Revenge And Vengeance In Andre Dubus Pulp Fiction

In Andre Dubus’ “Killings,” Matt Fowler, a father, makes a drastic decision to get revenge on his son’s assassin after he is murdered. In Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” we see similar themes of violence, vengeance, and injustice told with the choices of different characters. The conflict changes with the different actions and motivations of the protagonists, showing different intensities and motives through the stories.

Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction takes revenge on rapist Zeth for purely selfish reasons; where Matt Fowler in Killings takes revenge for the sake of his wife and to avenge his son’s death. Wallace shoots Zeth in the genitals and tells him “I’m not done. Don’t even dream about it. We will get medieval on your ass.” (Tarantino) before describing the horrific acts of torture he and his buddies are about to commit. In contrast, Fowler is not so ruthless to his son’s assailant, but quickly murders him to end the injustice of his living. These revenge-murders are different because of their (thought process) and differences in intensity.
In a state of mental anguish and torture, Fowler dehumanizes Strout because of what he did to his son. Jules Winnfield, like most psychologically sound people, also must rationalize the value of someone else’s life. He does this by quoting scriptures “… and you will know my name is the LORD when I lay my vengeance upon thee” (Tarantino). In this, he excuses his behavior as rational because it is like the actions of a higher