Adam DeBortoli's Response to "Killings"

Analytical Response

c. Write a short story review (250 words--one page) as if you were writing this for the school newspaper. What was good/bad about it? What was its message? Compare it to other stories. Where was the moment(s) of grace?

Andre Dubus combines the aspects of violence, grace and anger with a masterful writing style by using powerful metaphors to enrich the characters lives as well as the message he is trying to get across. In his story, “Killings,” Matt, who is the main character, faces a difficult decision of seeking revenge on the man who killed his son Frank. The murderer of Frank, Strout, may be argued to have been justified in killing Frank, since Frank was seeing Strout’s wife, Mary- Ann, or he may not depending on your values and beliefs. Ultimately Matt, along with his friend Willis, plan a cold blooded revenge in trying to seek justice, in their eyes, for the wrongful murder of Frank.

However, Matt has several moments of grace where he could have thought out what he was about to do and maybe stop himself from killing Strout. For instance, there is a scene when Matt is in Strout’s apartment and sees a picture of Strout with his wife and kids smiling happily. He realizes while he is holding the revolver, that he would be destroying “the circles of love.” Instead of stopping to think about this some more, he continues on with his plan rejecting this moment of grace.

This story was effective at making one search more in life for moments of grace especially when one is about to do something evil. The main character in this story reminded me of another of Dubus’s characters by the name of Harry from “If They Knew Yvonne.” Towards the beginning of that story, Harry kept committing the serious sin of masturbation despite several moments of grace just like Matt. The message is clear in both of these stories and that is to keep an eye out for grace because it comes in many different forms.

Overall, “Killings” is an excellent story with a powerful plot that is simple yet full of deep meaning throughout. The only negative of it is that at certain points the story was a bit dense. I think that the story would have been better if it was all narrative in the events that happen between Matt and Strout.