Tuesday was a very
active day when it came to discussion on the readings that we were assigned. I
first want to commend the group that presented for their hard work and ingenuity
to be able to ask the questions that sparked such a grand discussion. I
immediately wanted to post about the discussion but I was unsure of what to
write about. I knew that death was a large part of the discussion whether it
was who to blame or why it happened or how it could have been avoided. I
recently caught myself reading through a fellow students blog and I realized
that Tuesday was focused on murder and how it affected the plot of the story.
But we were never able to focus on murder and how it affected the characters in
the story. I have taken some time to think about and consider some of the
options that could have occurred if we were to look at how murder affected the
characters.
At
the end of the story the family (including the grandmother that seemed to be
the lead of all this mayhem) was maliciously murdered and everyone in class
really reacted to why they were murdered and seemed to forget the fact that
murder is such a large action to take. I am interested to know the motives
behind the Misfit as to why he would murder the whole family, baby and all. I
have taken some time to reflect and I think that one of my comments that I made
in class could be true or maybe I think it is that way because I watch too much
criminal minds, anyways… I have come to think that the Misfit killed the whole
family because he was on the run and times were tough. Not only was he a
fugitive of the law but the grandmother found him out and now he ran the risk
of once again being caught.
My first instinct
was to think what would I do in this situation if I were him? Would I tie them
to a tree considering it is a road off of the beaten path and get away in the
rolled car that could be fixed and hope they didn’t get out? Or do I commit the
ultimate deed and end them. Just thinking those thoughts is gut wrenching to me
and I have no idea how or why anyone would murder anyone. Taking another
persons life seems unfathomable. No matter if the law is after you, murder has
no positives. It may have a short-term benefit but in the end you are taking
the lives of a whole family that otherwise would be on their way to Florida to
enjoy some of those sunny rays. Regardless of his motives and the discussions
in class. I have become curious at not only myself but todays society for how
we read and watch stuff that is so graphic that we just override the fact that
a family was brutally murdered by a serial killer. I hope I have not offended
anyone.
While I do agree that murder is never justified, I think there are some important things that will help everyone understand why The Misfit acts the way he does. Imagine that you woke up one day in jail and couldn’t remember anything from the last few days, yet the government had papers that you committed a murder. At first you don’t believe them, especially because your father told you when you were young you were going to do great things as an adult. Yet, everywhere you turn there is a brick wall. You stuck in a cell for who knows how many days, with nothing to do but think and stare at the walls. Every day you see these walls trapping you from the outside world, and the idea that you’re being accused of committing murder runs through your head constantly. With all these evidence supporting the idea that you murdered someone, and no evidence otherwise, don’t you think you would eventually start to doubt yourself and believe everyone else? In addition, because you’re questioning who you are and what you’ve done, you lack sense of an identity. I believe the Misfit acts the way he does to form a sense of self-identity because when he wakes up in the penitentiary, he has no idea who he is. After consistently being told what he is a murderer, the Misfit starts to assume the identity people told him: “I never was a bad boy that I remember of, but somewhere along the line I done something wrong and got sent to the penitentiary…. I forgot what I done. I set there and set there, trying to remember what it was I done and I aint recalled it to this day…. It wasn’t a mistake. They had the papers on me,” (130). The Misfit conforms to this idea of who he is based on other’s recollections because he wants to have a sense of self-identity and also believe that he is someone important. To question the papers that accuse him of murder would question who he is, and therefore doubt his identity. The Misfit understands murder is against the law, but again he is just trying to fulfil his murderer- identity. In addition, the Misfit also tells the grandma, “I found out that the crime don’t matter. You can do one thing or you can do another… sooner or later you’re going to forget what it was you done and just be punished for it,” (131). According to the Misfit’s logic, it is worse to be punished for a crime that you didn’t commit (innocent and punished), than to be punished for a crime that you did actually commit (guilty and punished). Therefore, according to the Misfit’s reasoning, if punishment is inevitable, might as will commit the crime.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I am not excusing the Misfit from his behavior and the crimes he commits. Rather, I am just trying to explain my theory as to why he acts the way he does. While I do believe the Misfit has his own set of morals, I do not believe he is a moral man. In the end, I think he is a selfish man who kills others just to fulfill his own morals and have a sense of self-identity.