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Arthur Hertzberg
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Forgiveness and Compassion
Religion and Moral Truth
Remembrance
Anti-Semitism and Dehumanization
Silence, Guilt, and Resistance
Summary
Analysis
Hesburgh states that his instinct is to forgive Karl, because he is a Catholic priest. He argues that humans should aspire to be as forgiving of each other as God is of humans. He concludes by stating that he would forgive because God would forgive, and he is a surrogate for God.
