Trey Banks Susan Little English 1102 30 January 2014 The Mind Behind the Killing The "Killings" is a short story written by Andre Dubus. Andre Dubus' short stories often portray tragedies, violence, anger and even tenderness. Throughout the story, Matt’s language constantly displays his deep affection for his family. After the death and funeral of his son Frank, his other two children quickly move back to their normal lives which displays that Frank was the only family nearby. His morals become quickly altered through the cold-blooded murder of his son and end with the act of murder. The story begins in a small town in America. The Fowler family is faced with the burden, frustration and pain of having to bury their twenty-one year old son, Frank. The inward struggle faced by Matt Fowler, his wife, and family drives him to murder Richard Strout, Frank's killer, in order to avenge his son's murder and bring peace to himself and his family. Matt faced a life-time struggle to be a good father and protect his children from danger throughout their childhood. Dubus describes Matt's inner ...
In "Killings"by Andre Dubus and In the Bedroom, directed by Todd Field, the author and director decided to go different directions with the beginning of the story, keeping the plot of the story almost identical. However, beginning the story differently impacted both works in completely different aspects. Dubus begins the story at the funeral of Frank which leads the reader to draw conclusions about what happened before Frank's funeral, while Field’s gives more background to viewer which allows the reader to make more connections. Dubus begins the story at Frank’s funeral which leads the reader to become confused throughout the story. As the reader reads through the story, they have to be able to connect the dots to understand what is happening. While in the movie, Field’s begins with the backstory leading up to Frank’s death which makes it easier for the viewer to understand what is happening. The difference between the two stories impacts how the reader and viewer are able to interpret the story.
Having a to bury a child is hard. Letting the killer run free is harder. “Killings” has different types of feelings and personalities mixed into it. It starts out deep and depressing the around the middle, gets dark the gets back to being depressing but more relaxed. It has hot tempered personalities mixed with jealousy. A man is in grief and early stages of depression over his son’s death. Someone just wants to be a friend and help out the family.
In Andre Dubus’ “Killings” and Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the theme of death is apparent throughout both of the short stories. Both have a plot that revolves around death and murder. They differ because in Dubus’ story the theme of death is obvious because the whole plot revolves around murder, but in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” there are numerous symbols of death as well as a major theme of death. Also, the endings of the stories are of an interesting comparison because they both end in the perspective of a murderer. In “Killings” the reader is left with a depressed feeling and an irresolvable ending, while in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the reader is left feeling like the story was somewhat resolved even after all the gruesome fatality. The endings of these stories leave the reader with opposite feelings and Dubus and O’ Connor show their different outlooks on the world through these endings.
“Killings", written by Andre Dubus in 1979, involves several aspects such as revenge, morality, and murder. Elements, such as the story’s title, the order of events, and the development of the characters, are very unique. It successfully evokes emotion and suspense as the plot unfolds in sequence. Though it seems easily overlooked, the title “Killings” is very important due to the fact that the thrill of suspense is left in the mind of the reader. The title encourages readers to question who and what. It is also an intricate setting for the plot’s mood. It implies that a murder has taken place, but that is all the reader knows. The chronology of the story uses a style called "in media res”, a term used to describe the common strategy of beginning a story in the middle of the action or entering on the verge of some important moment (Meyer 2198). In this story, the readers are shown that murder not only takes a life, but it can also take away a living persons sense of self worth, their spirit.
The book Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?, written by independent journalist and private investigator Ethan Brown, tells the horrific true story of the bayou town of Jennings, Louisiana located in the heart of the Jefferson Davis parish. During the four year duration between 2005 and 2009, the town of Jennings was on edge after the discovery of the bodies of eight murdered women were found in the filthy canals and swamps. The victims became known as the “Jeff Davis 8.” For years, local law enforcement suspected a serial killer, and solely investigated the murders based on that theory alone. The victims were murdered in varying manors, but when alive they all shared many commonalities and were connected to
Murder at the Margin is a murder mystery involving various economic concepts. The story takes place in Cinnamon Bay Plantation on the Virgin Island of St. John. It is about Professor Henry Spearman, an economist from Harvard. Spearman organizes an investigation of his own using economic laws to solve the case.
