The Killings Andre Dubus Analysis

Killing” the short story by Andre Dubis was interesting from the beginning to the end. Spoiler it is about to murders but if you look behind the murders it could also be a love story. The loving father Matt is at the funeral of his son. The entire story I was trying to put myself inside of Matt’s shoes and thinking about what I would want for my future children and if someone killed him and the potential I had dreamed of for years that he would achieve. Matt would envision the night his son was killed several times throughout the story and this is just a reminder that Matt wanted his son back in any form in this case it was in memory.

Andre Dubus’s “Killings” travels through the emotions of a couple after their son, Frank, is murdered. It explores the dark side of the people. Matt is a warmhearted and dedicating father. He is the main character of the story.

Matt, on the other hand, was fine with his son’s relationship, though imagined him not to be too serious, as he would soon be going to grad school. As it turned out, Richard, a twenty-six-year-old was upset at the relationship between the younger Frank and Mary Ann, and wanted to get back together with her. Suddenly, one day Richard shoor Frank in his head and chest in the presence of his two kids and Mary Ann and eventually Frank dies. Though Richard was arrested for his doing but is successfully be able to walk out of jail on bail, awaiting for his trail. Main reason why the Richard was able to walk out on bail was first due to calling it an accident and second due to his family supporting his bail.

With that, involved more work hours for Richard, as there were more bills to pay. He got back into contract killing to help, but whenever she was admitted, he would be right there by her side, being the most caring and loving father he could be. “He would cater not only to his daughter, but to all the other children on whatever ward she was housed” (p. 200). “The man who had just blown away Carmine Galante was in the car with his family on the way to Florida singing a Beatles song with his children, not a care in the world” (p. 304). Richard could do the nastiest deeds known to man when killing, but would still be able to come home and act normal.

For hundreds of years, people have used art as a way of portraying strong emotions such as passion, lust and joy. One of the more powerful of these emotions is that of loss, which is often portrayed as a overwhelming and devastating feeling. Various forms of art have different ways of conveying emotions, whether it be through the use of melody in music, with colors in paintings or through the thoughts and actions of characters in literature. Several characters in Andre Dubus’ “Killings” clearly display their feelings of loss in the story through the way they are characterized and the varied reactions that they display each represent a different aspect of grief. The protagonist of the story, the grieving father, Matt, expresses his feelings

Winton creates powerful vivid images in order to convey his ideas through a variety of techniques in his stories. The composer Tim Winton presents us with distinctive images in the stories “Aquifer’ and “Big World” to accentuate the ideas maturity, friendship, guilt and freedom and independence, Throughout the story the protagonist begins to mature and becomes leery and skeptical. The protagonist suffered from guilt his entire life and has been psychologically affected and traumatised by the fact that the protagonist witnessed the death of Alan Mannering..

When you try to flee to avoid problems, they just don't go away. Problems are there when we come back even though we wished they weren't. Therefore, even though Richard tried to escape and attempt to solve his problems by leaving, he was unable to. An attempt to fix things that are broken isn't just done overnight. As seen in "Okahandja Lessons" the main character attempts to fix her confidence about her appearance.

The first event in the book, the house burning down, started off big and was captivating. It shows the eventfulness of Richard Wright’s life, it pulls us in to read more of it, and introduces the characters of his family. The fire that Richard starts defines his personality right away, rebellious and restless. The first quote shows how reckless and dangerous Richard’s curiosity can be, he was interested in seeing how something would look in flames, not anticipating danger nor thinking of the consequences, doing this all because he was bored. Many of the actions he commits can be attributed to those traits shown in this first event.

But in realization he is left with a shocked that he himself is the person who he fears to be left alone with. Also, that he has committed crimes and that they were done by him, himself indicating that he is a murder. In addition to him having dreamt this, he feels scared and wants to depart from there, but he became aware of this that he cannot escape from himself. He then questions himself about his retribution against himself. When Richard explains to himself that he is not safe with himself

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.

For hundreds of years, people have used art as a way of portraying strong emotions such as passion, lust and joy. One of the more powerful of these emotions is that of loss, which is often portrayed as a overwhelming and devastating feeling. Various forms of art have different ways of conveying emotions, whether it be through the use of melody in music, with colors in paintings or through the thoughts and actions of characters in literature. Several characters in Andre Dubus’ “Killings” clearly display their feelings of loss in the story through the way they are characterized and this highlights the devastating power that loss has on those who are forced to experience it. The protagonist of the story, the grieving father of Matt,

“I was learning rapidly how to watch white people, to observe their every move, every fleeting expression, how to interpret what we said and what we left unsaid” (Wright 181). Richard uses his observation of whites to guide himself on how to act and react around white people. For example he must agree with the whites even if he truly disagrees. For example he must agree with the whites even if he truly disagrees. “I answered with false heartiness, falling quickly into that nigger-being-a-good-natured-boy-in-the- presence-of-a-white-man pattern, a pattern into which I could now slide easily” (Wright 234).

In 1987, acclaimed horror author Stephen King published what he referred to as ‘the scariest 310 pages in history.” The book, titled Misery, told the story of novelist Paul Sheldon who gets badly injured in a car accident and is imprisoned by his ‘biggest fan’ Annie Wilkes who had rescued him on the side of the road. For two decades after its publication, Stephen King refused to admit his reasons for publishing the novel. Finally, in 2007, King revealed the true meaning and message of the book; Prescription Drug Addiction. It is clear throughout the novel that Annie Wilkes holding Paul hostage symbolizes King’s past dependence on prescription medications and how desperately he relied on them.

Vengeance has been an ongoing problem for many centuries. In the long run, with the new generation, they have been following the same pattern to get revenge, without knowing the reasons why. If no one is willing to stop and think it over, to evaluate if it’s worth the risk, then the act of vengeance will be ongoing at the cost of many lives. Many people do not realize that having to avenge the death of a loved one will take so much time and patience in their lives. In the short story, “An Act of Vengeance,” by Isabel Allende, the issue involves a young girl who gets raped by Tadeo Cespedes, whom also killed her father on the same day.

Richard Kuklisnsky was born in Jersey city new jersey in the mid’s 1930’s. He was raced in the project as a child, and went through abandonment from his parents. Basically his parent used to careless about him. He was raced in an abusive family; his parent used to maltreat him for any little reason. His father used to beat on his mother, siblings and him as well.