Justifying Trauma

"A Drowning Incident" by C.J. McCarthy was such a sad story! I loved the fact that the story was based around a child. I babysit little boys all the time and I can see so many connections between the main character and my kids; I can see their little minds at work and it fascinated me!

As the story progresses we learn more and more about the main character; we gain insight into his character and the things in his life that have shaped his behavior. In the opening paragraph, it is revealed through a description of his actions that the boy is being disobedient and mischievous; typical little boy stuff, right? Depth is added to his background once we learn of the removal of the boy's puppies. He obviously deeply feels the loss or else he would not keep visiting the outhouse to remember them. His torture of the crickets and minnows made me wonder if he was not taking out his anger over losing his pets out on creatures who were helpless compared to himself.

To me, the description of the floating puppies was not only disgusting and graphic, but also heart-wrenching! I love both dogs and children, so it made me sad for both parties involved; I hated that the puppies were dead but I also couldn't imagine the agony that the child must have felt! If this had happened in real life, I'm sure the words of the author would not even touch the surface of the pain felt by the child. I believe that the action of him placing the dead puppy in the crib with his baby sister stemmed from a sense of responsibility and a need to make things right. The birth of the baby was probably the reason that the boy was not allowed to keep his little pups and this would explain the grudge and ill-will that he held against her. One thing that greatly stuck out to me was the manner in which the narrator described the baby's room: it was very similar to the way that the puppy's outhouse was described. Even though the death of the puppies was neither the boy's fault nor the baby's fault, the little boy associates not being able to keep the dogs with the existance of the baby and his retaliation is a feeble attempt to rectify the drowning of the innocent pups.

180 degrees

"Saboteur" by Ha Jin contained a great deal of irony, not only on a literary level, but also on a person level for the author. In the story, the Chinese authorities hault Mr. Chiu's life for a few days by detaining him on false accusations; this is, in a sense, a reflection of how the Communist Party's suppression of intellectuals forced Jin to remain in the U.S. instead of returning to his homeland. The major truth that is conveyed through this work displays itself in society as well: when good people fail to act, corruption thrives. However, corruption does not merely thrive, it expands, often infecting the very individuals who initially disdained it the most.

A couple important questions to ask are: why do those who are oppressed often become those who oppress? And also, do revenge-seeking individuals always become irrational in their thinking and harm people other than their intended targets? Personally I am baffled by the first instance. Why people who have been treated unfairly would purposefully inflict such torture on others makes no sense whatsoever to me. I would think that those individuals would be empathetic towards similar situations and try their hardest to make sure no one else has to experience what they themselves have had to endure. The second question presents more of a problem due to variables in the situations. I think that revenge, if fostered, encompasses every aspect of an individual; it controls their mind, their emotions and drives their actions. The hatred that grows within blinds the individual to everyone and everything except the object of his/her disdain. There are not always casualties but the opportunity defintely presents itself and is, I am sure, often overlooked because of the intense need to satisfy one's thirst for revenge.

The sad fact is that good people can easily lose sight of what is pure and can become corrupt without even realizing that the awful transformation is occuring. And, just like Mr. Chiu, their attempt to take revenge on unjustice winds up hurting innocent people instead.