"Revenge converts a little right into a great wrong." One character from
Mystic River who can learn a lesson from this proverb is Dave. Dave is right to murder the child molester, especially after his troubled childhood experience of abduction. But the confession of a murder and the lack of a body connected with a murder other than than that of Jimmy's daughter gives Jimmy reason enough to kill Dave. Dave was not wrong in killing the pedophile, but in the grand scheme of things it did not bode well for him. His little right act only turned wrong because of Jimmy's "initiative" in finding the killer of his daughter.
In the confession of murdering a pedophile, Jimmy was in disbelief that a pedophile was the actual victim of Dave's act of revenge. The body was hidden well enough that it did not turn up until the day after Dave was killed by Jimmy, a very dramatic moment. This shows that taking the law into our own hands proves wrong more often than right. If Dave hadn't killed the pedophile, Jimmy would have no reason to believe Dave killed his daughter. If Jimmy hadn't sought out to exact revenge on his daughter's killer, he would not have spilled the wrong man's blood.
I liked how you tied both Jimmy and Dave together for being responsible for creating wrong by taking the law into their own hands. By Dave trying to make right in the world by killing the pedophile, he created a great wrong which led to his death. At the same time, Jimmy tried to make justice by finding Katie's murderer which also led to a great wrong that resulted in the murder of Dave.
ReplyDeleteThe way Dave reacted after seeing the child molester in the car would have been much different if it weren't for his situation as a child. He would have been angry at the man, but he wouldn't have had an emotional attachment to the situation. Sadly, people who hear that he killed the man would not have an emotional attachment and still be angry at Dave. They would see his revenge as a crime, not as something done right.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Dave tries to evince that he kills a pedophile, it is very difficult for people to accept this as true, especially in the wake of Katie's death. He fails to produce enough evidence to show Jimmy that he does not murder Katie, and his wife even feels that he is guilty. Trying to get revenge on someone like the person who molested him, ultimately, leads to Dave's murder. His "little right" conflicts Jimmy, Celeste, and the police officers as they attempt to uncover the mystery of Katie's murder.
ReplyDeleteRevenge often blinds people to the reality right before them. Jimmy did not think that his old childhood friend could actually be telling the truth about him murdering the man in the car. He was blinded by the need to kill his daughters killer so all of his sensibility flew out the window. Sometimes we should just put our trust in the law and hope.
ReplyDeleteI like your observation that if Dave never killed the molester, he may have been never suspected for the murder of Katie. Jimmy thinks he is doing right by avenging Katie's death. He should have trusted Dave and believed him because Dave was his friend. Jimmy should have gotten hard proof before killing an innocent man.
ReplyDeleteI like how you point out how Dave's actions affects him in the long wrong and how it ultimately led to his death. Which also makes you think was this his punishment for killing the molester in the first place?
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