Guilt and Innocence

One of the most Important themes in "The Man Who Lived Underground," the idea that Fred Daniels keeps exploring as he moves through the story, is the Idea of guilt and innocence. In nearly every episode, Daniels wrestles with guilt. When he hears the churchgoers singing hymns, he wants to laugh, but immediately he is "crushed with a sense of guilt." Contemplating the scene, he comes to believe that they are wrong to be asking forgiveness of God. The contrast is significant: he is "crushed" with guilt over the simple act of almost laughing, yet he feels that others should "stand unrepentant" for their own sins.

As he moves through the tunnels underground, his exploration of the meaning of guilt appears even more confused. He gradually comes to understand that everyone is equally guilty, or equally not guilty. Guilt does not prevent him from taking tools...