Short Story Mystic River

“The death part you do alone, but I could of helped with the dying” –Jimmy.
This is a story about friendship, betrayal, and murder. The setting for the story is Boston, Massachusetts. Not the Boston of Cheers, MIT, or Charles River luxury apartments. The Boston where the story unfolds is called “the flats.” The river in which the story evolves is the Mystic River that flows through the flats. The river could tell many stories of human tragedy if only it could speak. It is a neighborhood of lower income, lower social-status white people, who live in tenement type apartments, just above the poverty social welfare level. The three main characters in the story are Jimmy, Dave, and Sean. They all grew up in the same neighborhood in which Jimmy and Dave still live. Subordinate characters, although not primary focus, are integral to the story. Brendan and Deaf Ray were two sons of “Just” Ray Harris, who had also lived in the neighborhood. Brendan, Deaf Ray, and their mother have continued to live in the neighborhood after the disappearance of “Just” Ray, husband and father. The focus of this tale is Jimmy and Brendan, although having grown up in the same
He helped his brother with communications; he was a friend and pal to his brother who was handicapped. He protected his brother when strangers jeered him because of his differences. Brendan is depicted as an even-tempered young man, not normally given to temper or rages. He is devoted to Katie, in spite of the fact that Jimmy, her father disliked and disapproved of Brendan. Brendan’s mother is the only stable influence in his life, since his father mysteriously disappeared. His mother is portrayed as a cold, bitter, and disillusioned woman. She would turn Brendan into the police if she suspected he was the murderer of Katie. She had no sympathy nor did she support the young couple’s plans. In face, Brendan’s plans to elope caused her to feel abandoned once