Guilt and repentance in 'McDowell'

Use this forum to discuss the October Book of the Month "McDowell" by William H. Coles.
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Guilt and repentance in 'McDowell'

Post by Alice Thokchom »

Did Hiram actually feel the pain of guilt? Did he repent?
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Post by Kishor Rao »

I don't think Hiram ever felt the guilt. He always was thinking about how bad things had happened to him, good person that he was. even while writing his memoirs, as Maud suggested he always held others responsible for the things that happened
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Post by Theresa Moffitt »

I don’t think he felt guilt. I think he felt a need to be understood and tell his side of the story. It seemed as though he always felt he acted correctly but people didn’t understand him
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Post by P Reefer »

I think there is a level of guilt and repentance that he experience demonstrated in his changed sensitive rather than callous behaviors towards others even when they were not necessarily kind to him as demonstrated by the roadside musician he met who was initially mean to him but he still chose to show an act of generosity towards.
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Post by DorcasToo »

He felt guilt and that's why he went out of his way to make peace in his own way. If he didn't carry the guilt of his past he wouldn't have sought for his family well being while on the run. As for repentance, he wasn't given the chance to atone for his sins.
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Post by HollandBlue »

I don't think Hiram felt any guilt until Maud pointed out his faults to him. I don't think he repented in any form although he may have thought he did it.
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Post by Radiant3 »

I don't think Hiram felt guilt for what he did. Perhaps, in time would he have eventually grown into the person who would have felt guilt and repentance.
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Post by Maria-Goretti Amarachi Okechi - Catherine »

I think Hiram felt guilt for his actions but to a certain limit. He didn't actually feel he was solely responsible for his ordeals, at least not until he encountered Maud and she changed his perspective of life.
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Post by Nephyz+254 »

I think he felt the pain of guilt but still he did not repent neither did he accept the fact that he was responsible for his plight. In his memoir Maud found a lot of "why me?" Hiram is also blaming others like Paige Sterling and others to be responsible for his suffering.
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Post by ShailaSheshadri »

I never saw McDowell feel guilty. That too, why should he feel guilty? He doesn't think that he made mistakes. He often tells that he is right, and people misunderstand him. So, there is no room for repentance. But, in the second part of the novel, it is evident that his attitude towards people changes. I guess it is mainly because, as a fugitive, he meets many people and most of them made him realize his mistakes. He experiences true life when he runs from place to place hiding his identity.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

He never seems to fully feel any guilt or repentance for his actions. This is also the reason why he has such troubles understanding Maud's critical observations on his memoir. I would have been definitely curious to read such a memoir and understand how he saw things from his perspective.
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Post by Uche B »

Hiram started out blaming other people for every fault in his life but after meeting Maud, he began to see that maybe, just maybe he had a hand in his downfall.
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Post by Dael Reader »

No and no. McDowell never felt guilty about any of his past actions. He felt wronged by the justice system and misunderstood. And he did not fully repent because he never fully admitted that his actions were wrong. He wasn't seeking atonement in the second half of the book. He was just hoping that he could share his story and get others to believe that he was innocent all along.
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Post by C-Extra22 »

He seemed to be on the verge of that before his untimely demise.
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Post by Moddesser Elahi »

Hiram did feel the guilt and the associated pain. The second part of the story implicates that Hiram could realize his irresponsibilities in relationships. It could be seen that he becomes more sensitive by the end of the story.
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