Sophie's Choice, the Effects of Guilt

The Effects of Guilt “Sophie’s Choice highlights the choices that all individuals make and the guilt that they bear in consequence” (Ruderman 579). William Styron demonstrates this in his fiction novel published in 1979. Styron’s characters have made choices that cause them to feel guilt. Sophie’s Choice focuses on an aspiring Southern writer Stingo. He moves to Brooklyn and develops a friendship with a Polish Holocaust survivor, Sophie and her lover, a paranoid schizophrenic, Nathan Landau. Upon meeting them, Stingo learns that both Sophie and Nathan carry guilt from their past. Sophie’s guilt stems from her time in Auschwitz and Nathan’s guilt comes from being Jewish and not having to be a part of the Holocaust. Learning about the other’s past makes Stingo feel guilty as well. While Stingo gets to know Sophie, he develops strong feelings or love for her, but refuses to act on them in respect to Nathan. Sophie, Stingo and Nathan go on a journey together. They all learn about the others past and their hardships. In the end the guilt becomes too much for Sophie and Nathan to handle. They both commit suicide leaving Stingo to mourn their deaths. In his novel Sophie’s Choice, William Styron uses character development to show how guilt affects a person. Guilt causes Sophie and Stingo to feel the need to suffer and be punished. Sophie has so much guilt that she feels the need to be punished. One of the ways she allows herself to be punished is to be abused by Nathan. A neighbor overheard Nathan and explains to Stingo, “’Nathan says “ I’m goin’ to count to three, whore, and if you’re not up and out of here and out of my sight I’m goin’ to kick your ass into the middle of next year.” And then he counts to three and she doesn’t move and then he gets down on his knees and begins to slap the livin’ shit out of her’” (64). While Nathan is abusing her, Sophie just sits there and allows him to do it. This shows how Sophie is overcome with the effects

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