Death by Scrabble Analysis

The Protagonist in Death by Scrabble, by Charlie Fish, is a cold-blooded husband who is eager to kill his wife. The 42 year old husband detests his wife and has nothing positive to say about his wife. He blames his wife for his dull life and ends up dreaming about possible escapades. As the story progresses, he becomes obsessed with murder. Although the wife’s characteristics aren’t revealed in the beginning, the twist in the end reveals her true colors. She is full of hatred and relishes the moment of her husband’s death. Throughout the story, the husband shows a strong hate towards his wife because of his unhappiness. He believes that he would be better off if his wife was dead. When the man realizes that the words spelled out on the scrabble board actually happen in reality, he attempts to kill her by spelling words “MURDER”, “DEATH”, etc.
The author aims for a surrealism effect by providing a shocking climax where the Wife spells the word “DEATH” which kills her husband. The greatest irony was upon how the husband wanted his wife to be dead and in the end he died and she watched him choke to death. The Scrabble game represents a method of communicating what the couple are thinking each move. Symbolism through the scrabble letters make up for the lack of communication in the couple’s relationship.
Karma is a significant theme in Death by Scrabble. Throughout the story, the man shows a strong hate towards his wife and tries to kill her the whole time. Surprisingly, the wife was also planning to kill the husband and successfully does so in the end. Karma was the controlling factor in the story and decides the husband’s fate. This ties to the husband blaming his wife for all the unhappiness but there was something inside him that caused