Friday, October 3, 2008
Justification for Murder
Mr. Thompson’s life was radically changed by the presence of Mr. Helton on his farm. When Helton first shows up he finds Mr. Thompson performing a juggling act with his chores on a farm that appears run down and neglected. Mr. Helton provides the work ethic that enables Mr. Thompson to relax into a leisurely life. On the day that Mr. Hatch arrives to return Mr. Helton to the asylum in North Dakota, Mr. Thompson’s biggest concern is the position of his rocking chair on the front or side porch. Mr. Hatch threatens to disturb his balanced and relaxed life. Mr. Helton takes care of all the things that ever caused him to worry in the past, and the idea that he would leave and that things would return to their previous state is enough to drive Mr. Thompson to murder. He doesn’t feel remorse for his actions because he perceives the killing as self-defense, but the only thing that he was defending was his sense of security.
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I agree that Mr. Thompson's need to protect his leisurely way of life could have been the reason that he saw Hatch attacking Helton and in turn he kills Hatch. We aren't really sure why he sees Hatch's attack when it didn't really happen. He has no real reason to protect Helton except that he has worked so hard on the farm. However, Mr. Thompson did feel remorse for his crime. At first he tries to get over his guilt by explaining what happened to the rest of the town. When that doesn't work he decides that the only way to set things right is to kill himself. His suicide comes out of guilt.
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