Killings by Andre Dubus Short Story Analysis

📌Category: Literature
📌Words: 1127
📌Pages: 5
📌Published: 17 March 2022

Throughout the story and film version of Andre Dubus’s Killings, you see Matt Fowler encountering different hardships after the death of his son that eventually pushes him to his decision to kill Richard Strout. The story takes place in a small town on the coast of Maine. Mrs. and Mr. Fowler's son Frank is in a relationship with a woman named Natalie who is technically married. Natalie's Husband Richard Strout is very jealous and angry and he ends up murdering Frank. After Frank's death, things just keep getting worse for the Fowlers and their lives continue falling apart. Matt Fowler gets so low that he feels he must kill Richard Strout. The details of the story like the location, the Strout's position in their society, and the circumstances of the case all serve to pressure Matt's longing to finally fulfill the obligation he feels to his family and his son.  

The lack of evidence gathered against Richard and the failure of Natalies testimony made it almost impossible to convict Richard in a way that would put any kind of peace in the Fowler's minds. Originally the Fowlers are convinced that Richard will quickly go to trial and be put away for a long time, but everything quickly falls apart. At the first trial, Natalie makes a mistake that basically destroys her credibility as a reliable witness of the murder. She originally tells the police that she saw Richard shoot Frank Fowler, but in the trial, she reveals that she only heard the shot. After the trial, the fowlers question their lawyer about what damage this could cause to the case. The lawyer reveals that he may only end up being charged with manslaughter and could do as little as five years (54:51). This sends Ruth into more despair than she already was drowning in. The anger and blame that she goes through alarms Matt and he feels he has to do something. Later, he goes and talks with the lawyer begging “it can't be manslaughter there's gotta be something can't you find something you know like some piece of evidence”? The lawyer responds honestly explaining that the only credible witness of the incident is Strout and “he claims that there was a struggle, forensics can't determine if there was a struggle because of the condition of the house when Frank got there” (1:21:57). This occurrence was definitely one of the moments that pushed Matt to action. He gets so angry as the lawyer tells him to sit tight and do nothing, it definitely is a turning point. If Natalie had witnessed the murder and Richard had been convicted Matt Fowler would not have been able to kill him even if he still wanted to. 

 Not only do the Fowlers have to live knowing that Richard Strout Roams free, but the fact that they have to see him living his life pushes Mrs. Fowler over the edge. The proximity and tight quarters of the small town on the coast of Main where the Fowlers live serve as a constant reminder of their loss and put them in a tortuous living situation. Just knowing that the murderer of their son is out and about is enough to haunt them, but the fact that Mrs. Fowler has to run into him when she's barely able to get through her days pushes Richard to action. Mrs. Fowler “sees him. She sees him too much. She was at Sunnyhurst today getting cigarettes and aspirin, and there he was. She can’t even go out for cigarettes and aspirin. It’s killing her”(pg1). Richard's presence is still so looming in their lives, he was everywhere and it must have felt as if they had no escape. Maybe if they lived somewhere where everyone did not know everyone and you would never see him while you were at the grocery store they would not have noticed how he was able to go on with his life after destroying theirs. Matt had to watch the Strout and Son trucks drive by and see Strout signs plastered all around town. The Fowlers had “ grown up in this town whose streets had become places of apprehension and pain ”(pg 8). They had to see his life with his new girlfriend, hear people's opinions, and face the fact that there was not any legal way to erase his haunting presence from their lives. Matt sees what this was doing to his wife and he does not feel that he can let Richard maintain this hold on their lives any longer.  

The Strouts are a very influential and rich family which deters people from siding against Richard and makes it easy for him to continue with his life as if nothing has happened. Matt is forced to think of Richard “every day since he got out. I didn’t think about bail. I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about him for years”(pg1). Richard posted bail, got a job through a friend, got a new girlfriend, and goes on with his life. The Strout Families' financial situation “makes it easy for them to put up a substantial amount of property as bail. That along with his ties to the community make it very hard for us to convince a judge that there was a serious risk of flight”(53:02). Everyone in town knows the Strouts and their business is integral to the town and they are well known and well-liked. The unfairness of the situation and the realization that they have to survive knowing their son died and the man who was responsible was facing barely any consequences is agonizing. The Fowlers never even really had a chance to fight legally against him. No one was convinced that the death of their son was anything but an accident and the power of the Strout family must have made the Fowlers feel so defenseless. That sort of loss with no satisfaction or a sense of hope for a future without fear evokes a sense of duty in Matt Fowler to defend his family. He can only see a pause in their misery by killing his son's murderer, so that is what he does. 

Every detail of this story is carefully crafted to push Matt fowler to his final straw until his anger and despair are so built up that he feels he has to murder Richard. If Strout had been in jail Matt fowler wouldn't have been able to kill him and he might not have felt pressured to. He felt this duty to get rid of Richards's looming presence for his wife and his son. Maybe even if Strout was not in jail and they didn't live in such a shoebox of a town where they are forced to run into him every day; they could have survived without killing him. If Richard had been locked up in jail all of these different occurrences that drive Matt over the edge would not have happened. Maybe the Fowlers would have been able to feel peace knowing Richard was paying in some way for killing their son. But instead, he was living his life as if he had not committed this horrible act. Matt Fowler does what he feels is necessary for his and his wife's mental survival.

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