Is redemption possible without the forgiveness of others? Redemption on a secular level comes from within. Forgiveness comes when others recognize their mistakes, accept them and correct them. Redemption, however, comes from forgiving oneself on a deeper level. Self-acceptance and redemption are harder to achieve than forgiveness of others. When you feel redeemed, it means you can be fully forgiven. Pip from Great Expectations is a great example of self-forgiveness and redemption because even after his family forgave him for the wrongs he committed, he still felt bad about himself until he healed from the disease he had: self-centeredness . Richard Rodriguez's character from his autobiography Hunger for Memory (however?), has not shown his self-realization because he is not aware that he has harmed people with his actions and therefore has not matured. Pip was more successfully redeemed at the end of his story than Richard Rodriguez because Pip recognized his selfish mistakes in his private life and, through this recognition, grew. One's selfish actions can lead to the destruction of important relationships and remorse. for one's past desires. Throughout his youth, Richard had always felt close to his family, spoke the same language and shared commonalities. Growing up he distanced himself from his family because he wanted to feel like an outsider. Richard says: “Intimacy is not trapped in words. Go through the words. Pass. The truth is that intimates leave the room. The doors close. The faces move away from the window. Time passes. The voices recede into the darkness. Death finally calms the voice. And there is no way to deny it” (40). In this passage Richard states that... middle of paper... for him. Once he returned home to repay Joe and Biddy for their reliability, Pip made a difference in their lives and his. After Pip had a near-death experience, he re-examined the treasured relationships in his life and admitted his mistakes. Richard has not been successfully redeemed in his personal life because he honestly doesn't care about his family. Richard made it clear that he only cares about his public life because he has no intimacy with his family. Private life is more important than public life, personal relationships are the ones that really matter. If you compare being successful to being happy, happiness is more important than success. Pip is happy because he has fixed his life by realizing his own missteps. Richard is clearly successful; however, he is not satisfied with how he got there. He is successful, but not happy