Guilt as a theme in The Birthday party

The man for whom the birthday party is planned is completely ungrateful to the wonderful surprise his wife has planned for him. He feels embarrassed, although he has no real reason to feel that way. He is self-centered and selfish and makes his wife feel guilty when he should not act like such an ungrateful wretch. That he makes her suffer from this guilt embarrasses the narrator of the story who wishes the man would be more kind. It works better to use guilt as part of a sentence to make the "theme" of the story - e.g., when one uses guilt to hurt someone's feelings, it can cause sadness and evoke unhappy emotions in those one should love.

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