In the short story “Kansas,” by Stephen Dobyns, a young man makes a decision during his journey to summer school that destroys his life. On his way back to school, the young man decided to hitchhike on country roads in Kansas. A farmer, who was on a mission to kill his wife, picked him up. The boy debated on attempting to sway the farmer away from his decision of murdering his wife, but instead he promised not to tell anyone; the boy was too afraid of the consequences that would come with stopping the farmer on his mission. The boy was dropped off in town; as he continued his journey to summer school, he listened for gunshots, but left not knowing the result of the situation. He kept his promise to the farmer and did not tell anyone, but the unknown outcome of the wife and her companion haunted him till death. The author, Stephen Dobyns, wanted to express the truth of the price of guilt, he wanted to point out that people have to deal with past mistakes in a way …show more content…
Dobyns wrote in third person limited omniscient to portray the boy's emotions and to force the readers to have a relationship and become involved with the plot of the story. “Kansas” took place during the Great Depression. Many readers can assume that this time of high stress could have caused the farmer to think irrationally about his actions and motives. The beginning of his journey, traveling along an old dirt road, shows the beginning of the transition from the naivety of a young man, to the harsh reality. All the boy could do was think about what happened to him that day for the rest of his life. He made it an inner conflict by holding it inside, becoming troubled. The readers are left to believe that the boy’s decision to keep quiet about the incident until he is on his own death bed will have a lasting effect on his son, who watches him die and hears his final