Surrogate by Robert B. Parker Short Story Analysis

Robert B. Parker wrote a disturbing dark short story called, “Surrogate”. This short story deals with a man who was hired by an ex-con to rape his ex-wife. On behalf of the female victim, Parker has Hawk bring the rapist to meet with the divorced pair. She shoots them both, as Parker lets her, and directs Hawk to dispose of the bodies. The theme of this short story is possessive and obsessive love. This is a recurring theme among Parker's novels but I believe this is the darkest novel using this theme that he has written. 

My view of the world and what I considered to be right and wrong is that all individuals should follow the rules that are in place (like the laws) and that karma exists. The text of this short story agrees mostly with my view of the world and what I considered to represent my beliefs. The first encounter Parker had with her divorced husband Northrop took place in Brenda’s apartment. Northrop started asking Brenda some personal questions and if she enjoyed herself last night (because he knows who is raping her), “ I heard a sudden movement and the sound of a slap and I came around the corner in time to see May holding both Brenda’s wrists down. I shifted my weight slightly onto my left foot, did a small pivot and kicked May in the middle of the back with the bottom of my right foot. He let go of Brenda and sprawled forward face first on the floor” (Parker). This quote relates to the yin and yang symbols. Northrop represents the bad and Parker represents the good. Northrop has no right putting his hands on her when he is already doing a horrible crime to her, and that's why Parker is there to make sure no harm goes her way. That is why Parker is protecting her and is going to give Northrop a huge awakening. One way I agree with the text and not at the same time is this line, “‘It’s an imperfect system,’ I said. ‘Hanson will fall. He’s done time. They’ll mail him right back, express. But Northrop. . . he’s a professor; he’s got money. He might not go. If he does he might get out soon.’”(Parker). The justice system is flawed, many criminals do not get locked away because they have money and good lawyers to get them out of trouble. Sometimes criminals or bad people don’t get what they deserve and that’s what I came to a realization of. 

My views have been challenged throughout this short story. I believe that people who do wrong get consequences. In this instance though, Northrop who is a very wealthy man hired a convict to rape his ex-wife. He can easily not go to prison because of his wealth and his ties to the community. I would be sick to my stomach if my ex-husband didn't go to prison for what he did but what Brenda does next I do not agree with. “The room was quiet again. Brenda closed her eyes, put her palms together, and placed the tips of her pressed fingers against her lips. She stood that way for maybe twenty seconds. Then she went to the sideboard and took a small silver automatic pistol from her purse. Holding the gun in both hands as I’d taught her to a long time ago, she began to shoot” (Parker). I would never kill someone no matter what the individual did, because like my parents said two wrongs don’t make a right. In this instance, even though initially Northrop is in the wrong now Brenda is in the wrong. This is where my view is challenged because I believe Brenda should go to prison, just because her ex-husband was a horrible man doesn’t give her the right to murder two people. 

This short story addresses things that I care about and consider important to the world, as I mention in the second paragraph, the comment about how our justice system is flawed is the truth. I feel we, as citizens should try to fix our justice system so criminals can’t get away with crimes and that innocent people don’t get locked up. This is shown when Brenda and Parker are talking to Northrop. Parker acts as the good/tough guy in this situation, “‘I have killed people before,” I said. “I know-how. I could float you out that window like a paper airplane, right now. You deserve to go. Brenda would swear you jumped mad with remorse. That would even the score. Brenda would be safe. I can’t see any reason not to do it.’ I took a quick step forward, got him by the shirt front, yanked him off the sofa, and spun him toward the window. Then I shifted my grip to the back of his collar and the seat of his pants and ran him toward the window”. This shows that Parker is trying to do the right thing because he knows the justice system won’t give him time. Also, Parker truly cares about Brenda whereas Northrop is just a possessive creep. Hanson admits he doesn’t care, “He doesn’t care about you; he doesn’t even care about himself. Hell, he doesn’t understand the question.” (Parker). Then Brenda turns to Northrop and asks him the same question and he admits to not regretting what he did, “May pressed his clasped hands against his forehead, his body bent forward. His voice was very small. “I’m sorry Brenda. I was crazy. It’s just that I wanted so little. It seemed so little to ask. I guess it drove me a little crazy.” (Parker). All Northrop wanted was total possession, he didn’t care about how Brenda felt. This is how the text serves people who can relate to or have experienced sexual assault. 

Robert B. Parker's short story “Surrogate” is both entertainment and a work of art. The moment any individual reads the first line of this short story are instantly hooked, “Brenda Loring sat in my office with her knees together and her hands clasped in her lap and told me that last night a man had broken into her home and raped her for the second time in two weeks” (Parker). The first line I read is about a female individual holding her knees to her chest talking to another individual that she has been raped. Robert B. Parker did an amazing job with creating this attention-getter for the readers of his book. The next section in this short story that I find entertaining is, “I took a quick step forward, got him by the shirt front, yanked him off the sofa and spun him toward the window. Then I shifted my grip to the back of his collar and the seat of his pants and ran him toward the window” (Parker). Parker threatening to beat up Northrop is captivating. Anything related to fights is fascinating for me, and that is why my favorite sport is hockey. But the way Northrop acts like a weasel so he can not go to jail is entertaining because Northrop won’t make it out of Brenda’s apartment alive. The turning point is the most entertaining section of the whole short story, “The room was quiet again. Brenda closed her eyes, put her palms together, and placed the tips of her pressed fingers against her lips. She stood that way for maybe twenty seconds. Then she went to the sideboard and took a small silver automatic pistol from her purse. Holding the gun in both hands as I’d taught her to a long time ago, she began to shoot. The first two rounds got Northrop in the face. The third shattered the lamp behind him on the end table. The fourth thudded into a big gold pillow in the wing chair and the fifth, after she steadied and aimed, drilled Richie Hanson through the upper lip just below his left nostril. The 25 caliber Colt had made small snapping noises as she fired, like an angry poodle. But in the silence that settled behind the shots, May and Hanson were exactly as dead as if she’d used a bazooka” (Parker). This section is entertaining to me the most because no individual would expect Brenda to pull out a gun and shoot her ex-husband and the convict that was raping her. 

Overall, my reaction to the text was angry, intrigued, and confused. I would read other books written by this author because of the emotion he can relay through a short story I can’t imagine a whole book written by him. I would also read something similar to this book in the future because I love horror/dark books. Ever since I was a little kid I loved watching horror movies with my grandma and mother, because nothing else really piqued my interest. I would recommend this short story to anyone that loves dark books that deal with murders and criminals. Also, this short story is an entertaining piece because it isn’t sparse/boring and the reader's attention is instantly grabbed when reading the first line.