Tell them not to kill me! Analytic Writing Tell them not to kill me!, by Juan Rulfo, is a compelling work of fiction that addresses mainly selfishness and the realities of a self-centered life, as well as highlighting the importance of empathy. Many scenes in this short story portray the theme of selfishness, but few show it better than the very first scene in which Juan Rulfo describes the protagonist, Juvencio, begging his son, Justino, to put himself in harm's way to save Juvencio’s life. Juvencio does this without giving any thought to the safety of his son or his son's family. There are also quite a few scenes in this story that explore the theme of empathy. One of the scenes that shows this best is when Juvencio talks about the crime …show more content…
Throughout the story, Juvencio seems very selfish. He never cares about anyone besides himself and what happens to him, which causes him many problems with those who care about him. His selfishness creates a divide between him and his family. This is shown in the first few paragraphs of the story, “‘All right, I'll go. But if they decide to shoot me too, who will take care of my wife and kids?’ ‘Providence will take care of them. You go now and see what you can do for me. That's what matters.’” Even this early on in the story, Juan Rulfo shows the reader how self-centered Juvencio is, that he would tell his son to endanger his life to save Juvencio’s own life. Juvencio states to Justino that saving him matters more than the safety of Justino or his family. Juan Rulfo also shows that Juvencio’s selfishness makes his son less ready to help him by describing Justino having an inner conflict about whether to take the risk of helping his father. Justino almost doesn’t help his father, showing that he is losing empathy for his father as a result of Juvencio’s selfishness and self-centered lifestyle. Juan Rulfo uses this scene to illustrate his theme related to selfishness. There are also a few examples of Juvencio’s lack of empathy in this story, including the scene in which Juvencio talks about his crime, showing a total lack of caring for any other human …show more content…
After having a conversation with the man who brutally attacked his father and left him to suffer, Don Lupe’s son takes pity on Juvencio and tells his men to kill Juvencio quickly. Juan Rulfo describes this merciful action in the passage, “There he was, as if they'd beaten him, waving his hat against the ground. Shouting. Immediately, the voice from inside said, ‘Tie him up and give him something to drink until he gets drunk so the shots won't hurt him.’” In this scene, Juan Rulfo shows that the son, even after reliving the story of how Juvencio murdered his father, still has a certain amount of empathy for Juvencio, though it is clear that Juvencio felt no empathy for Don Lupe. The son still orders his men to kill Juvencio quickly and to get him drunk, unlike when Juvencio killed Don Lupe and left him to suffer for two days. This demonstrates that Don Lupe’s son is still a compassionate person, even when dealing with the man who murdered his father. Juan Rulfo uses this scene to show the empathetic nature of Don Lupe’s son and the fact that every main character in the story, except for Juvencio, exhibits
Despite the efforts of the community to make the ranch feel like home, Josey struggles with this transition. It is too similar to the life he once had. Josey tries to adjust to this community, however, he is reminded of his family and his untimate pursit of vengeance agaist the men who killed his family. Josey recognizes that this ranch is a symbol of a new life, but in order to enjoy this he must first take of what is important to him. Josey is a wanted man and the longer he lingers around this community without killing off those men after him, he puts their life in danger. This is one of many honorable acts of Josey. He knows that he man not live on to see the further development of his new community, but he is still willing to fight for the sake of avenging his family and saving their lives.
In “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of the Amontillado’ Montresor and the unknown narrator are both murders through their confessions they reveal both their similarities and differences. The unknown narrator is trying to convince the auditor of his sanity while Montresor is attempting to convince the auditor of justifiable revenge. It is through these confessions they are trying to convince the auditor of their humanity and of their innocence through the justification of these horrible acts (Dern 53).
Courage and determination directed by passion make Junior a very admirable character. By sympathizing with Junior, the reader feels that Junior is inspiring. An early example of when the reader pitied Junior was when his dog Oscar was shot, who Junior considered to be “a better person than any human [he] had ever known” (Alexie, 9). Oscar had been sick, and since Junior’s family did not have enough money to care for him, Oscar was euthanized. Furthermore, Junior felt defeated, saying, “A bullet only costs about two cents, and anybody can afford that” (Alexie, 14). Everyone, especially poor people, can be plagued with death and despair. From the very beginning of the story, where the reader learns that Junior had a brain disability to the dreadful way he experienced poverty, the reader sympathizes with him because they are truly sorry for him. The reader wants him to succeed, to grow, and, above all, to inspire the readers themselves. Junior becomes a hero to the reader for soaring above what his life entailed for him.
Vengeance and pride are fundamentally important to this short story. From the inception of the tale it is clear that the narrator is a proud, vindictive man; opening with, “the thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge,” the narrator immediately alerts the reader to the dark aspects of his own character. Because “insult” and not “the thousand injuries” caused the narrator to “vow” revenge, the reader can infer Montresor is prideful because, although he already had conflict with Fortunato, insult was what made the tense situation unbearable for Montresor––so much so that he vowed to take action. Use of the word “vow” is significant because it indicates that the grievance was meaningful in the mind of Montresor, allowing for the reader to more easily identify with the actions to be revealed throughout the course of the story; if the reader believes that Montresor was provoked in a profound way, ...
...tion and possible justification of the narrator’s crime, the dramatic impact of the short story is intensified. As the story unfold the narrator makes several attempts to change the point of view from “I - the criminal” to “I – the nervous storyteller” and detach himself from the events of the story inviting the readers to become witnesses and accomplices. In the story close connection between the choice of language, tone, symbolism and the mental state of the narrator is traced. Vivid descriptions of visual and aural perception of the narrator, which are reflected in the story’ symbolism, amplify the dramatic effect. In the circumstances the pulsation of the heart becomes the only tangible component of the narrative giving the pulsation to the whole text and leading to the revelation. The story ends abruptly intensifying the impression of the account of a madman.
