Just like that
Growing up is not an easy process. At some point you will have to create an identity and find a place in society that fits you. Parents have expectations for their children; especially fathers who sometimes push their sons into becoming what they think are a real man. But some of them cannot handle the pressure their father puts on them. They are pushed over the edge by their parents, who don’t understand the children’s needs. This is reflected in the story “Just like that” by Michael Richards, in which a young boy is taken into the bush to shoot kangaroos, by a man who wants to teach him what it takes to grow up to become a man.
Does the boy like to shoot kangaroos, if not; why?
Why does the man say: “Don’t walk behind me”?
What happens in the end of the story?
The narrator is third person and is omniscient. The language is simple and informal because it includes dialogues and repetition of dialogues. The atmosphere is gloomy, because the man does not trust the boy. It is exciting. The story is told in chronological order. The boy is young and inexperienced. It is the first time, he is in the bush to shoot kangaroos. He is brought by a man, who seems to be his father. To him the son cannot become a man, until he knows how to handle a rifle. Shooting kangaroos is the method the father uses to turn the son into a man. The boy is looking for a role model, who he finds in his father. But to pass his father’s test of manhood, he needs to shoot kangaroos. But even though the father is the boy’s role model, the boy finds him unsympathetic because he shoots the defenseless kangaroos. The son’s conscience plays a big role in this story. He does not like to shoot the kangaroos. His father pushes him by saying things as: “If you can’t do it now you never will.” (Page 1, line 6). The son interprets it as growing up and being able to live up to his father’s expectations. The father wants his son to be like himself. But he disregards the boy’s feelings. The father feels good when he shoots kangaroos, it is his way of getting satisfied. He feels powerful, when he holds the rifle: “He stood aggressively with the rifle hanging loose in his arm.” (Page 3, line 31). The rifle makes you physically strong, but at the same time mentally weak. “Dead”, the father says every time one of them kills a kangaroo, he points out how easy it is to kill. The boy is surprised: “The boy was surprised how easy it had been.” (Page 2, line 24). The father feels the anxiety in his body. “Don’t walk behind me”, he is scared, because he knows how easy it is to kill. This is supported by the title of the story: “Just like that”. The story ends with a cliff hanger. It seems like he shoots his father, but one might argue, that he does not. “”Dead,” said the boy.” (Page 5, line 21). It seems that he shoots his father as he says it. One may lead to the boy shoots, because the father many times in the story says “dead” when he kills a kangaroo. But the story does not tell whether he shot his father or not. In spite of that, maybe he only shoots the bond between them, he shoots the role model as a father, and he shoots the mentally father, who lives in his own head. This is supported by: “Something inside the boy died.” (Page 3, line 30). The big kangaroo is also a symbol of the boy’s childhood, which he kills. The main theme of this story is about growing up with a role model and making your role model proud. It is also about the sweetness of power and to be obsessed with power.
This story relates to the story called: “Indian Camp” The story is also about growing up. Like in that story, the boy is young and inexperienced. He is also scared of the situation. He was brought by his father, which it also seems like in “Just Like That” The reason was to teach the boy. But he didn’t seem ready either. The conclusion of “Indian Camp” was that it was stupid to bring the young boy.
The conclusion is that the boy does not like to shoot kangaroos because of his conscience. The man is scared when the boy walks behind him, because the boy easily can kill him. In the end of the story, we don’t know what happens, the boy might have shot, we don’t know. Growing up can be hard, as it is for the boy in the story.
