Here, the protagonist is shocked back into reality in his interaction with Willie Mink, a doctor who was having an affair with and supplying medication to his wife, and also the man whom he had set out to kill. After shooting Mink twice and placing the gun in his hand to make it appear as a suicide, Jack Gladney is shot in the wrist by the dazed doctor, forcing him to honestly assess the situation he has …show more content…
Some may assert that his perception of reality is clearest when he must leave his home as a result of the airborne toxic event, or when he is told by the SIMVAC worker that the toxins inside him will result in his demise. However, he never comes closer to death than in the moments following the shot fired by Willie Mink. While other events may have caused him great stress, it is only in this event that Jack truly sees clearly enough to understand his