Killing Cleanses and Contaminates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Killing Cleanses and Contaminates - Essay Example Killing contaminates the killer because it is an immoral and irretrievable act. Killing is immoral because it is not easy to justify the act of taking another person’s life. After Frank is brutally murdered, Matt feels more vulnerable, especially when he sees his wife suffering, since the killer, Richard, freely roams around the town. He confides in Willis and tells him that â€Å"she sees him all time. It makes her cry† (Dubus). Willis helps Matt plan the murder of Richard. Together, they justify murder based on the nature and past of Richard. Ruth says: â€Å"Dubus invites his readers to ponder the disparity between people’s ethical responsibility to society and the primal urge to protect and avenge their loved ones† (2). Dubus, nevertheless, indicates that killing the killer is not always a moral choice, because it still means that one forcefully takes another person’s life. ... His murders surpass what Matt did because he orders the murder of two children and a baby, as well as their mother and father. In fact, he executes a massacre to replenish his resources, as he runs from the law. In addition, killing is an irretrievable act with permanent consequences. Matt already performs an illegal and immoral act that will hunt his conscience for life. He will feel guilty, even when he can justify his actions. The Misfit has ruined the future of a family. Bailey, his wife, and their children will no longer live and share each other’s dreams and frustrations in life. Like Richard, they are all also buried away somewhere, with no one to cry for them and pay respect to their deaths. These stories, however, imply the possibility that killing also purifies the killers and their victims. Killing results in a â€Å"revised moral awareness† of the main characters, although with some differences (Bonney 347). Matt feels redemption as a man. He may not have be en able to protect Frank from Richard, but he has defended his wife from Richard’s intrusion on their peace of mind and happiness. Though Matt is tarnished and broken after killing another human being, he is also cleansed from the guilt of not being able to entirely protect his family, especially when he is the â€Å"fearful father† (Dubus) type. The killing also cleanses the Misfit, because, for some reason, he receives the grace of understanding that his life is meaningless. Initially, he blames everyone else for his crappy life, since he says that he calls himself the Misfit because: â€Å"I can't make what all I did wrong fit what all I went through in punishment† (O’Connor). But his short conversation with the grandmother reveals that he is not a good man. He recounts some of his crimes and