In Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, a character remarks, "If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake; that will be punishment—as well as the prison." In other words, guilt is its own form of imprisonment, from which someone may never be released. In this collection explore titles that probe the questions and implications raised by the idea of guilt.
Publication year 1968
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Immigration, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Coming of Age
Tags Asian Literature
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Society: Community
Tags Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, History: World, Humor, Historical Fiction, Great Depression
Jennifer L. Holm’s Full of Beans is a 2016 middle-grade historical novel set in 1934. Main character and first-person protagonist Beans Curry is a 10-year-old boy born and raised in Key West, Florida. The Great Depression causes difficulties for the locals of the dilapidated town, including Beans’s family. “New Dealer” Mr. Julius Stone, Jr. arrives with the plan to boost Key West’s failing economy by recreating it as a tourist destination, but Beans decides that... Read Full of Beans Summary
Publication year 1985
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Humor, Post Modernism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Finance / Money / Wealth, Anthropology
Galapagos is a 1985 novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut. The novel’s narrator is the long-dead Leon Trout, a ghost who watched the evolution of humanity of the course of a million years. The story explores the themes Nature Versus Nurture, Pacifism, and Regret.This guide uses an eBook version of the 1985 Dial Press edition.Content Warning: This novel depicts explicit acts of violence and refers to death by suicide.Plot SummaryLeon Trout, the story’s narrator, is... Read Galapagos Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Friendship, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Fathers, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Identity: Masculinity, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Relationships: Family
Tags Sports, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children's Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1992
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Survival Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence
Publication year 1881
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity
Tags Play: Drama, Psychological Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Realism, Victorian Period, Drama / Tragedy, Health / Medicine, Religion / Spirituality, Finance / Money / Wealth, Love / Sexuality, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction
The play Ghosts (1881) by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen chronicles the complicated relationship between Helen Alving and her son, Oswald. Ghosts documents a day in the life at the Alving estate as Helen prepares to open an orphanage in honor of her late husband. A three-act play, Ghosts explores the complex social issues of sexually transmitted infections, incest, and euthanasia—topics that made the play highly controversial when it was first produced.Ghosts followed the success of... Read Ghosts Summary
Publication year 1979
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality
Publication year 1978
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Military / War, American Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Going After Cacciato, by Tim O’Brien, is a novel about a young soldier’s experiences in the Vietnam War. However, as the New York Times noted in its initial review of the novel upon its publication in 1978, “call[ing] Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby Dick a novel about whales.” The novel does not simply recount the events of the war; it dives into the inner life of its protagonist, Paul... Read Going After Cacciato Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Technology, Psychology, Crime / Legal, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Society: War, Relationships: Siblings, Natural World: Place, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Historical Fiction, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, WWII / World War II, Military / War, Grief / Death, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: Asian, History: U.S., Religion / Spirituality, Children's Literature, History: World
Publication year 1975
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Relationships: Family
Tags Lyric Poem, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Mental Illness, Gender / Feminism, Arts / Culture, Mythology
Louise Glück is among the most lauded poets in the American canon. Glück’s writing is often surgically precise in terms of formal craft, and reveals a deep emotional complexity. She addresses sadness, mourning, trauma, and individual suffering metaphorically through the natural world, mythology, autobiographical events, or universal truths. She is known for alluding to cultural myths and personas in her work, some of which appear in “Gretel in Darkness” through the perspective of young Gretel... Read Gretel in Darkness Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Friendship, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Self Help, Biography, Psychology
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman
Gwendy’s Button Box is a horror fantasy novella written by the American authors Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. It is the first in a trilogy and was published in 2018. The novel follows Gwendy Peterson, a young and awkward middle school student, whose life changes when she becomes the guardian of a magical button box that has the potential for extreme good and extreme destruction. The novella explores themes such as Fate Versus Free Will... Read Gwendy's Button Box Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Language, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Nurture v. Nature, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Animals, Children's Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Half Brother (2010) is a young adult novel by Kenneth Oppel. In the novel, Oppel combines and fictionalizes several experiments in which chimpanzees learned sign language to communicate. The story follows the Tomlin family as they adopt a baby chimpanzee to see if it can learn and use language. Through this experiment and its effect on the characters, the text explores the themes of family, belonging, animal rights, communication, individuality, and growing up. The novel... Read Half Brother Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Fantasy, Play: Drama, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Children's Literature
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) is a two-part play written by Jack Thorne, based on an original story collaboratively created by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne himself. Set in the universe of the Harry Potter books penned by J. K. Rowling, the play follows events occurring 19 years after the epilogue of the seventh book, The Deathly Hallows (2007); the story revolves around Albus Potter, the second son and middle child... Read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Summary
Publication year 1992
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope
Tags Lyric Poem, Depression / Suicide, Mental Illness, Health / Medicine
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Fathers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Religion / Spirituality
Heart-Shaped Box (2007) is the debut novel of horror writer Joe Hill, son of the famous Stephen King. The novel is a contemporary Gothic story about Judas “Jude” Coyne, a retired rock star hunted by a ghost. His confrontation with the ghost forces him and his girlfriend, Marybeth “Georgia” Kimball, to confront their respective pasts and current relationship. Hill went on to publish novels such as Horns (2010), NOS4A2 (2013), and The Fireman (2016), as... Read Heart-Shaped Box Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Teams, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Grief / Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Religion / Spirituality