Confessions and apologies, while often used together as one idea, actually have two distinct meanings. An apology can accompany a confession but does not always. A confession simply means telling someone else a previous action. There does not need to be any emotion behind the words. A confession is a fact. It does not have to be a negative action, just a past action that had not been previously revealed. On the other hand, an apology comes when a person regrets a past action and tells whoever was hurt by that action they are sorry. An apology has a strong emotional connection. When apologizing a person feels remorse for having harmed someone in someway and they are trying to make up for that wrong. The distinction is important because a person needs to be able to clarify between the two actions. A confession should not be taken as an apology because the person may not be sorry for their actions.
Confessions can be appropriate in writing when the writer wants other to know of their past. A writer may confess for many reasons, including giving insight into their personal life or to prevent others from acting the same way. A confession can help a reader to relate to the writing or be drawn to the writer's honesty. A confession makes the writing very personal. I think writing about your own experiences can both hurt or help your writing based on the situation. Sharing a personal story can bring either support or criticism and the author needs to be prepared for either. I think when used in the right situation a confession or apology within writing can greatly improve a paper. However, if one is used in the wrong place it can be harmful to the writing. It is up to the author to correctly judge each situation.
Hey Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI agree that a confession is just a fact and shouldn't be taken as an apology because the person may not feel sorry. But don't we usually confess because we feel as if we did something wrong?
Hi Kelly! I liked the strong approach towards listing confession as a fact, since I never thought to use that word to label its contents. Your direct view of an apology and its “strong emotional connection” had me convinced that I was probably going to be agreeing with the rest of your clarification between a confession and an apology. But then I questioned if something could be made personal with no emotional connection involved in a confessional writing. Definitely agree with you on how the situation can change for whether it’ll enhance a writing or be harmful for it and also I think it depends on the reader’s judgment as well as the author’s, as you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I liked how you distinctly defined the two terms. "A confession is a fact," no more, no less. But an apology has an emotion attached to it. That really stood out for me. I also liked how you said sharing a personal story will gather both supporters and criticizers. It shows how we can't satisfy everybody, and if we choose to share a personal story, there's no avoiding negative comments.
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