The Utterly Perfect Murder
Leon Babaev 1608
Lamarre 1
English 1 Block 7
11/09/12
Leon Babaev 1608
Lamarre 1
English 1 Block 7
11/09/12
Self-acceptance and the Need to Resolve Emotional Conflicts in The Utterly Perfect Murder By Ray Bradbury
Being able to achieve self-acceptance plays a key role in allowing people to reconcile their past. Ray Bradbury explores this idea in his short story “The Utterly Perfect Murder”. This story, set in the main character, Doug’s, hometown is about a grown man seeking revenge on his childhood bully enemy. In this story Bradbury portrays the idea that people must resolve their past emotional conflicts before being able to gain self-acceptance.
Recalling his past humiliations with Ralph, Doug uses this as a source of self-criticism. The things that Ralph did to him eventually led Doug to believe that it was his own fault that Ralph acted this way. Doug is unable to progress in his life because he is tormented by memories of his childhood. The looming presence of this one-sided friendship creates anger inside him. This anger is not only aimed at Ralph for not reciprocating, but at himself. In the story Doug recalls, “Fool! I thought. The statue's worth twenty-five cents. The glove cost two dollars! No fair! Don't! But I raced back to Ralph's house with the glove and gave it to him and he, smiling a worse contempt than my brother's, handed me the Tarzan statue and, bursting with joy, I ran home”(803). Doug clearly sees the stupidity of such a trade and yet he gladly and happily accepts it and takes the offer. This lack of care while knowing how wrong it was just shows how blind Doug becomes when things involve Ralph. During that moment he is oblivious to faults in his decisions as long as they include receiving attention from Ralph. However, Doug later states ”And somewhere on a country road I just lay down and wept and wanted to die but didn't know how to give up the final vomit that was my miserable ghost” (804). Realizing the stupidity of his actions,
Lamarre 1
English 1 Block 7
11/09/12
Leon Babaev 1608
Lamarre 1
English 1 Block 7
11/09/12
Self-acceptance and the Need to Resolve Emotional Conflicts in The Utterly Perfect Murder By Ray Bradbury
Being able to achieve self-acceptance plays a key role in allowing people to reconcile their past. Ray Bradbury explores this idea in his short story “The Utterly Perfect Murder”. This story, set in the main character, Doug’s, hometown is about a grown man seeking revenge on his childhood bully enemy. In this story Bradbury portrays the idea that people must resolve their past emotional conflicts before being able to gain self-acceptance.
Recalling his past humiliations with Ralph, Doug uses this as a source of self-criticism. The things that Ralph did to him eventually led Doug to believe that it was his own fault that Ralph acted this way. Doug is unable to progress in his life because he is tormented by memories of his childhood. The looming presence of this one-sided friendship creates anger inside him. This anger is not only aimed at Ralph for not reciprocating, but at himself. In the story Doug recalls, “Fool! I thought. The statue's worth twenty-five cents. The glove cost two dollars! No fair! Don't! But I raced back to Ralph's house with the glove and gave it to him and he, smiling a worse contempt than my brother's, handed me the Tarzan statue and, bursting with joy, I ran home”(803). Doug clearly sees the stupidity of such a trade and yet he gladly and happily accepts it and takes the offer. This lack of care while knowing how wrong it was just shows how blind Doug becomes when things involve Ralph. During that moment he is oblivious to faults in his decisions as long as they include receiving attention from Ralph. However, Doug later states ”And somewhere on a country road I just lay down and wept and wanted to die but didn't know how to give up the final vomit that was my miserable ghost” (804). Realizing the stupidity of his actions,