Evaluating 'The Sunflower'

Evaluating “The Sunflower” While reading “The Sunflower,” the question is posed of whether or not I would have granted the dying SS soldier forgiveness. When it comes to the topic of forgiveness, most of us will readily agree that to forgive a wrong done to us, is a noble deed. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether we can forgive a wrong done to someone else. Whereas some are convinced that we can forgive and comfort someone who has wronged another, others maintain that we cannot extend forgiveness on behalf of someone else. I cannot imagine being in Simon’s place, but when I attempt to, and think of whether or not I would forgive the SS soldier, I do not think I would have.
The situation of being asked
It is letting go of the extra burden of bitterness that only damages people more, and being okay with lessoning the wrongdoers feeling of guilt. There is one last thought to what I would have want to have done, had I been in Simon’s place. That is to forgive on a personal level, to answer only for myself and not for anyone else. I would have wanted the SS man to know I believed him, to tell him I could not forgive in place of other people, but for myself, I would believe he is repentant, that I did not hate him. Never having been in such a horrific situation, I do not know if I would be able to. This thought is not directed at how a forgiving attitude would help the SS man, but how it would help me. Simon is not furious and bitter that he was asked to forgive a SS soldier. Instead he is pondering over whether he made the right decision, he was in doubt, knowing he could not speak for all the Jews. Desmond Tutu speaks of victims who have suffered much, yet forgive. He states, “This magnanimity, this nobility of spirit, is quite breathtakingly unbelievable” (Tutu 267). It is amazing to see someone forgive a wrong, Simon did not forgive him, but it is amazing that he even cared about the soldier’s request, and continues to think of as time