That was the last straw for Elie. That was the last act that he could endure before realizing, or deciding, that there was no God, and even if there was as far as he was concerned “God died on the noose with that boy.” “My anger rises up within faith and not outside it.” Only in the lowest moments of his faith does he turn his back on God. Even when Eliezer says that he has given up on God completely, Wiesel’s writing conflicts with what Elie says he believes. Elie even refers to biblical passages when he denies his faith. When he
He is depressed, and in need of someone to talk to and to spend time with. His brother, Allie, was very important to him. When Allie died, Holden was a wreck, and is still affected by it today. He is also mad about his other brother, D.B., for leaving for Hollywood to become a “big time writer.” Holden is severely depressed by prior events in his life, and has no one to turn to for help and advice. In conclusion, the course of events that happened prior to Holden’s attending Pencey had changed who Holden was negatively, and this is apparent in his lack of attempt to become
The Misfit needed a proof; he was in doubt of why he was not saved when his world seemed to be twirling nonstop. Through the process he has lost his trust in the world, in god. It is as if his morals have worn off. Which is why he feels like he “…must take the only pleasure that he know: killing, burning, doing some meanness” (Lynskey
Meursault chooses not to have any faith in the world or God, leading to his devilries. He never shows any interest in anything that happens to him, but rather just lets things happen. His lack of religious belief shows in his lack of morals. As the chaplain talks to Meursault, he is shocked to hear, “ ‘Have you no hope at all? And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains?’ ‘Yes,’ I said”(117).
His hopes of marriage and building a loving new home were crushed after Lydia’s tragic betrayal, when Romulus’s vulnerability to his inner demons was revealed. Raimond describes his father’s condition as “personal disintegration” by which Romulus’s moral world collapsed in the face of what he saw as an incomprehensible situation. He was simply unable to believe that Lydia could present such dishonesty. During his stay in hospital and throughout his continuing illness at Frogmore, the superstitions and hallucinations of evil spirits ruled his life for a time. This life-altering episode aggravated his mental disorder and left him, “unable to whistle or sing with his former innocence and delight in life”.
“There is either obedience or the church will burn like Hell is burning!” (pg 30) Parris tried to defend himself with such passionate and heartfelt comments but Proctor would have none of it. To him Parris was not in his society. Also, his relationship with Abigail Williams was a strained one, plagued with affair, scandal, and betrayal. He did love her, but soon after seeing what she truly was he resented his connection to her and, like what his old true nature told him, he confessed, causing a resent to appear within the town that never gave him his old trust
“Just say mister I’m sorry I got no time to die I’m too busy and then turn and run like hell” (page 118). This damnatory phrase is telling others not to take the same path Joe took. Joe clearly regrets doing what he did and is demonstrating to others how to act when they are asked to join the war. He is “less than a white maggot crawling around on a dungheap” after doing what he did. (Page 119) Now, he has nothing.
For Dimmesdale, even though he does not reveal his sin to other people, he suffers great agony which eventually leads him to death by the end of the story; and he dutifully delivers meaningful sermons, given his personal struggle with sin. Chillingworth, on the contrary, neither expresses regret nor remorse, and never tries to atone for his actions. Instead of seeking to expiate his sin, he keeps strategizing revenge against the young minister. To achieve his design, Chillingworth moves into Dimmesdale’s house as a physician, and while in residence there, continuously harasses the psychologically weak minister like a “leech.” The physician ultimately becomes obsessed with his revenge. Hawthorne even emphasizes this obsession by describing Chillingworth’s transformation into an embodiment of evil.
However, because of all these terrible things happening in the concentration camp that filled Elie with disappointment and anger, Elie realizes his faith is not unadulterated any more in the article. “But my faith was no longer pure. How could it be? It was filled with anguish rather than fervor, with perplexity more than piety… In the kingdom of eternal night, on the Days of Awe, which are the Days of Judgment, my traditional prayers were directed to you as well as against you, Master of the universe. What hurt me more: your absence or your silence” (Wiesel 1).
Holden lives a very mixed up life. Holden is depressed because he learns that he is a failure after leaving Penecy since he flunked every subject except for English. Sally Hayes depresses Holden as well because he doesn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to run away with him. He says to Sally out of no where, "Look...here's my idea, how would you like to get the hell out of here"" (132; ch. 17).