Poor Mary—No matter what she chooses, she always seems to end up with the guilty end of the stick. Need some proof? She lets her mom become a zombie, and Jed feeds her a guilty sandwich because now he'll have to kill her if she gets too close. She chooses Travis over Harry, though Harry's loved her since birth and Travis is his little brother. She chooses to make a run for it through the Forest for the ocean, and Jed saves her life but then dies in the process. Ouch. No wonder guilt and shame have taken up full-time residence in Mary's gut. But wait a second—not everything bad that happens is inside our girl's control. Yeah, her decisions have rotten results, but that's not always her fault. And to her credit, Mary doesn't let guilt control her. It knocks her out sometimes, but in the end, she refuses to let it keep her down. Sounds like there's a lesson for all of us in there.
Questions About Guilt and Shame
- For which rotten outcomes should Mary feel most guilty?
- For which rotten outcomes should Mary feel least guilty?
- If you made yourself a guilty sandwich, which kind of bread would you choose?
- What does Mary do to keep on keeping on despite the shame in her gut?