Literary Analysis – Killing Babies By TC Boyle
..., he is thankful to have Philip supporting him; however his attitude is rather negative towards the entire situation. Rick provides a vibe that he feels that he has been cheated in life, he understands that he is talented, smart, and at one time believed in himself, yet he blames a series of unfortunate events after dropping out of college and doesn’t seem to put blame on his own actions. The main focus of the story circles around the issue of abortion. Rick realizes that performing abortions is a part of Philip’s career, and if it wasn’t for his brother’s career he would be sitting in prison. Rick never gives an absolute opinion on the issue, yet he does seem to favor abortion rights. He views Philip’s practice as just doing his job and flashes back to his past girlfriends by stating “they had taken care of the preventative end of things on their own and we never really discussed it – but my feeling was that there were too many babies in the world already, too many adults, too many suet faced Jesus-thumping jerks ready to point the finger…” It appears to me that the majority of Rick’s anger lied on the highly religious Christians who would ridicule other humans for not following their own beliefs. Analyzing both sides of the abortion issue, there is no hero in this story for either side. When Rick first arrived at Philip’s practice his first day of work, Rick characterizes the “Jesus-thumping” protestors as zombies, and he states “I thought I was in a bad movie, Night of the Living Dead or Zombies on Parade.” This symbolism for me adds fuel to the belief that Rick has a problem with the Christian society. I believe that Rick is mistaken, the Christians may be acting irrational, but zombies? Rick should look in the mirror. His dark child hood and reoccurring reference to heavy drug use throughout the story could easily distort his vision of reality. “I learned that a line that a line up your nose is a dilettante’s thing, wasteful and extravagant.” This statement reflects a cocaine addiction during his downfall after dropping out of college and unsuccessful music career, cocaine is a drug that will sweep the elements of what is real directly out from under your feet. What was it with Detroit Sally that brought such a rollercoaster of insanity to Rick’s life? It seems as if Sally Strunt brought a sense of innocence to Rick. He viewed her as someone his inner child could relate to; he could relate to her cold, dark image yet was intrigued by her youthful innocence. What kind of grown man ponders for days about whether or not an underage girl is having an abortion or if she is visiting the clinic for normal female procedures? This is when the cold image of the Detroit City streets starts to play mind games with Rick. He describes her pale face, “pale as a bulb.” White represents purity; he describes her “pale in a pale coat, her face two shades paler.” Is he attracted to her innocent appearance ...