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Sad and guilt-stricken, Uncle John contributes to the novel’s discussion of sin in his inability to forgive himself for his wife’s death. His mistaking his wife’s appendicitis for indigestion leads him to distrust his instincts, including his natural desires for simple pleasures like food, alcohol, and sex. As a result, Uncle John constantly attempts to moderate and deny himself, only to fail at maintaining this unnatural restriction and gorge on these things to excess. This overindulgence, in turn, only increases his sense of guilt. By dwelling on his mistake, he transforms his sin into a self-fulfilling prophecy, where he holds himself accountable for everything that goes wrong for the family. Notably, no one in the family shuns Uncle John or blames him for his wife’s death. His self-flagellation is entirely his own. As Jim Casy, the novel’s moral compass, goes on to explain, a sin is something a person deeply regrets, and therefore, implicitly, something that only that person can decide how to atone for or forgive. It is Uncle John’s refusal to forgive himself, not his initial mistake, that causes him continual grief.
