The novel I Am the Messenger written by Markus Zusak has an intense scene involving the main character, Ed, having to decide whether or not to shoot a man whom he knows as a brutal rapist. This debacle sparked a great curiosity and thinking within me. As Zusak builds up the suspense leading up to Ed's decision ever so slowly, the reader creates their own thoughts on what they would do in this scenario. The whole situation, what I would do and why, and also the novel's resolution all are intriguing.
The backstory may be the best part of it all. Ed finds himself in this situation when he was called upon to be a superhero-like figure, to fix things wrong in the world. The most daunting of his missions is this one. Ed visits a man's house from afar countless nights, witnessing the same thing happen over and over again. A man stumbles home after a long night at the bar and proceeds to rape his wife while his daughter goes outside on the porch attempting to weep her sorrows away. After a while of procrastination, the expected savior makes his moves. As an active taxi driver, he goes to the rapist's usual bar and offers him a complimentary ride. As expected, the man accepted. Ed continued to strategically offer him more alcohol in order to push him over the edge. The driver took him to a remote location and planned to execute the man, but it isn't about to go so smoothly. The author writes "'Please,' he pleads... 'I'm sorry, I'm so- I'll stop, I'll stop.'" (Zusak 90) The beggar pledges to end his ways and to no longer rape his wife. The anticipation is off the charts at this point, and you have no clue how it will end.
If I were in this situation, I know what I would do. Personally, I feel like killing the man would be too extreme of a penalty. I would most likely go with the forgiving route because who knows if he is telling the truth or not? Besides, taking away a man's life would eat away at me if I knew there was another way, no matter how horrible of a person I am ordered to kill. If I were to allow him to live, it would be a good idea to check up on him often to make sure he holds up his end of the bargain. If the situation were to go back to the old typical abuse, then that would be when I would take matters into my own hands.
Zusak decides to have Ed do the dirty deed of murdering the drunkard by way of firearm. Ed couldn't let him live on and continue to treat his family the way he has been. He felt that the only way to be able to move on and be sure is to kill. I cannot blame Ed for this bold decision, for it is an end all solution.
