"Killings" by Andre Dubus

 My reflections on “Killings” by Andre Dubus

     While reading the story, “Killings,” I was reminded of abuse cases I have seen before on television or heard about. It is the typical story of ex-guy gets mad at the new boyfriend and wants to beat him up when he dates the girl friend. Except in this story, the new boyfriend is murdered and the family takes revenge. It was an interesting read and I often identified with the fears the father spoke about concerning child hood accidents and wanting to keep his children safe. No parent ever wants their child to be hurt and the worry doesn’t stop once children grow into adulthood. The story has both a tragic beginning and ending with flashbacks of happier times.

    Ruth, the mom character, had concerns about the new girl friend in the beginning of the relationship that her son has with a woman who has been previously married with children. Maybe she had an idea of the trouble/baggage that the new girlfriend brought with her. Ruth seems like a very caring mother who is devastated by the murder of her son.

     The inner feelings of the father in the story could be how many parents of murdered children feel. As Matt, the father, remembers the child his son was and happier times with his dead son, it seems to fuel the fire that causes the premeditated murder of his son’s killer. The torture and sadness his wife Ruth faces also adds to the decision to murder their son’s killer. The friends in the story fuel the fire as well when they discuss how the time people actually spend in prison also. The father seems tortured at the end of the story with his decision to murder their son’s killer, but his wife seems to want him to do it.