Killings

Write an essay that explains the story’s title, “Killings.” On both a literal and a metaphorical level, to whatkillings does the title refer? 

Explicate the story’s depiction of emasculation. What is emasculation? How are characters such as Richard Strout and Matt Fowler emasculated by their society and/or circumstances? According to Dubus, what are the consequences of emasculation, and what do those consequences, and the process of emasculation,reveal about the definition and psychosocial practice of masculinity?

Explicate the depiction of women in “Killings.” Narratively and conceptually, what roles do women play within the story? What do these roles reveal about patriarchy, the formation of normative gender roles, and/or Dubus’s position on gender? 

Write an essay which explicates Dubus’s foiled character pair of Frank Fowler and Matt Fowler. In what key ways do the characters foil each other? What theme does this foiled pair communicate?

Write an essay that explicates the symbolic presence of water in “Killings.” Use direct quotes from the beginning, middle, and end portions of the story to trace Dubus’s use of water as a symbol. What does water represent during both distinct instances of its presence, and as an overarching symbol?