Self-forgiveness

The whole central point of The Sunflower is to portray the endless "possibilities and limits of forgiveness"-- basically, whether or not one has the right to be forgiven by others. However, the dying Nazi soldier includes a whole new aspect of forgiveness: forgiving oneself. "Those Jews died quickly, they did not suffer as I do-- though they were not as guilty as I am," (Wiesenthal, Pg. 52). He implies that his injuries, the horrific things he's seen, are much worse than a simple death; he continues on to say that the Jews were not guilty as him. He believes that he deserves the pain and suffering he's been through because of the pain and suffering he caused for innocent human beings. Though he cannot forgive himself, though he cannot move past the terrible things he has done, he desires and begs for the forgiveness of Simon; he needs resolution, even if it cannot come from his own self. He truly wants to be told that everything will be okay. When we as humans do terrible things to others, sometimes it does not matter whether or not they can forgive us, but instead if we can forgive ourselves. Until a person can look his faults in the face and decide that his mistakes do not define him, that person cannot possibly move on. One can beg and grasp for forgiveness all he wants, but until he can come to terms with what he has done himself, he will not be able to pursue his future, and heal.