Guilt and How It Is Handled Human beings have certain feelings. The person at fault may feel guilty after the incident happens. A feeling of guilt is the recognition of wrong doing, and the wish that the consequences of the action could be changed. In The Scarlet Letter, Red Badge of Courage, and The Crucible, the main characters all have feelings of guilt as a result of what they have done. Life on it's own can also bring such inner feeling from within a person. All people at one point or another feel guilty and have their own way of dealing with it. In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale feels guilty for his crime