The Sunflower gives added perspective on forgiveness. I have concluded that there are no right or wrong thoughts about forgiveness. When Simon was confronted with the forgiveness of the SS man I can understand why he did what he did. Forgiveness is hard to give to someone who murdered people which at any moment may be you. How can we forgive people who just moments ago were sworn enemies? I know some people may never be able to forgive. People who have had so much taken from them, that life can and will never be the same. For instance say they lost a loved one to the hand of a murderer, or say people can never forgive the justice system for wrongfully putting them in prison for something they never did. There are plenty of reasons why one may not be able to forgive. Forgiveness depends on each person and who they are, whether it is because of their personality, strength, or religion.
On one hand, I think Simon should have forgiven the SS man because I think he was truly regretful and genuine. The common question that arises in the book is was the SS man truly genuine in his confession. Can someone be truly genuine when knocking on deaths door?
When repenting one must turn to the person whom the sin has been committed and try to correct that wrong, then one must turn to God. Then one must verbally confess one’s sins, express shame and regret for having committed the act. However, this does not yet bring one to the highest most complete level of repentance. Complete repentance is achieved when the individual is in the same situation in which he or she originally sinned and chooses not to repeat the act (Wiesenthal 194). So what if the repentance isn’t there can a person still forgive?
Whether forgiveness is given to the repentant or not, Forgiveness gives a person who is the victim power; it frees the victim from the pain inflicted and allows the victim to live a life they want to. It helps to take the fear away. Simon wouldn’t have had this conflicting question inside of him if he did the right thing if he would have forgiven him he would’ve been free from the torment. I know how it feels to be free from the torment and to forgive.
The one instance that makes me think of forgiveness is when I was in elementary school. I was bullied all through school because I was smart and heavier as a kid. I was commonly known as smarty fat pants. It hurt me as a kid, I was isolated from everyone. So growing up was hard and I swore to never forgive John, the person who bullied me. When I joined football in middle school I became popular and was no longer known as the fat smart kid. I was the power house now. When I was on the football field I used the anger and aggression I had toward John against other people, and it felt good. John asked me to forgive him because he wanted me to stand up for him when others bullied him. In an instant all the hurtful things came back and overwhelmed me and just like Simon, I just walked away from him. I wasn’t ready to accept his forgiveness, how could I when I still had the pain reminding me?
Well that decision to walk away started haunting me when I saw him getting humiliated and beat up. I just had to step in and stop it. I guess in that instance I forgave him and from that day forward we became friends and we laugh about those times now but laughter only came because I chose to forgive him. I would still be living in the pain of my childhood if I didn’t choose to overcome that and be free with forgiveness. However, I don’t know if he was truly repentant at the time or if he only was seeking my forgiveness because of the fear he had of being bullied.
I know my story isn’t as severe as Simon’s because it’s not life or death, but still I felt those feelings of forgiveness and how complicated the feelings were. “One thing I had learned: no deed was so awful that its wickedness could not be surpassed” (Wiesenthal 47). So everything with time can be forgiven as long as you’re willing. Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting, but it helps to free you from the images of what happened. Should Simon really have forgiven the SS man? Maybe he did, just not then. Or maybe this was just not his place, to offer it or maybe the wrong is too great in this case. And that is the complexity of this issue.
This brings me to the other view that Simon couldn’t have forgiven him because it wasn’t his to give. The crimes weren’t committed against him so how can he possibly speak on their behalf. Who has the right to forgive? At certain times in the book I get torn between both sides; one minute I agree with Simon on just walking away but then the next minute I’m siding with the dying SS man. What if he was put on trial? Would he admit and be accountable for the things he did? Or would he be like the others and deny everything.
Alan Berger said in his essay in response to The Sunflower that there are two types of sins; “sins of man against God and sins of man against man” (120). It is only possible to truly forgive sins of man against man. Murder is a sin of man against God so Simon couldn’t have possibly forgiven him; it is Gods ultimate decision to forgive that sin. How can people ever forgive a murderer? They take the lives of our loved ones without warning, without hesitation, and without reason. It would be extremely hard to forgive someone who did this because of the constant reminder of the life lost, and the chance never given to say goodbye. Are we really able to give ultimate forgiveness about anything? I think ultimate forgiveness of sins lies with God. When we die he is the ultimate judge on our acceptance in to his kingdom.
Forgiveness is a hard decision to make and is different for every single person. We base our opinions on things that have happened in our own lives. There are no right or wrong answers to forgiveness. Forgiveness isn’t easy to give; and one must overcome those feelings of hatred for those people who have oppressed them, or they will never truly be free of what happened. They will always wonder if they should’ve forgiven, and what would’ve happened if they did. Just like Simon, he is constantly reminded of that day he met that SS man in the hospital room. Maybe he wouldn’t have felt the need to ask, what would you do? For me I can say that I would forgive, but forgiveness takes time though, as does everything that needs healing. Ultimately forgiveness gives you the power to move on and the power to live on.
Works Cited
Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower. New York: Schocken, 1976. Print.