Guilt is a parasite; it slowly eats up the insides of their host, and as the parasite grows, the host is deprived of strength until finally defeated. Guilt acts as a parasite in the lives of Wing Biddlbaum from “Hands” by Sherwood Anderson and Cory Johnson in “The Father” by R.V Cassill. Wing lives a lonely life in fear of his hands because of his guilty conscience. Cory endures guilt from his failure as a father and allows his guilt to take control of him. While both Wing from “Hands” and Cory from “The Father” are overcome with guilt from a past experience, Cory condemns himself while Wing is condemned by society. Through the use of these repressed characters, Anderson and Cassill expose how guilt destroys lives. Wing is condemned by society for a false accusation which leads to his guilt. Wing’s passion is to instill dreams into his students with the use of his hands. When a half-witted boy becomes…show more content… Society’s persecution of Wing is the source of his guilt, which leads to his lonely life. Similarly, Cory’s guilt drives him to commit an atrocious crime that destroys him and his family. A part of being human is feeling guilty. Guilt will grow stronger the longer it is held onto. Letting go of shame from the past is one of the hardest lessons in life. However, letting go is easier than allowing remorse to demolish a life. No amount of guilt can change the past, but faith changes everything. A lack of faith prevents humans from forgiving themselves and moving forward from depression to a hopeful life. Guilt is a heavy weight humans endure until the weight eventually crushes them. Making mistakes is inevitable as humans, but freedom is a choice. If the bondage of shame is unbroken, guilt will slowly deteriorate the mind. Guilt is a self-inflicted hell that is a choice rather than a punishment. Humanity’s tendency to cling on to guilt will rob them of a happy and fulfilling
