The Common Theme of Guilt
“Psychology Today” refers to guilt by saying “Guilt and its handmaiden, shame, can paralyze us––or catalyze us into action. Appropriate guilt can function as social glue, spurring one to make reparations for wrongs. Excessive rumination about one's failures, however, is a surefire recipe for resentment and depression.” Guilt plays a role in the novels The Dew Breaker, The Kite Runner, and The Namesake and as each main character works through their guilt, they seek rapprochement. Although “the dew breaker” in The Dew Breaker tries to work through his guilt, he is forever marked by the scar on his cheek and never seems to fully reach redemption. “The dew breaker” lives in shame and is fearful that one of his …show more content…
When Gogol changes his name to Nikhil, he is overwhelmed by all that he has to do to remove the name “Gogol” from his new life in New Haven. It takes a little while for the impact of changing his name to set in but “at times he still feels his old name, painfully and without warning, the way his front tooth had unbearably throbbed in recent weeks after having a filling, threatening for an instant to server from his gums when he drank coffee, or iced water, and once when he was riding in an elevator” (Lahiri, 105). The preeminent guilt comes burgeoning into Gogol’s life when he learns that his name comes from a book that his father was rescued because of in a life altering train accident. “And suddenly the sound of his pet name, uttered by his father as he has been accustomed to hearing it all his life, means something completely new, bound up with a catastrophe he has unwittingly embodied for years” (Lahiri, 124). However, the guilt that Gogol struggles with over changing his name comes full circle at the end of the novel when he discovers the birthday present his father gave him when he turned fourteen. At that age Gogol was too engrossed in hating his name to have ever paid any attention to the book or what it contained within. Upon opening The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol, …show more content…
The arduous road to redemption is unique to each main character; each must seek forgiveness and peace of mind through an incredibly personal journey of reflection and understanding. It is not a road that is travelled swiftly, but one that must be traversed in order to overcome the guilt that has been following them for so
“Psychology Today” refers to guilt by saying “Guilt and its handmaiden, shame, can paralyze us––or catalyze us into action. Appropriate guilt can function as social glue, spurring one to make reparations for wrongs. Excessive rumination about one's failures, however, is a surefire recipe for resentment and depression.” Guilt plays a role in the novels The Dew Breaker, The Kite Runner, and The Namesake and as each main character works through their guilt, they seek rapprochement. Although “the dew breaker” in The Dew Breaker tries to work through his guilt, he is forever marked by the scar on his cheek and never seems to fully reach redemption. “The dew breaker” lives in shame and is fearful that one of his …show more content…
When Gogol changes his name to Nikhil, he is overwhelmed by all that he has to do to remove the name “Gogol” from his new life in New Haven. It takes a little while for the impact of changing his name to set in but “at times he still feels his old name, painfully and without warning, the way his front tooth had unbearably throbbed in recent weeks after having a filling, threatening for an instant to server from his gums when he drank coffee, or iced water, and once when he was riding in an elevator” (Lahiri, 105). The preeminent guilt comes burgeoning into Gogol’s life when he learns that his name comes from a book that his father was rescued because of in a life altering train accident. “And suddenly the sound of his pet name, uttered by his father as he has been accustomed to hearing it all his life, means something completely new, bound up with a catastrophe he has unwittingly embodied for years” (Lahiri, 124). However, the guilt that Gogol struggles with over changing his name comes full circle at the end of the novel when he discovers the birthday present his father gave him when he turned fourteen. At that age Gogol was too engrossed in hating his name to have ever paid any attention to the book or what it contained within. Upon opening The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol, …show more content…
The arduous road to redemption is unique to each main character; each must seek forgiveness and peace of mind through an incredibly personal journey of reflection and understanding. It is not a road that is travelled swiftly, but one that must be traversed in order to overcome the guilt that has been following them for so