Comparing Revenge In To Kill A Mockingbird And The Homecoming Of Samuel Lake

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind” (Gandhi). Revenge, the act of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands, is relevant in both life and literature. In real life, it can often be seen when people are victims of abuse or unfair treatment, and they sometimes will try to get back at whoever hurt them through killing or injuring not only their abuser, but occasionally their loved ones as well. Similarly, in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Jenny Wingfield’s The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, characters are angered by the outcomes of certain events or the actions of the people around them, so they seek revenge to make it right. If someone intentionally harms an innocent person,

Ras knows that Swan is very deeply loved by not only her family, but also his estranged son. The author states, “Samuel jerked up with the hand that was holding Ras Ballenger’s chin and he bore down with the hand that was planted at the base of his neck and didn’t stop until he heard the cracking, popping sound that told him it was finished” (Wingfield 307). As revenge for kidnapping, raping, and planning to kill his daughter, Samuel feels he needs to kill Ras. Samuel deeply cares for Swan and the thought of anyone doing anything to her, let alone kidnapping and sexually assaulting his eleven year old daughter, makes him so angry that his only reaction is to kill her abuser in order to save Swan. When Samuel goes to find Swan, he realizes the elaborate plan Ras has come up with, and at the realization he knows that he must kill Ras Ballenger before he harms Swan any further. The members of the family believe Samuel’s actions were justified. After all, Ras takes Swan and attempts to murder her and abuses Blade, whom the Moses family has taken in as their own. Samuel says, “If they try me they might call it justifiable homicide. But they’ve got you charged with murder” (Wingfield 319). He is speaking to Toy Moses, who falsely confesses to killing Ras Ballenger so that his brother-in-law Samuel could live a happy life with his family. This leads to him getting a sentence of twenty

Considering the reason for Bob Ewell’s anger, the acts he commits targeting the Finch children could be interpreted as an example of his prejudice. Earlier in the novel, Atticus Finch takes on the case of Tom Robinson, a black man who is being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the eldest daughter of Bob Ewell. Atticus knows before the trial even begins that he would not win the case, as it was a black man’s word against that of a white man. As a lawyer, Atticus tries his best to win and even points out both obvious and less obvious it was not Tom, but in fact, Mayella’s own father who beat her. Despite losing the case and with everyone seeing the clear evidence of Bob Ewell’s crime, Atticus takes away any sort of credibility Bob may have had. Atticus explains, “Jem, see if you can stand in Mr. Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with” (Lee 292). When someone is proved to be a liar, they are typically angry. Mr. Ewell is understandably upset that anything he says from now on can be publicly questioned for truth and reliability. This can cause him to not get hired for a job, should he ever decide to get one, although it seems rather unlikely. It could also make him less likely to ever try and turn his life around, which does not seem to be happening any time soon. A majority would agree that someone trying to diminish