It's hard enough living with the guilt that you were playing ball in the house and broke your mother's favorite horse sculpture, or that due to your shoddy navigation skills a three-hour boat tour ended up in years of being stranded on a tiny desert isle. But what if you blame yourself for the death of a loved one? Or for nuclear war?
There's a lot of guilt and blame weighing down the characters of Mortal Engines. (Some more than others.) Poor Tom seems to have the weight of a dying world on his shoulders, even though he's fifteen, while Valentine, who has committed more crimes than we have fingers and toes to count them, seems to be relatively carefree. What gives? Are these toxic emotions good for anything?
Questions About Guilt and Blame
- Why does Tom blame himself for pretty much everything?
- If Tom helps Hester kill off Valentine, does this absolve him of his guilt or just add to it?
- Is Katherine right to blame her father for his actions, or is Magnus Crome to blame for controlling Valentine?
- Do you think Grike feels any guilt in the moment before his death?