Blog Post #1

"Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong". In Mystic River, Jimmy takes the law into his own hands in order to get revenge for his daughter's death. He suspects that his childhood friend, Dave, killed his daughter. He is so sure that Dave is the killer, that he in turn kills Dave. The "little right" is avenging his daughter's death but he creates a greater wrong. By killing Dave, he is also a killer. Jimmy should have let the authorities handle everything and Dave would have dealt with the consequences of the law. Instead, he has to constantly deal with a guilty conscience knowing that he killed one of his friends, despite the fact that he believes Dave killed his daughter. This "great wrong" turns into an either greater wrong once the police find the true killers, Silent Ray and his friend. Now Jimmy does not have any justification for killing his childhood friend. Jimmy's vengeful actions cause a troubled man to be killed. Dave leaves behind a wife and a son and Jimmy will have to think about Dave's family. Who will raise Dave's son? Who will fill the void Dave's wife now has? No one. Jimmy's actions not only complicate things in his own life but also the lives who Dave affected everyday. While Jimmy thinks he is solving all of his problems, he instead creates many more. Sean, the homicide detective and Jimmy's childhood friend, is also affected as he must deal with the burden of knowing he did not solve the case quickly enough. He will take responsibility for Dave's death for the rest of his life.