English 201
"Killings" by Andre Dubus, Reader Response Analysis
"Killings," by Andre Dubus, is a short story published in 1971. The story takes place in Massachusetts and begins at the graveyard where Matt Fowler, along with his wife Ruth and older son Steve, has just buried his younger son Frank, who was only 21. The killer Richard Strout, not yet prosecuted, has been released on bond, which keeps the Fowler family constantly on the edge. The murder of Matt's son, Frank, has taken the biggest toll on him. It's quite obvious that Matt is constantly thinking about Frank, Mary-Ann, Richard, and everybody involved. He carries a gun just in case he were to ever come face to face with the killer. The symbol seems to be the look in the eyes of the characters, which give an idea of the emotion portrayed. Frank expresses hatred for Richard, and wishes death upon him, through using that very symbol, "He wished those eyes were oblivious, even cold... and between his listless wandering, everyday in his soul he shot Richard Strout in the face."
Matt considers murdering Richard, to bring a sense of closure to the Fowler family. Ruth possibly sensed this "closure" coming when Matt left the house with Willis to go to the bar, "When Ruth said goodnight she looked at his face, and he felt she could see in his eyes the gun, and that this was the night he was going to." Matt's frustration, and confusion eventually take over him, and he pulls the trigger. Richard shows no emotion, or sympathy for the Fowler family. Leading up to his death, Richard does not want to come across as weak, but it is obvious he is hinting for his life to be spared. When they reach the vacant lot, looking at the forest ahead Richard asserts, "I'll do twenty years Mr. Fowler, at least." After an attempted escape, Matt fires the gun, shooting Richard in the head. Returning to the hole Willis and Fowler had dug up earlier, they place Richards body inside.
I feel as if there is a lot of symbolism going on during the whole part leading up to Richard being murdered. When Richard is driving passed the beach to get Matt to his destination, there is a sense of innocence, and calmness, in all of this havoc, "Matt could hear through his open window the water rushing inland... he saw its swift moonlit current... and shallow pools reflecting the moonlight." It gives a sense of a warning, that Matt can turn back now. There is an immediate sense of guilt after the murder, and upon returning home Fowler sees several images in his mind. He just killed Richard, and what would happen to his new lover that he saw in the family portrait? It didn't feel like revenge to him, instead it left a gut-wrenching and empty feeling. And with the seasons passing, the memory still haunts him and will continue to haunt him forever.
Kristyn,
ReplyDelete“Story takes place” = “story is set” ☺
“begins at the graveyard” = “introduces main conflict” or “gives way to rising action” (just some suggestions for literary terminology)
When you write, “It's quite obvious that Matt is constantly thinking about Frank, Mary-Ann, Richard, and everybody involved” the average reader doesn’t yet know the motivation for the murder (and thus who Mary-Ann is). Include that in the summary so it’s easy to follow.
Not sure what you mean here: “The symbol seems to be the look in the eyes of the characters, which give an idea of the emotion portrayed.” The eyes are a symbol? Of what? You go on to say, “Frank expresses hatred for Richard, and wishes death upon him, through using that very symbol, "He wished those eyeswere oblivious, even cold... and between his listless wandering, everyday in his soul he shot Richard Strout in the face." This clarifies that you see the eyes as symbolic, but again, of what? This section in general needs some work –we definitely need to know what abstract idea/sensation, etc. the concrete “eye(s)” represent.
“Matt considers murdering Richard, to bring a sense of closure to the Fowler family.” Is this an internal conflict? The story’s main conflict? Identify as such if so.
“When Ruth said goodnight she looked at his face, and he felt she could see in his eyes the gun, and that this was the night he was going to." Matt's frustration, and confusion eventually take over him, and he pulls the trigger. Richard shows no emotion, or sympathy for the Fowler family. Leading up to his death, Richard does not want to come across as weak, but it is obvious he is hinting for his life to be spared.” This paragraph purports to be about Matt but then switches to Richard. Separate these – Matt’s decision/conclusion to internal conflict and Richard’s lack of sympathy. Try a paragraph for each.
“I feel as if there is a lot of symbolism going on during the whole part leading up to Richard being murdered.” This is an example of using first person for analysis (rather than something actually personal). Try: “A lot of symbolism is evident . . .”
"Matt could hear through his open window the water rushing inland... he saw its swift moonlit current... and shallow pools reflecting the moonlight." It gives a sense of a warning, that Matt can turn back now. Good point here, nicely observed. You might point out this is also visual and auditory imagery. You’d need to explain WHY this symbolizes the chance for Matt to turn back, though. You go on to say, “There is an immediate sense of guilt after the murder, and upon returning home Fowler sees several images in his mind.” What are these images? If they are rougher/darker/violent, then you can compare the change in imagery (calm water to something else), claiming that the shift in imagery symbolizes Matt’s navigation of his internal conflict.
So far, you’ve got some interesting possibilities for analysis – a lot that you can do here with symbolism and imagery. That said, I don’t get a sense that this skews New Critical or Reader Response at this point as one can deal with symbolism and/or imagery using both. I think you’ll want to make your choice clear early on, even if it’s just beginning with a stock statement like: “A New Critical analysis of Andre Dubus’s “Killings” reveals that . . .”
Hope this proves useful!
A
Yes, it definitely did help! Thank you so much for the tips, especially the literary terminology. I will apply these on the essay for sure.
ReplyDeleteI actually forgot to mention the examples for “The symbol seems to be the look in the eyes of the characters, which give an idea of the emotion portrayed.” The author mentioned the look in each of the characters eyes at least once, and the look in the eyes showed emotion, and give the reader an idea of what was coming next. I'll go back and pull out more examples and describe the symbols and imagery throughout the story and explain them a little better. I think my blog post summary heavy, too and I need to spend more time with the symbolism.
Thank you again!!