How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
There's some kind of interaction with the Creator—which of course I'm not privy to—and the souls come, slathered in guilt and regrets. There they remain, to agonize and anguish. (2.10)
The way Kiriel describes it isn't pretty. The souls get an extra dose of guilt before heading down to hell to torment themselves for a very long time. Yep, we get why he's sick of his job—seeing that day in and day out would get old to us, too.
Quote #2
More like the peeling back of the outer layers of one's being, all protection ripped off, leaving one with an excruciating, painfully naked self-appraisal. When that was over, I knew what my punishment was. I knew it would have no end. No one told me. I just knew. (2.12)
Before Kiriel is punished for going to earth, he realizes it will be awful; it's not something he's looking forward to. Here's the thing, though: He goes to earth anyway. We might focus on the part where he blames himself for his punishment, but he's actually willing to take it for the pleasure of going to earth.
Quote #3
Most of the "sins" that keep people in Hell are—in my opinion—entirely natural and entirely petty. For example, Envy. It's a rare person indeed who doesn't feel a twinge of jealousy when a friend achieves something the person hasn't. (3.1)
It's completely unfair to blame humans for these sins because it's just in their nature, Kiriel claims. We put too much pressure on people to be perfect, instead of admitting that we'll all slip up once in a while. Sure, we can get behind that. We just have one question: Why do humans feel so guilty over "sinning" if it's not wrong?
Quote #4
I already knew that I wanted to try one of the little "sins" that comes up the most often. It haunts so many, many souls in some form or fashion that I have always wanted to see why it is so shrouded in excitement and guilt. (3.6)
Here, Kiriel talks to us about masturbation. He tells us that everyone feels guilty over doing it, but it's just normal. So, is guilt part of our own internal feelings about the deed, or are they pushed on us by society? What do you think?
Quote #5
I was curious as to why so many people commit themselves to an exercise program and then quit. And why they then act as if they feel guilty about quitting. And the whole time, they behave as though they're ashamed of their bodies. That whole process has never made sense to me. (3.16)
Been there, done that. It's easy to get caught up in making promises to yourself to exercise or eat better, and never follow through. What we're more interested in here is the fact that Kiriel is surprised over people feeling guilty about doing this. It's in human nature to find our own faults and focus on them.
Quote #6
My function has always been to echo souls' regrets back at them, thus letting them feel the full burden of their shame, guilt, and sorrow. These emotions, in order to be fully experienced, also require the sufferer to know that the sins which caused them are no longer secret, but have been witnessed. (5.2)
Essentially, Kiriel's job is to make souls feel guiltier about their sins. No wonder he needs a vacation. He gets sick of making people take the blame for stuff he doesn't think is a big deal. Who cares if you eat too much or are a little full of yourself? According to Kiriel, those things are normal.
Quote #7
Something rose inside me, so strange that at first I didn't recognize it, although I have experienced a duller, overriding version of it almost every moment of my existence. It lurched in my body like a jagged yet leaden rock, shot through with regret and loneliness and lost chances. I had never felt it myself, only through others. (12.117)
Check out how Kiriel describes the experience of feeling guilt—with all the jagged and lurching rocks, it's not a pleasant experience. We'd like to point out that the actual experience of feeling guilt is far worse that just seeing someone else go through it, though, which Kiriel finally understands, too.
Quote #8
I put the photos down and turned away. I didn't want to feel grief for the loss of Shaun. Didn't want to feel guilt. Of all beings, I knew how pointless it was. Shaun would have died whether I'd stepped in or not. Those last moments I took from him would have been filled with either pain or nothingness. (12.118)
When Shaun's bro and friend are playing video games and he sees pictures of Shaun with his buddy, Kiriel feels a pang of guilt. Suddenly, he realizes he's taken someone away from people. Sure, Shaun would have died anyway, but no one else knows that. It's one of the only times we see Kiriel actually feeling remorse over his actions.
Quote #9
Maybe it was a cosmic joke that we'd been making ourselves miserable all this time. Maybe the Creator never really cared about transgressions. Or rebellions. (20.62)
It might be that the Creator doesn't care, but maybe Kiriel just wants to tell himself that so he doesn't have to go through the agony of feeling guilt again. It seems like he's trying to rationalize his actions to himself again instead of facing the music for what he's done.
Quote #10
The Reeds of the world—why did they always feel sorry later? Why couldn't they be sorry while there was still something to do about it? All this guy had to do was to keep his mouth shut—just shut up and be still!—right now. All Reed had to do was nothing. (21.63)
As Kiriel deals with one bully, he thinks about all the bullies he's seen come through hell. It occurs to him that regret is something that happens after the fact, and that's a problem. Kiriel tries to get Reed to feel that same guilt during the bullying so he won't have to pay for it later.