The Themes Of Revenge In The Round House

The Round House is a book frequently portrayed as the tale of an emotional quest for justice led by the son of an assault victim. However, there is evidence throughout the book that represents an alternative causation for the ultimate assassination of his mother’s attacker and that motivation is revenge. It is revenge partly in the name of his mother, but it is also on behalf of Joe’s new inconvenient lifestyle.
Thirteen is an arduous age. It is the average age in which one begins to explore their own sense of self, to challenge the lessons taught by their elders and to navigate and experiment with their newfound sexuality. Joe is no exception to this, however the way in which he approaches this delicate period is abruptly altered following

Father Travis informs Joe of the “Sins Crying Out to Heaven for Vengeance” and the different types of evil. He implies that moral evil is something that we can “do something about.” (Page 253) Mooshum further confirms to Joe that personal revenge is the correct path by inadvertently murmuring the story of Akii in his sleep. In the tale Nanapush’s mother is believed by her husband to be possessed by the “wiindigoo,” an evil spirit that transforms a human being into an animal and “see fellow humans as prey meat.” (Page 180) The only option when facing a windigoo was to “kill it right away.” Motivated by misdirected hurt and not malice, Joe receives confirmation from spiritual fables that build a foundation for his eventual revenge. He is free in the interim to explore the harsh ramifications of the sexualization of women and the power that men have over women by using their bodies against them. This is a lesson assumedly taught by what happened to Geraldine, but more clearly punctuated in Joe’s actions toward his aunt

His aunt, Sonja, took a maternal interest in Joe while his mother was subdued. Joe trusted Sonja enough to share with her his discovery of the $40,000 found in Mayla’s daughter’s doll. Despite this, Joe still views her first and foremost as an object of lust. When she decides to gift Mooshum with a lap dance to commemorate his 112th birthday, Joe arrives and refuses to leave despite Sonja requesting him to do so. Consumed by his desire and envy, Joe blackmails her; “You’re gonna let me stay. Because if you don’t, I’ll tell Whitey about the money.” (Page 217) Mooshum protests that Joe is a “good boy” despite his blatant mistreatment of his aunt. It isn’t until Sonja is finished dancing that Joe begins to feel the smallest shred of remorse surrounding his cruel actions. He begins to cry, and it is unclear if he is crying because he is in trouble, or if he is crying because he truly feels guilt. Sonja addresses this, “Cry all you want, Joe. Lots of men cry after they do something nasty to women. I don’t have a daughter anymore. I thought of you like my son. But you just turned into another piece of shit guy. Another gimme-gimme asshole, Joe, that’s all you are.” (Page