Summary Of Simon Wiesenthal's Novel 'The Sunflower'

In the novel, “The Sunflower” written by Simon Wiesenthal, Simon is in a constant battle with himself if he should have forgiven Karl for his crimes and the Nazi soldiers for his life. Everyone he knows or encounters have told him something different but never understood if he should have forgiven Karl or not. Deep down Simon knows that Karl felt sorrow for his errors he has done. At the end of his memoir, Wiesenthal asks us, the readers, what would we have done if we were in the situation he was in. I believe that Simon should not forgive Karl for his misdeeds because Simon does not have the right to talk for the Jews or the deceased family and Karl should have prayed to his God or confessed to a priest.
I would not have forgiven Karl for the mistakes he had committed. I was raised with different religions and they all say the same thing to forgive but not forget. I grew up with this mindset and forgive people for their mistakes. Even though I have this mindset and think differently than others, I would not have forgiven Karl, because no one should get away with murder with a clear conscience. There were a few key points in Karl’s story of …show more content…
He believes that forgiving is the way to go, but not to let them forget the crimes they have committed. In 1949-50, the Chinese invaded Tibet and left more than 1.2 million dead. Many others during the invasion lost their lives due to starvation, have been massacred, committed suicide, or have been executed. He could have easily gotten angry with the invaders or seek vengeance towards them, but his beliefs, his religion made him not act upon the attackers. One quote that supports his decision is, “But that is not the Buddhist way” (130). I agree with the Dalai Lama answer because I always forgive people for their mistakes they have done, but I never let them