Guilt Of Killing The Innocent Essay, Research Paper

"A conscience cannot prevent sin. It only prevents you from enjoying

it" Harry Hershfield Have you ever hurt or killed something throughout your

life and felt bad about your actions? A sense of wonder and reason probably

crossed your mind and all you could ask yourself was, why? There’s many times

people feel guilty about their actions and sometimes have a feeling of sadness

and depression. Animals are a huge part of the world that cause remorse among

society. Many people share love, bonds, and relationships with animals, but

continue to hunt them for pleasure and nourishment. There are times that people

feel bad about what they do to a creature just for a few minutes of pleasure or

just a bite to eat. It’s amazing how close one can feel to an animal and then go

to many extremes to kill it. Besides reality within humans, there are many

authors that incorporate guilt with killing throughout their novels. Humans and

authors novels such as James Serpell’s In The Company of Animals and Ernest

Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, portray images throughout their ideas that

dispense thoughts and representations of killing animals through feeling a sense

of shame. Take for example the millions of vegetarians throughout the world.

They are all different in their selection of foods, opinions of animals, and

what they eat. Some people won’t eat certain meats while others will go to the

extreme of eating nothing that comes from animals, whether it is eggs or

gelatin. Vegetarians feel a sense of disgust and a sick sensation of eating a

creature that God placed on the earth. They feel that God placed the animal on

the earth to live in peace and harmony, not to face the trauma and death for the

benefit of others. Vegetarians feel it is disrespectful towards animals and

believe it is not fair to kill off an innocent creation. Some feel very strong

about the issue that they will protest the slaughtering of animals and the plan

of making garments from their skin and fur. They experience guilt by eating the

remains of a dead animal that used to be alive. The torture and pain that each

animal endured causes vegetarians to feel bad about eating them. People are

still fighting to discontinue the violation of animals, but the guilt and

feeling of shame will never leave the mind of a true vegetarian. Besides humans,

Hemingway displays a similar portrayal of remorse with the killing of an animal

throughout Old Man and the Sea. A close relationship that is united between a

man by the name of Santiago and a marlin allows ones emotions to take a toll and

undergo an adventure of guilt. Santiago has a strange appreciation and sympathy

for the fish. Marlins, to Santiago, are ornaments that create a feeling of

nature and loyalty towards him. The old man holds a bond and strength of love

and devotion with the creatures lurking the environment that he is surrounded

by. The turtles for example have similar characteristics like Santiago, such as

a heart, feet, and hands. The flying fish act like his family members since they

encompass him everyday by playing and searching for food. Over time Santiago and

the marlin mold a connection that causes the old man to feel more emotion for

the fish than expected. On the first day, Santiago speaks to the marlin

"Fish?I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you before

this day ends"(60). By the end of the day, the marlin is still alive, but

trying to strive for every last bit of its lasting life. Santiago then

sympathizes for the fish and does his best not to disturb or violate the marlin

during the sunset. " The setting of the sun is a difficult time for all

fish"(81). Santiago wants the fish to rest in peace and cares for the well

being of the creature. The old man distinguishes the great worth of the fish

that he never knew existed. "Then he was sorry for the great fish that had

nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow for

him. How many people will he feed, he thought. But are they worthy of eating him

from the manner of his behavior and his great dignity" (83). As the fish

continues to fight for survival, Santiago gains an enormous amount of admiration

towards the marlin. He says to the fish, "You are killing me, fish?. But

you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or calmer

or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who

kills who" (102). By the time Santiago defeats and reels in the fish, he

feels a sense of love and respect for the animal, but his emotions are

excruciating. Santiago realizes how much the fish really means to him. Both of

them know that in the end someone is going to get hurt. Santiago wants a prize

possession and the marlin wants nourishment, but only one can win. Since they

are in similar positions, one of them was going to suffer the consequences.

Santiago feels guilty killing the marlin since his emotions and love for the

creature begin to arise. He starts to notice similar traits between him and the

fish that make him realize that he was trying to kill a great friend. Throughout

James Serpell’s chapter "Killer with a conscience" in his novel In the

Company of Animals, he discusses the thoughts of guilt accompanying the killing

of animals. Serpell explains how it is difficult for humans to differentiate

clearly between themselves and animals. Many people develop close relationships

with animals and attribute many human characteristics to animals. Because we are

animals, and can share and relate many or our feelings with animals, we can use

it for understanding and predicting the outcomes of other creatures thoughts.

Since we usually think of animals in terms of humans "we are bound by the

same code of morality" that watches over our contact with other people

(174). Generally it is hard for people to kill or hurt animals without feeling

shame or a lack of sympathy. "If we were capable of being truly objective

about animals, we would not have the slightest qualms about damaging or

destroying them, except, conceivably, for abstruse intellectual or aesthetic

reasons" (174). Hunting is one of the examples that Serpell uses as a model

for feeling guilty. Because animals are looked upon as being equal to humans, it

is basically killing off someone that is similar to ones self. In a way it could

be considered murder. It would be an adventure to be in an animal’s body and

perceive the world from its point of view. Feeling its emotions and what the

animal was going through would help analyze the objective in hunting. If one

knew how much it were hurting and abusing the animals then it would make them

aware and know that they would not want to be treated that way. If something

should give you a guilty conscience then obviously there are thoughts crossing

your mind that are telling you that something is wrong. Throughout history, many

animals have had to face the hardships of abuse and death. Being the killer,

hunter, or abuser is not always an easy task for everyone. The guilt that

overcomes many people is not always easy to deal with. Humans and even authors

of novels share many of their ideas and views about the shame that accompanies

the killing of animals. Besides humans, Serpell’s work of In the Company of

Animals and Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea incorporated guilt with the

senseless acts of killing animals. The awareness that these people portray aids

in the ability for the reader and society to think about the disrespectful

events that are occurring to animals throughout the world.

Hemingway, Ernest. Old Man and the Sea. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,

1952. Serpell, James. In the Company of Animals: A study of human-animal

relationships. Canto edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.