Caregiving In The Shack By Wm. Paul Young

684 Words2 Pages

Wm. Paul Young’s novel, The Shack, explores the theme that people find it difficult to forgive others that cause them harm. Firstly, Papa wants Mack to forgive the man that caused him all his pain so that he can be reborn as a better human. Mack states, “How can I ever forgive that son of a bitch who killed my Missy.[...] I want him to hurt like he hurt me...if I can’t get justice, I still want revenge.” (Young 224). Mack cannot let Missy’s murderer be forgiven of his sin as the child’s death brought too much pain to the family. Mack feels that the murderer should experience all the pain that he gave others throughout the years. The pain and sorrow the man inflicts prevents the victims from being able to forgive him as they think that the man …show more content…

Mack needs to forgive to live on and enjoy the present and future. Through this theme, Mack reveals that he is a vengeful person. He wants to repay the murderer for the pain and loss he gives others. Mack holds onto his hurtful memories to be able to get revenge on the inflictor. Secondly, Mack feels a strong hatred for what his abusive father does to him in his childhood and continues to struggle with his past. For instance, “Mack never talks much about him, but when he does his face loses emotion[...]. From the few stories Mack has told me, I know his daddy was not a fall-asleep-happy kind of alcoholic but a vicious mean beat-your-wife-and-then-ask-God-for-forgiveness drunk.” (Young 8). The indication that Mack “loses emotion” when he talks about his childhood means that he is not able to confront those memories and reconcile with his father. He feels that his father wrongfully treats him and his family and cannot bear the thought of forgiving him. Mack’s inability to address his father’s sins breaks him apart from his family. Mack escapes his home and grows up without having a father figure in his world, weakening his own confidence in his ability of being a father to his …show more content…

This legacy of brokenness goes all the way back to Adam, what about him? But why stop there? What about God? God started this whole thing. Is God to blame?” (Young 160-161). Mack’s inability to be able to forgive the people that hurt him is brought all the way back to the creator, God. Mack feels that the people causing others pain should be punished for their deeds. Sophia uses this relation as an insult to the common thinking of wanting revenge on those that inflict harm. God is usually seen as a symbol to what is morally good, a being that is all-forgiving and loving of all people. Through building on a human’s refusal to forgive another person for their crimes, Sophia connects this situation to the action of refusing to forgive God. Sophia conveys that to want another person to suffer is alike to wanting God to be punished. However, Mack cannot find it in him to forgive the people that have hurt him as he does not think that they deserve it. Mack’s refusal reveals his severed relationship with

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