If Thy Right Offend Thee Analysis

In the short story, “If Thy Right Hand Offend Thee”, many characters including Luis Otero, Dr. Phillip Barnes, Senator Meissner, and Victor Navatelli made this one of the best I have ever read. The setting takes place in the near future of the United States. Dr. Barnes is the physician in charge for the Reenactment Center; where criminals are put through the ultimate virtual reenactment of their crime through their victim's eyes. The real possibility of the setting actually coming true in the future makes the story more intriguing. Dr. Barnes was visited by the Senator for her to decide whether or not the state should continue funding for his research. Senator Meissener is introduced into the story with a pessimistic attitude and acting against the idea of …show more content…
After seeing the harsh effects of the reenactments, the Senator changes her mind and starts to agree, but Barnes stops her and insists that he showed her the last patient before she made up her mind. By the end of the story, she decided to not fund the research, but instead of not believing in it, she believes the research is too effective and dangerous. The senator is a dynamic character because her views change drastically from the beginning to the end. She is also a round character because you learn a lot about her background and family history. Dr. Phillip Barnes is a static character because I would argue that he never wanted his work to be funded by the state. At the end he tells the Senator that he never wanted her money, he knew that his work was too effective all along. Luis Otero was a patient at the Reenactment Center, and is the first to be introduced in the story. His crime was that he robbed a store and kicked an old man to death. He relives this so many times that he goes crazy and believes that he is the old man. His character is implicit at the end because you have to assume that he believes that he is the old man, so when he sees his murderer in the mirror looking back at him, he kills