Sherlock: Let’s talk about murder. Imagine someone’s going to get murdered at a wedding. Who exactly would you pick?
Mrs. Hudson: I think you’re a popular choice at the moment, dear.
—from “The Sign of Three”, Sherlock
When I was in high school, I used to be
obsessed with murder mysteries. My mom and I watched the entirety of CSI
Miami, and I went on to read all the Sherlock Holmes books and
fangirl about and critique the movies and shows. Nowadays, I don’t read near as
many mysteries, save Sanderson’s The Alloy Era series, but I still enjoy
the occasional who-done-it because of the intellectual challenge.
As I’ve gotten older and my tastes have
changed, I can no longer tolerate some things that I once did. I still enjoy
action and adventure, but I don’t like much violence, and I’m more sensitive to
death in stories.
Death in fiction is disturbing. Sure, it’s
not as intense as it would be in real life, but it’s not appealing all the
same. Yet it’s there more often than not. But what exactly are the different stances
on death, and how do readers deal with them?
Caution: this post contains spoilers for
films The Mission and Les Miserables. Proceed at your own
discretion. Likewise, this post may contain controversial opinions that are not
necessarily the same as those of readers.
Pacifism vs. Revolutionaries
In the film The Mission, two
priests have an argument about morality and the defense of the mission where
they serve. *caution: spoilers ahead* As the Spanish are coming to claim
the territory and sell the natives at the mission into slavery, one priest—who
happens to be a reformed slave trader—argues that they should fight back, and
the other—the man who led the first to become a priest—argues for peaceful
protest.
For a while, I really struggled with the
dilemma—if I found myself in the situation, which would I choose? Would I fight
to protect peoples’ freedom even if it meant killing, or would I protest
nonviolently, standing up with people even if it meant injury or death? And
does it really matter because they both die as martyrs in the end? *end
spoiler*
A little while later, I was reading Les
Miserables and reflecting on the rational behind why many of the young—and
sometimes old—men joined the revolution, whether it was to escape poverty and
destitution, to stand up for human rights, or simply because they had nothing but
their lives to lose. While I don’t remember all of the great prose, I remember
thinking, “Wow, Victor Hugo is so persuasive he could convince me to be
a revolutionary.”
*spoiler* Of course, like
in The Mission they all die, save Marius. *end spoiler*
Another time, my dad put on the movie Tears
of the Sun in which a group of Special-Ops are on a mission to rescue a
doctor in Nigeria and end up bringing refugees along with them. As the team and
the refugees are headed for safety, the Special-Ops team fightr off rebels
along the way. My dad told me situations like the ones in the film were one of
the reasons he joined the military—to protect the innocent.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
—Edmund Burke
In the end, I decided I’d rather be a
revolutionary than a pacifist. I’m not for killing but when it comes to the
innocent, I’m for protecting them.
Casual Death and the Value of Life
Perhaps one of the most disturbing moments
concerning reading came when I was studying for my English Lit degree. We had
read The Road for or speculative fiction and were discussing it in
class. When we inevitably addressed the cannibalism present in the book, one of
my classmates said, “I don’t see why the girl had such a hard time with it.”
Essentially, she gave me impression that in a post-apocalyptic world, killing
somebody else to ensure one’s one survive was acceptable.
I was stunned. How could somebody
blatantly disdain a child’s horror and advocate for cannibalism? Weren’t they
missing the point of the book?
Another novel—one that I actually enjoy—that
addresses the devastation of death is Illuminae: “Sure, the story kicks
off with the deaths of thousands of people, but *** forbid there be cussing in
it, right?”
While profanity is a topic for another
time (one I briefly touched on in Controversy in Fiction: Censorship), the book makes an excellent point. Why is death more readily accepted in
fiction than swearing? So it’s okay to read about a book about genocide or a
cozy mystery—an interesting choice of words—but when you have a bunch of swear
words in a young adult novel reflecting the degradation of society, some
readers lose their minds.
I’m not saying that I’m an advocate for
swearing in fiction, but I do think it’s important for readers to establish
their priorities. Perhaps one of my favorite quotes considering justice versus
mercy concerning death comes from Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring:
“Many that live
deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do
not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see
all ends.”
Let’s chat! What’s
your take on murder in fiction? Have any favorite quotes from fiction that
influenced your stance?
***
Update: next week I’ll be posting a book review a day early in celebration of
the book’s release day. While you’re welcome to come by on Sunday, the review
will be up on Saturday.
Similar posts: The Horror in Fiction, Controversy in Fiction: Censorship, and
Controversy in Fiction: Monsters
Movie
references: Sherlock, CSI Miami, The Mission, Les Miserables, and Tears of the Sun
Literary
references: Brandon Sanderson’s The Allow Era, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Illuminae, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of
the Ring