The value of human life is confronted by the theme of suicide. The man carries a pistol with two bullets, not for defense but to end their lives if they are captured. The man considers suicide as an option for escape, as the vol...
These imply Montresor’s the whole family is filled with acts of revenge. These also illustrate self-esteem or pride hold a critical role in the family that they do not accept anyone try to injure them. If someone does so, they will use their own method to punish their wrongdoings, which they at least find a way to release their discontented against such behavior. Montresor also considers this action as an insult because he perceives that he is not being respect and look down by Fortunato. This is because Montresor is a poor man compared to Fortunato who can afford to buy the entire shipment of Amontilado. Therefore, Montresor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (331). This shows Montresor family’s coat of arms and motto can be the key that leads him wants revenge for being insulted by Fortunato. Since no one is able to clear up the internal injuries that have been in his heart for a while, he deems he should take the risk and punishes Fortunato by himself. In some way, he may think that he helps the society to cut weeds and eliminate the roots by killing all the loose end or
...all want to believe that the crime was truly “foretold”, and that nothing could have been done to change that, each one of the characters share in a part of Santiago Nasar’s death. Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes about the true selfishness and ignorance that people have today. Everyone waits for someone else to step in and take the lead so something dreadful can be prevented or stopped. What people still do not notice is that if everyone was to stand back and wait for others, who is going to be the one who decides to do something? People don’t care who gets hurt, as long as it’s not themselves, like Angela Vicario, while other try to reassure themselves by thinking that they did all that they could, like Colonel Lazaro Aponte and Clotilde Armenta. And finally, some people try to fight for something necessary, but lose track of what they set out for in the first place.
Tell them not to kill me!, by Juan Rulfo, is an interesting work of fiction that addresses mainly selfishness and the realities of a self-centered life, and empathy. (Transition, have to text friend.) Many scenes in this short story portray this theme of selfishness, but few show it better than the very first scene in which Juan Rulfo describes the protagonist, Juvencio, begging his son, Justino, to put himself in harm's way to save his own life, with no thoughts of the safety of his son or his son's family. There are also quite a few scenes in this story that portray the theme of empathy. One of the scenes that shows this best is when Juvencio thinks about the crime he committed, and shows how much of a lack of empathy he feels for any human life other than his own.
In Andre Dubus’ short story “Killings,” the character Frank Fowler is violently murdered by his girlfriend’s ex-husband. Numerous readers agree that Richard Strout’s death is the result of revenge; however, Frank’s death is rarely examined. Even though his death is the pivotal point that swings the rest of the story into action, his demise is often overlooked because Richard’s death is so prominently analyzed, calculated, and questioned. So what is the origin of Frank’s murder? Although there are numerous reasons why Frank is killed, one apparent cause is his love for Mary Ann. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross from Tim O’Brien’s story, “The Things They Carried,” can certainly attest that the love of a woman is a powerful and blinding emotion. An emotion
Every character in this play is driven by desire. Lord Nicia desires a son, and Callimaco has a strong desire for Lucrezia. Even Siro desires something: to please his Master. In order to obtain what they want, they stop at nothing. They take the necessary actions to ensure that they will get what they want. Friar Timoteo justifies the actions of his character by saying, “I console myself with this: when something matters to a lot of people, a lot of people take care” (Machiavelli 105). Machiavelli makes the point that human beings possess some level of self-interest as motivation for all their actions. Machiavelli stops at nothing to prove this point. He uses extreme examples like killing a lover and paying a priest to show the audience that humans stop at absolutely nothing to get what they really want. The motives of each character guides them throughout the play. Lucrezia appeared to be the only “innocent” character up until the end of the play. Once she gets a taste of what it is like to have a young lover, she establishes a relationship with Callimaco. Machiavelli reveals a scary truth; at the core, humans are self-interested. Machiavelli reveals that all actions evoke a certain feeling from its source. This means that it is not possible for an act to truly be deemed “selfless” because all acts bring some sense of gratification to the person performing them (Bondanella).
...oke about is the consequence of a man gone insane. He truly wanted to kill Fortunato but in a way that wouldn’t leave blood on his hands, so he cemented him into a small corner of the wine cellar. It was an evil act that displayed the ugly face of revenge.
Because Montresor narrates the story in the first person, the reader is able to perceive his thoughts and understand his motivations and justifications for his ruthless murder in a manner which a third person point of view would not allow. Montresor’s personal narration of the events of the story does not justify his crime in the audience’s eyes, but it does offer a unique opportunity for the audience to view a murder from the perspective of a madman killer. It is Poe’s usage of this unique angle that causes the story to be so captivating and gruesomely fascinating. As the story opens, Montresor explains why it is necessary that he “not only punish but punish with impunity” to avenge for Fortunado’s insult to him. This justification for his crime is a piece of information that the audience is able to learn only because they are permitted inside the mind of the protagonist. In the final scene, when Montresor is carrying out his murder pl...
These lines provide the foundation for Hieronimo to seek out revenge instead of allowing the courts to decide the fates of the murderers of his son. Hieronimo is clearly angry and infuriated that the murderers have yet to be discovered. This is the moment ...
In Conclusion, Lulu’s revenge, John Paul’s guilt, and Denny’s lust represents monstrous behavior. This story shows us that all humans are capable of monstrous behavior. Robert Cormier shares the perspective of a killer. Its take us on a journey through the characters’ eyes and shows us that even the innocent can be dangerous and how one event can negatively impact a person’s life.