Summary Of Killings By Andre Dubos

From prehistory to 21st century, violence and warfare permeate human existence. Tribes, cities, and nations have pitted their youth against one another in hopes improving their position. However, these Soldiers regularly fall short of maximizing their killing potential. In the book On Killing, Dave Grossman scrupulously examines war throughout recent history; specifically the human element in killing. His thorough assessment of the psychological factors associated with homicide is vitally important to individuals who wish to successfully lead their Soldiers during and after combat. Its ultimate value clearly visible in light of four major facets: the background of the writer, the general points of the book, analysis of essential concepts, and the insight provided.

“Killings” by Andre Dubus tells a story of a family dealing with a tragedy. In 2001 a film of this adaptation brought Dubus’s story to life. In the Bedroom was directed by Todd Field and the movie is near identical to the short story “Killings” written by Dubus. “Killings” is about a mother and father dealing with the violent murder of their son. Dubus takes readers through the events that led up to the killing of the parents’ son, Frank, and the events that led to the killing of the original murderer: Richard. Director Todd Field uses characters, tone, symbolism, and plot to capture the theme of the original short story: seeking revenge can cause the death of two people.

The way the plot of Killings by Andre Dubus is arranged changes how the reader sees the characters in the story. This plot starts out in the present, then goes into the past, then back to the present. There are two main characters, and three secondary characters in this story. The way the reader views all of these characters is affected by the plot arrangement. The two primary characters who are most important to the plot, and also most affected by the plot arrangement, are Matt Fowler and Richard Strout. Because the first thing the reader reads in the exposition of the story is “On the August morning when Matt Fowler buried his youngest son, Frank, who had lived for twenty-one years, eight months, and four days…” pg 93, and not Richard Strout’s backstory and reasoning for his actions, they are immediately persuaded by the author to feel sympathy towards Matt. The author needs the reader to feel this sympathy so that when Matt kills Strout at the climax of the plot, Matt is not viewed as the antagonist of the story, but rather as the protagonist. The author needs the reader to view Strout as the antagonist so that the reader does not dislike Matt, and so that the story is one of justified revenge and not just another murder. If the reader had been presented with the plot in chronological order, with Strout’s backstory and reasoning for killing Frank first, then the reader might almost feel bad for Strout. If seen like this, one might conclude that, while he did not take

“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

mother’s death I can remember everyone who was in the stands that day...” This reference to the narrator’s vivid memory and the detailed depiction of the event shows the gravity of the situation and allows the reader to fully grasp the impact that the accident had on both the protagonist and the narrator. This act of bizarre violence is used masterfully in the author’s recount of his life. It shows how hard it is for a young boy to lose the only parent he ever knew and it also shows how hard it is for a child to be implicated in an event where someone close to the child has been unintentionally killed.

In the Killings, Dubus used foreshadowing throughout the story to show the anger and the grief the family endured after Frank’s murder. Dubus decided to begin the story with Frank’s funeral and the family’s emotions and thoughts about Frank’s murderer, Richard Stout. Dubus showed the intensity of the family’s hatred by adding quotes from the family, such as; “I should kill him.” (1175). The author added several quotes like this, that described and demonstrated the family’s grief. Knowing how the characters felt gave the reader the ability to feel the same grief and hatred, which initially caused a dark and heavy tone throughout the

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.

Andre Dubus’s “Killings” is a very interesting look into the psychology that goes on after a person has been killed. The story discusses the ramifications of the original murder, the subsequent actions of “justice,” and finally what is left when it is all said and done.

A Case of Murder by Vernon Scannel is a poem which deals with a very

Plot is defined as, "the authors arrangement of incidents in a story it is the organizing principle that controls the controls the order of events (Meyer,64)." The element of plot is heavily relied on in the short story, "The Killings" by Andre Dubus. The plot which is completely made inside the imagination of an author (Meyer,64), gives the audience important insight to people, places, and events in the story (Meyer,64) . "The Killings" provides a somewhat conventional plot pattern, where the character is confronted with a problem and is then led into a climax, which late leads to the resolution of the story (Meyer,65). The conventional plot is easy to follow and serves as a basis for movies and other

The major theme of Andre Dubus’ Killings 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.

Someone will always die and they will have a funeral, but can you imagine losing someone close to you? How about you brother? In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” there are many situations when death is among Doodle and his body. James Hurt wrote the story the “Scarlet Ibis” about a boy that was suppose to be a miscarriage and even the doctor said that he would not survive. He lives on with his brother to help him through his adventurous life. The brother is very ashamed that his young brother came to be disabled and he teaches his to walk. All of this James Hurt creates through his writing. Throughout essay there will be multiple ways the author is expression the tone. Through the use of figurative language, imagery, and symbolism, James Hurst creates a Mournful tone in his short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”.

Meyer, Michael. "Killings." The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Ninth ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. 96-108. Print.

In this poem, ‘The Man He Killed’, the poet Thomas Hardy explores a complex theme, which is war, using the simplest language. Throughout this essay I will be discussing the thoughts and opinions Hardy has on war.

Grimm, Jakob and Wilhelm. “Godfather Death.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 12-13.