Analysis Of Devil In A Blue Dress Essay

In books, the reader is generally left with a succinct ending including details about the plot and leaves the audience to decide whether or not they personally believe the protagonist achieved a goal or completed the task at hand. In Devil in a Blue Dress, Easy, the protagonist, begins with a goal of “paying [his] mortgage” so that people didn’t view him as “another poor beggar” (Mosley 53). In The Good Thief, Ren, the main character, is asked what the one thing he wants most in the world and he replies with “A family” because he has been an orphan his whole life (Tinti 53). Devil in a Blue Dress has a more satisfying end, despite the violence and morally questionable undertakings, because Easy achieves the objective he began with. In the

Ren’s story begins in St. Anthony’s Orphanage where he has no biological family. Ren is surrounded with the other young boys where he views Brom and Itchy as “his only friends” (Tinti 8). Ren’s one dream living at the orphanage is to one day be adopted and have a family. He knows that his chances are limited because of his lack of an arm. Once Benjamin comes into the orphanage and chooses Ren, he is surprised that he will finally have the family he’s been dreaming about. As Ren and Benjamin travel to a destination unknown by Ren, Benjamin paints a picture of Ren’s past. He tells him about their mother and father and how “they were murdered” (48). Ren believes that Benjamin is his brother and because his dream has come true it makes him vulnerable and willing to do whatever Benjamin wants him to do. Ren ends up helping Tom and Benjamin take dead, “fresh”, bodies from a cemetery to Doctor Milton “at night, to the door that leads to the basement” in exchange for money (134). After this scene, Ren’s morals begin to vary significantly from where he began. Tom, Benjamin, and other people he comes in contact with affect the way he views life and how he judges others. Ren becomes a different person because of his environment and his expectations in life change, making him an unhappy boy in the end. Hannah Tinti gives an analogy at the end of the novel comparing Ren’s search for a family to a game

Easy is a World War II African-American veteran living in a time period before the Black Rights Movement. The Good Thief takes place in the mid 1800s in America. Ren is a 12-year-old naïve orphan in a low standard of living area. Each of the character’s environment affected their change in views on friendship, morality, beliefs, and other people. Easy values friendship significantly because of how often Mouse came to the rescue and saved him from being killed or put in immoral situations. After Easy receives the letter from Mouse he doubts him because Mouse killed his own stepfather. As the plot progresses, Easy gains trust and loyalty toward Mouse that he did not previously have. Along with friendship comes Easy’s morality. His morality is maintained throughout the novel. Easy tells himself over and over again that “a voice” in his head will keep him on the right path from making any morally wrong choices (Mosley 57). He never kills someone in the novel and he does not corrupt his moral standards. However, Ren begins with his faith being strong and his morals being high and that fades by the end of the novel. Ren’s exposure to people with different morals and faith forces him to change how he views life, others, friendship, and himself. Ren gives in to his environment and agrees to sell dead bodies and take advantage of both an older woman and her resources. The change in morality or