One of my favorite texts to teach the theme of forgiveness is The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. In this story, the main character provides a great example of the importance of forgiveness and how holding onto anger and …
“Thank You Ma’am” by Langston Hughes often leaves students perplexed because the main character instantly forgives a young boy who tries to rob her. Before reading the story, I would introduce the theme of forgiveness with the conversation about Mahatma …
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, Gatsby puts himself in ruthless pursuit of wealth and love without regard to the cost. Although his ambition eventually leads to his own murder, it begs the reader to wonder about …
Forgiveness is an important life skill for students. On the other end of that spectrum lies the potential damage of holding grudges. To help my students understand the poisonous nature of sustained anger, I read the poem “A Poisonous Tree” …
Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” is a modern tale seen in classrooms more and more often. This epic story contains a major theme of forgiveness. When teaching this story, I would connect it to the conversation with Mahatma Gandhi on …
Reconstruction is a great opportunity to explore the theme of forgiveness by considering when it is appropriate to use as a basis for punishment. The Mahatma Gandhi conversation would serve as a great bridge between the Civil War and the …
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter sheds an ironic light on Puritan hypocrisy and human tendency. Hester Prynn, guilty of adultery, is kind and humble. She does not expose Dimmesdale, who is blindly loved for his piety. The villagers mandate that …
Students know what it feels like to be hurt. When they are hurt, they have choices to make about how to treat the people who hurt them. These choices give them opportunities to demonstrate empathy and respect for others and to preserve relationships, or break them off. Forgiveness is a moral choice which strikes at the heart of ethical decision-making.
Students are told to follow the path of empathy and forgive those who do them wrong. This mandate is relatively easy to follow when their friends slip up and do something bad to them. Forgiveness in these cases often results in stronger friendships. But they are hurt by their enemies as well and must decide whether or not forgiveness is really worth it with them. This is a vexing ethical dilemma for which there are no easy answers.
