Summary:
In these few chapters, Susie resumes to tell us about her family and how the Salmons cope with her death. Her grandmother arrives the evening before her memorial and quickly can notice the agony in her daughter, Susie's mother. Susie's mother has almost completely lost her hair and seldom can be the mother she once was. Furthermore, Lindsey has found solace in make-up and now dresses herself with pounds of blush and mascara. She also starts to wear Susie's dresses making Susie feel uncomfortable since she feels as if she is only in heaven. Lindsey continues to have conversations and quality time with her friends, especially her dorm-mate Ruth. Lindsey and her friends battle ironically about who is the best murderer and once in a while plop Susie into their conversations. The 17 year old girl who was murdered, it seems as if everyone knows about Susie's death but nothing is done. Mr. Len continues to search for clues but he still doesn't have anough evidence to acquit anyone. Yet, Mr. Salmon emphatically believes Mr. Havery killed his daughter and becomes even more certain when a dog howls at Havery's house. However, Mr. Havery is so well of a killer, Mr. Len intents to dissuade Mr.Salmon from thinking he is a possible suspect. Moreover, Mr. Havery locks a little girl inside a truck ready to make her his victim, but her boisterous shrieks alert a group of men and women nearby. They ask him what he was planning on doing to the child, but he fibbs by saying he was fixing her shoe. In otherwords, Mr. Havery is more then just a rapist, he is a professional liar. Just like he lied to Susie, Detective Len, and his numerous victims, he continues to triumph in his profession. Moreover, Susie declares how he also killed animals and how he had more then just human bones on his conscience, he was the spark of destruction in his town. Yet, the town was so blinded by his aloof and anti-social personality, that they just saw him as the old man who didn't attend block parties neither had children. The hurtful truth was that he was the criminal everyone but Mr. Salmon disregarded. Mr. Salmon no longer caring what would happen, goes into the cornfields where Susie was, to kill Mr. Havery. However, the book until this chapter only states that Mr. Salmon is in the hospital, on medications, and has had surgery. The entire neighborhood was awakened from the incident occuring in the cornfields, so the police imminently showed up. The entire Salmon family became petrified when they couldn't find Mr. Havery since they knew exactly where he was and why.
Quotes:
"Mr. Harvey was at once unknowable and the only person in the world who could have killed me. As Len denied it, my father grew more certain"(Sebold 134).
Reaction:
This quote generates many themes at once. Mr. Len, a detective, fervently believes Mr. Havery did not commit the crime while Mr. Salmon knows immensely that he did. In otherwords, one doesn't just have to be a cop to figure out a crime or disprove a pattern. Mr. Salmon knew Len was blind folded by Harvey's loneliness and lack of attention in society. In other words, this theme of solitude in men leads to many ordeals and symbols in literature. In particular, in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Boo was disregarged in society because he was a lonely old man. Overall, it doesn't just take any father to discover the criminal who murdered his daughter, it takes a bold man like Mr. Salmon. Salmon was nonchalant of what could happen and went with his gut feeling. If the police didn't take action, Salmon did. In simpler words, one should never limit ourselves because of fear, for we never know what our outcomes could bring.
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