When Mr. Hatch threatens to inform Mr. Thompson's neighbors about his refusal to assist in the arrest of the lunatic Mr. Helton; a moment of hesitation and panic settles into Mr. Thompson. We learn that:
Mr. Thompson kills Hatch out of a purely instinctual need to preserve his own reputation and livelihood. Far earlier in Katherine Anne Porter's fifty page short story, we discover that for Mr. Thompson "it was his dignity and his reputation that he cared about [most], " and given that fact it makes sense why he kills Mr. Hatch in a trance like state (244). Mr. Thompson's only passion in life was his reputation; he thinks his cow farm is emasculating, he had lost interest in his wife, and he thinks his boys are doomed for failure. Which means the favorable opinions of the people in his region or county wake him up in the morning and keep the shotgun pointed away from his head. So when Mr. Hatch jeopardizes his very existence and position in his region, Mr. Thompson rationalizes killing him by hallucinating Mr. Helton's stabbing. The desire to save his reputation, transforms into a county-wide PR campaign that fails to garner support and sympathy. In a creepy irony, Mr. Thompson ends up in an "awkward" position right before he shoots himself.
Had Mr. Hatch been a Black man, do you think he would have been tried and do you think he would have lost his reputation? Why does Mr. Hatch introduce himself as a descendant from this small South Texas county?
Though I agree that Mr. Thompson kills Mr. Hatch to stop him from spreading rumors about his harboring of Mr. Helton and avoiding a bad reputation for himself. I believe that Mr. Thompson’s reputation might not have been of the highest standing prior to Mr. Hatch’s visit. At the beginning of the story he is described as a proud man, he doesn’t seem to be very successful with his dairy farm, he is raising disrespectful children, he drinks frequently, and he brings up the crude story about giving a goat beer at the dinner table (232-234, 239-241). The moment when Mr. Hatch shows up on his property is when we, as readers, first become aware of Mr. Thompson’s inner thoughts and prejudices. The narrator tells us that Mr. Thompson does not like “his looks at all,” “his” referring to Mr. Hatch (253). But it is not so much Mr. Hatch’s look or his perceived dis-ingenuity that troubles Mr. Thompson. As I was reading the story, I got the feeling that Mr. Hatch was a threat to Mr. Thomson’s self image which he based on his regional identity. For example, when Mr. Hatch makes him look ignorant for not knowing the Hatch family name or when he implies that Mr. Thompson’s regional tobacco chew is somehow of a lower quality than his own (255, 260). Perhaps the favorable opinions of the people in his region are products of his own illusions. That, “Mr. Thompson knew almost before he heard the words that it would look funny,” is an example of the moment when he becomes aware of the conflicting view (266). And as I mentioned earlier, it was this threat to his self-image that may have disoriented him and caused him to act irrationally towards the source of criticism. I do agree with you that there is significance to the repeated use of the word awkward; the fact that awkward means situations that are hard to deal with may shine some light on the final portion of the story. Maybe, Mr. Thompson could not deal with the view of himself that he was presented with. After the murder, the way the people treat him is consistent with the way Hatch perceived him, and his inability to deal with this leads to his suicide.
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
Do you believe that regional self-view dissonance was Mr. Thompson’s motive for murdering Mr. Hatch?