Guilt In Ben's Dad By Elie Wiesel

Ben’s dad’s recognition of guilt transforms him into a 3d character. Throughout the body of the story, Ben’s dad was originally the head of the operation to stop the terrorists and was willing to use any means to do so. He parallels Artkin who is the head of the terrorists and is also willing to use any means to close the Inner Delta. That meant both Artkin and Ben’s dad did not feel guilty about using the school children or Ben as their main means for their respective goals, despite the harm done to both parties. Therefore, both of them are missing guilt, a core emotion, and it shows that they’re not really full “human” characters due to their lack of human emotion. However, during the final dialogue between Ben and his dad, Ben’s dad says, “I’m sorry, Ben. …show more content…
Due to how Ben’s dad wants to apologize for his wrongdoing, he must feel guilty about his actions and therefore, recognizes his mistake. Through his recognition, he becomes a 3d character because Cormier finally gives him another layer to his robot-like patriotic characterization. The guilt Ben’s dad feels transforms him into a 3d character due to the additional level of emotion that lets the reader know that he is not like Artkin, who is only focused on getting what he wants, and it creates depth in the dad’s character through removing the narrow-minded end goal mindset. In addition, the admission of guilt further humanizes the Dad’s character as he recognizes his fault or imperfections, which is a defining human