I strongly believe that James L. Swanson is an amazing author who does more than just writing books, he teaches us life lessons. So what effect does James L. Swanson have on our present knowledge of history? He teaches us not to forget the past by increasing our current knowledge, so that we have a better understanding of this world.
The Worst Crime: Matt’s or Richard’s “Killings”, written by Andre Dubus, illustrates how the death of a loved one may lead to dire consequences for all the parties included. Matt Fowler’s son, Frank, was murdered in cold blood by a jealous soon-to-be ex-husband, Richard Strout. When the death of Frank sunk into the lives of the Fowler’s, Matt believed he had to retaliate in some sort of fashion. The sort of fashion he chose was to seek revenge and kill Richard for his wrongdoings, which he did. Some people believe that the murder committed by Richard Strout can be considered more serious because of his act of passion and his lackadaisical style of living without worrying about his future.
Rachel Bierle Mrs. Neuberger Composition II 9 March 2023 Word Count: 1,882 Tommy Lynn Sells’ Portfolio Serial killers have been around since the beginning of time and their tactics have evolved greatly throughout each decade. Most serial killers’ motive for killing people is to seek the feeling of power over other people. These people are all around the world, but the United States has the highest number of serial killers (Moskovska). One of them was Tommy Lynn Sells.
“Killings”, Andre Dubus’ short story, revolves around a father who seeks vengeance against his son’s killer. The story is about the murders committed by Richard Strout and Matt Fowler in their attempt to get retribution and ease the pain in their hearts. The circle of killings is first caused by the murder of Matt Fowler’s son, Frank, by Richard, which leads to the retaliatory killing of Richard, by Matt. This infinite, unforgiving circle of killings and attempts at retribution is what Dubus portrays in a nonjudgmental view. The readers are left to see how the act of killing affects Richard and Matt and decide how much their retribution costs them.
Affairs affect people in different ways, but no one could imagine an affair destroying their ability to psychologically function. The “killings” by Andre Dubus is a shocking story about a killer named Richard who murders frank the man having an affair with his wife, who is his pride and joy. Riveted with murder and passion the author revels the characteristics of Richard Strout’s in the “killings” as a psychological obsessive and controlling person; these traits effect his emotions and behaviors throughout the story. Richards’s anger which evolves throughout the story, is what leads to his obsessive and controlling behaviors. The author explains Richards’s background as a young, striving man, who is overcome by failure, and this contributes
In Tiburon Lily finds herself with August, the women who took care of her mother and knew the answer to Lily’s most asked question. When she and Lily finally have their conversation about her mother, August reveals the grand answer. August states “No, honey, she came by herself. ”(Kidd, 251) By the time August tells Lily the truth about her mother, Lily gets emotionally destroyed.
In hopes of discovering more about her mother, Lily travels to Tiburon but unexpectedly develops a maternal relationship with August, ultimately compelling her to lie about her identity and purpose in Tiburon because “[She] love this place with [her] whole heart” (225), and is certain that this is the life she wants.
Andre Dubus, short stories contain a common theme of revenge, morality, and justice. In “Killings” published in 1979, Andre displays the theme of revenge and justice through the development of characters, the title of the story, and the thrill of the suspense. Dubus neglects to take sides with the characters in the “Killings”, which leaves it upon the readers to make assumption whether the killings were justifiable. Dubus has a very unique style of writing, the main characters in “Killings” were given a choice that could’ve led them to a completely different outcome. Dubus keeps the readers on their toes because the opposite usually ends up happening.
When Lily finally stands up for herself against T-Ray, he says to her, “The truth is, your sorry mother ran off and left you. The day she died, she’d come back to get her things, that’s all. You can hate me all you want, but she’s the one who left you” (Kidd 39). The cruel truth and the way he tells her breaks Lily’s heart. As a consequence, she runs away with Rosaleen to be in a place where her mother had been.
Lily arrives at the Boatwright sisters house and sees the statue of the black Mary for the first time. While she is viewing the black Madonna, she gets mixed feelings of hating herself and adoring herself and begins to feel guilt. “Everything about that smile said, Lily Owens, I know you down to the core. I felt she knew what a lying, murdering, hating person I really was. How I hated T. Ray, and the girls at school, but mostly myself for taking away my mother”(71).
Capital punishment has long been a heavily debated issue. In his article, “The Rescue Defence of Capital Punishment,” author Steve Aspenson make a moral argument in favor of capital punishment on the grounds that that is the only way to bring about justice and “rescue” murder victims. Aspenson argues as follows: 1. We have a general, prima facie duty to rescue victims from increasing harm. 2.
Two men plot the murder of the people who they swore loyalty to, the ones they promised to protect, all in the name of wealth. The victims have little clue and trusts their death angel more than anyone. Little do both victims know they've welcomed death into their homes and hearts. The story seems eerily familiar and too fictional to be true, yet it is both.
She finds herself in a small town called Tiburon in South Carolina, living with August Boatwright who was once her mother’s maid. After staying in Tiburon for a while, Lily calls her father, curious if he knows what her favourite colour is. They only spoke for a short period of
Lily barely knew her own mother, and T. Ray, her father, abuses her and could care less. Lily gets to experience the parent-child love from Rosaleen. Kidd asserts that the interaction between different races can lead to loving
“Killings” written by Andre Dubus is focused on the main character and protagonist Matt Fowler. Matt is the father of three known children in the story, Cathleen, Steve, and his youngest, Frank. Matt had his children with his wife and business partner Ruth Fowler. In the beginning of the story Matt is laying his youngest son, Frank, to rest in the cemetery after he was brutally murdered by the story’s main antagonist, Richard Strout. At the time of his death, Frank was in school and majoring in economics (63) and had a very bright future ahead of him, after all, he was only twenty eight years old.
