up and hear, so [he] wouldn’t have to live with the lie anymore” (86). Amir felt horribly guilty after watching Hassan and desperately sought for anyone to find out, but refused to actually tell anyone the truth. Amir tried throwing pomegranates at Hassan, as an attempt to get Hassan to fight back and punish Amir for leaving Hassan to be harmfully violated.

Hassan refused to throw any pomegranates at Amir, instead smashing one into his own face. Amir wanted Hassan to fight him back so he could have “the punishment [he] craved” (92). Amir wanted Hassan to be angry, to fight him back. Amir wanted his wrongs to be righted, but it wouldn’t happen through violence. Nearly twenty years later Amir’s guilt drives him back to Afghanistan as “a way to be good again” (192). Amir’s guilt had led him to make this hefty decision to return to Afghanistan and rescue Hassan’s orphaned son, Sohrab, from the harsh conditions he was left to face in Kabul. Amir sees this as a chance to redeem himself, a chance to free him from his guilt. Nearly all of Amir’s decisions throughout The Kite Runner have circulated around his guilt of not standing up for Hassan when he needed Amir most. The character Baba from Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is not immune to the guilt afflicted on the other characters; his own guilt prompts many of the choices he made. Baba believed that “there is only one sin” (225): theft. Baba believed that when someone lied they stole “someone’s right to the truth” (225). Baba’s stark beliefs rival and almost seem hypocritical to his guilt.

Towards the end of the novel it is revealed that Baba was Hassan’s biological father. Baba had stolen the truth from the people he loved. From Amir he stole the fact that he had a brother, from “Hassan his identity” (225), and from “Ali his honor” (225). Baba had to live with the guilt of not only betraying his closest friend, lying to his legitimate son, hiding the truth from his illegitimate son, and committing what he believed what he believed was the only sin. Baba acted as if the guilt was nonexistent, instead taking it out on Amir by criticizing the way Amir acted. Baba’s guilt caused him to constantly act ashamed of Amir, when in all reality he was ashamed of himself. Baba claimed that there was always “something missing in [Amir]” (22). Baba wanted Amir to be the perfect son, so he didn’t have to feel remorse for giving Amir the lavish life over his other son Hassan. Baba’s guilt for not being able to be a father to Hassan led him to do everything he could for Hassan while still keeping up appearances as a respected man with only one son. When Hassan was accused of stealing Amir’s birthday presents, even though he committed the only sin that mattered to Baba, Baba forgave him.

Baba’s guilt for not being a father to Hassan, led for him to care deeply for Hassan and do anything and everything he could to keep Hassan in his life. Amir always believed that his father was free of guilt, the epitome of a human being, but that was not the case, not in the slightest. Even minor characters within The Kite Runner, such as Sanubar, are affected by guilt and any/all of their decisions made in the novel were based off of their guilt. Sanubar was Hassan’s mother. Shortly after giving birth to Hassan, she was lost “to a fate more Afghans consider far worse than death” (6): she ran off with a group of singers and dancers. Sanubar had completely abandoned her son, never looking back. Guilt had driven her to this decision to leave her son, as it is later revealed in the novel that Baba is actually Hassan’s father, meaning Sanubar and Baba had committed adultery. Sanubar feared the backlash if the truth ever came out, driving her away from her son. Nearly thirty years later, Sanubar showed up at Hassan’s front lawn, her old age was evident and she suffered many injuries on her face.

When she arrived she’d asked to see Hassan and begged for his forgiveness. She cried saying that “[she] wouldn’t even hold [him]” (210) and begged for Allah’s forgiveness. Sanubar’s guilt for abandoning Hassan drove her right back to him and to make an effort to be a part of his life. Sanubar’s guilt for abandoning her son and her husband impacted nearly all of the decisions she makes throughout the The Kite Runner. Hosseini’s 2003 novel The Kite Runner allows Hosseini to give his readers an important message about guilt. He uses the guilt of the narrator of the novel, Amir, to drive the plot along and show how much his guilt for betraying his best friend when he was twelve years old affected Amir for his entire life, not going away until Amir sought redemption.

Hosseini uses the character Baba to display that guilt can reside inside of a person, change who they are, and ruin their relationships, as displayed in Baba’s broken relationships with Hassan and Amir. The character Sanubar is used to show that guilt can trail a person forever, such as her guilt for abandoning her only son: Hassan. Hosseini wants his readers to realize that guilt never ends, that guilt has more power than most people ever realize. Guilt can twist and mold someone at their core; guilt will eat away at person until they finally redeem themselves for their wrongdoings and free themselves from the chains of guilt. Photo used under Creative Commons from Vassilis Onl

“We all go through a challenge in life because without a challenge there’d be no reason to keep going toward your future” (Twain put #). This statement in Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, prepares the readers for the universe they are about to enter, with differences and so much more, while reading this book. This quote inspirational, and true because without any troubles in our lives no one would make any changes. It is human nature to have challenges so that we can work through them and learn from them. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, regionalism is, “an emphasis on regional locale and characteristics in art or literature,” and, “a characteristic feature (as of speech) of a geographic area.” This story was written in 1883, and although it was written many years after the Civil War it still has themes of slavery, racism, guilt and even empathy, and is set pre-Civil War. Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain shows human nature, and the mindsets of people from where they live.

A main part of regionalism is the speech of the specific area being depicted. With that being said, Twain was well thought out and smart to have Huck be the narrator in this story. As the narrator, Huck is almost like an interpreter or translator for the book. Through the story, Huck can take parts of the story and his encounters and interpret them so that us readers can pick up and understand what is going on and what it was like in the South. As we know, the Mississippi River was quite a large part of this story because it was Huck and Jim’s escape route. With the river, Huck is the interpreter when he explains the widow. ‘The widow cried over me, …but she never meant no harm by it’ (Twain 109). Any reader not living in this region or during this time would not understand specific things that occur because of the customs of this part of the country. Luckily, Twain was clever enough to have Huck not only be a narrator, but also have him explain what the customs of this region are. Although Huck is able to translate the widow’s actions for us, the readers, Twain goes against the widow for trying to take the river out of Huck, so she is somewhat seen as almost an enemy in some ways because she is trying to rid the distinctiveness of the region that Huck shows and embodies.

Throughout the text, Twain shows us slavery and racism, because even though the Civil War ended, slavery came to an end with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and Reconstruction for the south had happened, we cannot forget this story is set pre-Civil War. Simply, from the language used in the story and to describe the character Jim. One example of his description included, ‘Miss Watson’s nigger, Jim, had a hair-ball as big as your fist, … and he used to do magic with it” (Twain 118). With this example, it allows for the reader to get more of an understanding time and the area or region where the story takes place. It is easy to see what time it was based on the word choices and language. Some word would not particularly be accepted today. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written only decades after the Civil War and slavery ended, but the prejudices and mindsets toward people of color only just started to change, and in the South, was most likely the same.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was able to touch on many topics, such as slavery, racism, adventure, and guilt. Throughout this paper I was able to show a little piece of how Mark Twain is able to present regionalism so well in his writing. In Huckleberry Finn, Twain was successful in showing the themes I have listed, and was also able to show the readers the Mississippi River brings Huck and Jim both freedom along with all the hostility in the world that surrounds them during this time, especially in the region in which this story takes place. Like in the opening quote, we humans need challenges so that we can learn from them and have a reason to live. Throughout the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim have many conflicts that they need to overcome so that they may go toward their futures. I feel as though this Twain piece in particular holds a lot of value to this nation. I say this because Huckleberry Finn is set in pre-Civil War, so it shows us the hardships, the prejudices, and so much more.