Guilt Theme Analysis

In the final chapters of Escape From Camp 14, the key theme is guilt. During his time in Camp 14, Shin In Geun has done some things that, on the surface, seem almost unforgiveable: he’s beaten up little children, he’s stolen food from starving people, and he’s ratted out his mother and brother to the prison guards, leading directly to their murder. Because of his constant sense of guilt, Shin has also concealed various elements of his time in prison camp: at first, he lied to hundreds of journalists, activists, and counselors about his role in his mother and brother’s executions, and even after Escape From Camp 14 was published, he recanted elements of his story, admitting that he also signed a document implicating his family members in a murder they didn’t commit. Blaine Harden argues that Shin shouldn’t be held strictly accountable for his actions, since he was a brainwashed child, and didn’t know any better. He further argues that Shin shouldn’t be criticized too harshly for lying about his past—many traumatized people do exactly the same thing in order to preserve their own sanity. However, the moral question of how to judge Shin is too big for the book—or any book—to discuss. Instead of trying to address whether Shin is guilty or innocent of his crimes, the book addresses the ways that Shin tries—and, in many ways, fails—to come to terms with his dark past.

Through the character of Shin, Escape From Camp 14 shows how guilt can consume a human being. Perhaps more than any single factor, Shin’s guilt prevents him from living a normal life. After he escapes from Camp 14, Shin realizes that he was responsible for his brother and mother’s unjust execution. Ashamed of what he did, he begins to suffer from nightmares and panic attacks, to the point where he can barely make it through a normal day. But Shin’s guilt doesn’t just prevent him from living a normal life; it also bars him from speaking out against the evil he witnessed at Camp 14. After leaving Camp 14, Shin expresses a desire to become a human rights activist, so that other people never have to experience the pain that he experienced. But he quickly becomes reluctant to speak out against the North Korean prison camp system, since doing so would involve telling the truth about his own role in the camp’s murderous policies. Rather than come to terms with his past, Shin at first lies about his role in his mother’s murder, and even after he admits the truth, he refuses to speak at length about Camp 14.

Escape From Camp 14 thus comes to a depressing conclusion about guilt: there’s not always a cure for it. Shin wants to speak out against the prison camp system—in some ways, he believes that by doing so, he can redeem himself for his past behavior. But at the same time, he doesn’t feel comfortable speaking out until he comes to terms with his past behavior. As Blaine Harden points out, many real-life stories about the horrors of prison camp (i.e., the ones that end up getting published) end on a note of optimism and transcendence—but of course, there’s no guarantee that they should. Many survivors never get over what they did to survive during their time in prison camp—their lives are difficult, endless struggles with their own consuming guilt.