Do Ends Justify Immoral Means?
Markus Zusak addresses a theme of controversy in I am the Messenger. Ed, an average cabdriver is faced with an interesting situation that questions his morals. After an act of bravery during a bank robbery, Ed starts receiving playing cards in the mail with addresses written on them. The addresses lead him to a variety of people, all with serious challenges in their lives. Ed is faced with moral dilemmas, taking personal responsibility to help these people. Some solutions to the problems are illegal or immoral and it brings the reader to question if the ends justify the means. The most violent address is in fact the first address Ed received, it is the very nature of the situation’s moral dilemma that causes Ed to skip this address for a while. An alcoholic man abusing his daughter and raping his wife. Too intimidated by the situation, Ed moves on to a different address on the ace card. One character Ed is lead to is a 15 year-old, Sophie, who habitually runs barefoot through the park at dawn every morning. He is …show more content…
The gun that appeared in his mailbox was definitely a nudge as well. At this point there was no decision left to be made on how to deal with the abusive husband. Ed took him out for a drive, drugged him with vodka, and beat him down. “‘You feel like dying?’ My voice shivers but remains hard. ‘You deserve it, I can tell you that much,” (Zusak, 88). There is a moment of doubt when the man begins to sob, Ed claims to not care but the man survives the night. The sympathy doesn’t last long though. “I feel guilty about everything I did to him, but on the other hand, I feel guilty about not killing him.” The day after the beating, the man leaves town resulting in a success. I would say in this situation the ends do justify the means. Yes, some violence was required, but the man has done worse to his own
Markus Zusak addresses a theme of controversy in I am the Messenger. Ed, an average cabdriver is faced with an interesting situation that questions his morals. After an act of bravery during a bank robbery, Ed starts receiving playing cards in the mail with addresses written on them. The addresses lead him to a variety of people, all with serious challenges in their lives. Ed is faced with moral dilemmas, taking personal responsibility to help these people. Some solutions to the problems are illegal or immoral and it brings the reader to question if the ends justify the means. The most violent address is in fact the first address Ed received, it is the very nature of the situation’s moral dilemma that causes Ed to skip this address for a while. An alcoholic man abusing his daughter and raping his wife. Too intimidated by the situation, Ed moves on to a different address on the ace card. One character Ed is lead to is a 15 year-old, Sophie, who habitually runs barefoot through the park at dawn every morning. He is …show more content…
The gun that appeared in his mailbox was definitely a nudge as well. At this point there was no decision left to be made on how to deal with the abusive husband. Ed took him out for a drive, drugged him with vodka, and beat him down. “‘You feel like dying?’ My voice shivers but remains hard. ‘You deserve it, I can tell you that much,” (Zusak, 88). There is a moment of doubt when the man begins to sob, Ed claims to not care but the man survives the night. The sympathy doesn’t last long though. “I feel guilty about everything I did to him, but on the other hand, I feel guilty about not killing him.” The day after the beating, the man leaves town resulting in a success. I would say in this situation the ends do justify the means. Yes, some violence was required, but the man has done worse to his own