The Murderers Are Among Us, directed by Wolfe Gang Staudte, is the first postwar film. The film takes place in Berlin right after the war. Susan Wallner, a young women who has returned from a concentration camp, goes to her old apartment to find Hans Mertens living there. Hans took up there after returning home from war and finding out his house was destroyed. Hans would not leave, even after Susan returned home. Later on in the film we find out Hans was a former surgeon but can no longer deal with human suffering because of his traumatic experience in war. We find out about this traumatic experience when Ferdinand Bruckner comes into the film. Bruckner, Hans’ former captain, was responsible for killing hundreds
The year and a day rule - In order for a defendant to be liable for a
The sentencing of underage criminals has remained a logistical and moral issue in the world for a very long time. The issue is brought to our perspective in the documentary Making a Murderer and the audio podcast Serial. When trying to overcome this issue, we ask ourselves, “When should juveniles receive life sentences?” or “Should young inmates be housed with adults?” or “Was the Supreme Court right to make it illegal to sentence a minor to death?”. There are multiple answers to these questions, and it’s necessary to either take a moral or logical approach to the problem.
The film chronicles the histories of three fathers, and manages to relates and link their events and situations. First is Mitchell Stephens and his relationship with his drug-addict daughter. Second is Sam, and the secret affair he is having with his young daughter Nicole. He is somewhat of a narcissistic character because of his preoccupation with himself and pleasing himself, and his lack of empathy throughout the film for the others in the town. Third is Billy, who loves his two children so much that he follows behind the school bus every day waving at them. Billy is also having an affair with a married woman who owns the town’s only motel. On the exterior the town is an average place with good people just living their lives. But, beneath all the small town simplicity is a web of lies and secrets, some which must be dealt with in the face of this tragedy.
In my opinion, the author Andres Dubus presents two separate plots in his work, “Killings” - Matt’s plot and everyone else’s plot. Throughout the story you see Matt’s emotions and grieving process juxtaposed to his wife’s, his children’s, and his town’s. Of course Matt is distraught over his son’s death, but his wife, Ruth, was emotionally destroyed, his children were livid, and the town was unabashedly enraged: all over the idea that the man who murdered Frank was able to walk freely without any noticeable guilt or remorse. There is also the interesting addition of Mary Anne perceived from Matt’s eyes to be mentioned. He continuously mentally commentates on her appearance; her, “...long brown legs he loved to look at” (paragraph 75), or “wide
Every character in the following short stories have realized something immense, and some choose to ignore the fact or accept it. In “Cons” by Jess Walker, and “Killings” by Andrew DuBus, the characters in them have had major epiphanies which also teach lessons to the people who read them. Each individual character has their own struggles, and they are highlighted in the short story. They have their own subtle, or not so subtle, the realization that leads to a rocky or very certain future—sometimes it’s both.
The major theme of Andre Dubus’ Killing,s is how far someone would go for the person they love. It is important to note the title of the story is killings and not killers, for the reasoning that the story does not just focus on two deaths or two murderers but rather the death of marriage, friendship, youth, and overall, trust.
Evidence of professionalism on the part of the two killers, Al and Max, is that they both wear a uniform? They wear overcoats. that are too tight for them, gloves to prevent finger prints, and Derby hats. This might be for intimidation, to suggest they are. gangsters or something similar, or it could be that they are not so.
Michael Sanders, a Professor at Harvard University, gave a lecture titled “Justice: What’s The Right Thing To Do? The Moral Side of Murder” to nearly a thousand student’s in attendance. The lecture touched on two contrasting philosophies of morality. The first philosophy of morality discussed in the lecture is called Consequentialism. This is the view that "the consequences of one 's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.” (Consequentialism) This type of moral thinking became known as utilitarianism and was formulated by Jeremy Bentham who basically argues that the most moral thing to do is to bring the greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number of people possible.