Ray Bradbury's The Utterly Perfect Murder
Flashback in “The Utterly Perfect Murder”
The actions of an individual affect others around them emotionally and physically. In the story “The Utterly Perfect Murder by Ray Bradbury, there were two kids, one bullied the other. Doug (the victim) was bullied so immensely by Ralph that 36 years later it still drives him crazy and makes him want to kill Ralph. The literary device shown here is flashback because the main character has a flashback for most of the story and really has a deeper meaning. This story teaches individuals to be nice to others and what bullying can really do to a person. The moral of this story is to treat others how you would like to be treated. Doug was bullied for his entire childhood by Ralph. It destroyed Doug and ruined his childhood. Ralph abused Doug so much that 36 years later he still was upset about Ralph. So he decided to get revenge he was going to kill Ralph. Doug had moved out of his childhood home and had moved away during his life. When Doug decided to kill Ralph he took a train instead of a plane. Why may you ask, maybe he didn’t have the money or had a fear of heights? Doug took a train because he wanted to think long and hard about the past. Doug had a flashback to his childhood times. “Where are you, Doug? I need someone to beat. Where are you been Doug I got no one to pinch (Bradbury Pg. 3).” Doug thought about everything on the train and decided he was going to kill Ralph. Bullying impacted Doug immensely. As Doug stands there at the door of Ralph with his pistol in his pocket, he noticed something. He did not shoot Ralph, why? Why not get his revenge and kill Ralph? As Ralph opened the door, Doug noticed that time did not treat Ralph well. The old man standing at the door was fragile and frail. Doug could not kill Ralph. When he saw him he thought that Ralph was defeated later in life just like he was when he was being bullied. Doug then walked away as Ralph repeated, like a broke record “Doug, is that you?”
The actions of an individual affect others around them emotionally and physically. In the story “The Utterly Perfect Murder by Ray Bradbury, there were two kids, one bullied the other. Doug (the victim) was bullied so immensely by Ralph that 36 years later it still drives him crazy and makes him want to kill Ralph. The literary device shown here is flashback because the main character has a flashback for most of the story and really has a deeper meaning. This story teaches individuals to be nice to others and what bullying can really do to a person. The moral of this story is to treat others how you would like to be treated. Doug was bullied for his entire childhood by Ralph. It destroyed Doug and ruined his childhood. Ralph abused Doug so much that 36 years later he still was upset about Ralph. So he decided to get revenge he was going to kill Ralph. Doug had moved out of his childhood home and had moved away during his life. When Doug decided to kill Ralph he took a train instead of a plane. Why may you ask, maybe he didn’t have the money or had a fear of heights? Doug took a train because he wanted to think long and hard about the past. Doug had a flashback to his childhood times. “Where are you, Doug? I need someone to beat. Where are you been Doug I got no one to pinch (Bradbury Pg. 3).” Doug thought about everything on the train and decided he was going to kill Ralph. Bullying impacted Doug immensely. As Doug stands there at the door of Ralph with his pistol in his pocket, he noticed something. He did not shoot Ralph, why? Why not get his revenge and kill Ralph? As Ralph opened the door, Doug noticed that time did not treat Ralph well. The old man standing at the door was fragile and frail. Doug could not kill Ralph. When he saw him he thought that Ralph was defeated later in life just like he was when he was being bullied. Doug then walked away as Ralph repeated, like a broke record “Doug, is that you?”