“Killings” is told in a third-person omniscient perspective by an unnamed narrator. Matt Fowler acts as the story’s protagonist and Richard Strout, who murders Matt’s son Frank, acts as the story’s antagonist. The story is directly stated to take place in Massachusetts, though the specific year in which the story is never specified.
After successfully murdering Richard Strout, Matt returns home in the early morning. The neighborhood is described as quiet, which aids in giving the scene a somber mood. The opening of this scene mirrors an earlier scene in which Matt recalls catching Frank sneaking home early in the morning after spending the night with Mary Strout. Both father and son were doing something they were not supposed to be doing, with Frank sneaking home after staying out all night with Mary and Matt committing a murder.
Stories often feature satisfying conclusions, with the protagonist living a happy life after succeeding in their quest. “Killings” features no such cathartic resolution. Matt’s character arc shows him transforming from a caring father in a seemingly stagnant marriage to a …show more content…
This is expanded upon at the scene’s conclusion, where Matt realizes that Richard might not have always been terrible as he thinks about Frank and Richard standing in the fall and then the winter. This humanization of Richard causes both Matt and the reader to question the morality of Richard’s murder. His “victory” is made even more hollow by his realization that he cannot tell his family what transpired and they will be led to believe that Richard escaped justice. His actions take away the only justice possible for those who cannot know the truth. Not only does this ending subvert the traditional “happy ending” present within many stories, it also causes Matt to become a realistic and round