Fiction

Andre Dubus’ “Killings”

Andre Dubus was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1936 but lived most of his life in Massachusetts. He later passed away some time in 1999. Most of Dubus’ stories take place in Massachusetts north of Boston. The well-known author has won multiple awards for his wide collection of fiction. I would like to focus on “Killings”, his story of revenge, loss and consequences. A jealous husband enraged by the fact of his estranged wife is starting a new relationship, does the unthinkable and kills the man she’s dating. As a result the victim’s father plots retaliation and kills his son’s murderer.

My first response to this story was I noticed how Dubus described every single thing that was going on. From the people walking on the street to different smells in the air. This author wanted readers to feel as if the were actually there with the characters. The title “Killings” is very appropriate for the story. After reading the story you find out why. This title reflects both killings, Frank and Robert’s. If it were “Killers” instead one would believe that he plot would have more emphasis on the individuals doing the killing rather that the murder itself.

When it comes to Matt’s act of revenge, he did what most people only think about. I feel as if he should’ve just let Robert face his jail sentence, but at the same time, when a person does harm to your children, a first reaction would be retaliating against them. Especially when you see that individual almost on a regular basis. While reading the story I believe I felt the same emotions as the character Matt. First, I felt sadness, the fact that his son had been murdered over a woman, and having to attend his funeral. Than having to mourn his loss and while dong so you have to see the face of the man who took your son Frank’s life. This causes rage, the rage that leads to Matt coming up with a plan to fix the problem for good.

Let’s focus on the orderly structure of the story. I believe the effects Andre Dubus’ ordering of events added suspense, it also somewhat confuses readers at first. It started with the middle of the story, the fowler family attending Frank’s funeral. Then the beginning, Frank’s relationship with Mary Ann and his encounters with Robert. Last part being the ending Matt killing Robert. If the story were told in chronological order it would have been easier to catch on to who was who and who did what. But it would have taken away the suspense and I don’t think it would have held my attention for very long.

Prior to Frank’s murder, I would say the Fowler family was very close and loving. I would guess that Matt and Frank were very close and Frank’s death made Matt somewhat unstable. He took the death of his son extremely hard. The description of Robert shooting Frank was horrific. The thought of him murdering someone in front of his own children and simply walking out after firing three shots to leave and go home to wait for the authorities, shows that at the time of the shooting he obviously wasn’t in his right frame of mind. After reading paragraph thirty-two, we learned that at one point Richard Strout was an okay guy. He was a high school athlete who had earned a football scholarship to the University of Massachusetts. Strout got through two semesters at the University but his poor grades caused him not to return. He had an opportunity to learn the construction business like his other siblings but decided to be a bartender and alcoholic instead. Knowing this information about him leads me to conclude that