Literary Analysis For Every Sin

For Every Sin, There is a Resolution: An Analysis on Theo’s Internal and External Conflicts

In many literary works, characters tend to have both an “inner life” and a “public life”. In For Every Sin, written by Aharon Appelfeld, Theo faces many conflicts between his memories of both his parents and his struggles on staying with the refugees. These conflicts do not only have an impact on his destination, but they also define his character, introduce him to his own personal identity, and develop his internal conflicts with the refugees that he has encountered throughout the novel.
From the very beginning of Theo’s story, his parents have always been misunderstanding each other. In fact, his parents have a totally opposite personality. His
Moreover, he is very determined to stay on course, but he could not control both his body and mind. As he goes through his path, he sees and encounters the refugees. Internally, he feels like he is obligated to take care of the refuges, so he stays and joins their company. However, because he is still struggling about his memories of his parents, he did not stay for long and choose to leave them instead. When he meets Mina along the way, he remember his mother. At that time, Theo stays with her because he once again feels his mother’s presence through her. For that reason, he keeps drawing back to the refugee even if her does not want to, and he is blocked by his internal conflict. Subsequently, he blames himself for his inconsistency on his journey. At that moment, he is very disappointed and tells himself that “if he had gone straight, this disaster wouldn’t have happen to me. One must remain faithful to his path”(Appelfeld 90). An instance of this is when Theo pushes the refugee that causes him to be
He believes that the refugees will not be able tp not only understand, but also help him solve with internal conflict with his parents. Moreover, his memories from mother influence his search for his personal identity. He tries to run away from Judaism and convert Christianity. After all what he has experienced, this step is the only way he thinks could help him have a peace mind. In addition, as he runs away from his religion, he is assuming that he is running away from his internal struggles with his parents, and that it is leading him to his real own identity. Though this may be working for him, the refugees do not like his idea of converting to Christianity. In fact, it draws him away from the refugee more because mostly everyone in the camp is Judaist. Eventually, he realizes that if he stays with his own kind, the refugees, and his religion, he will be able to move on and solve his previous problems from the past. In this way, he will have a peace of mind, and does not have to stay away from the