The Victim :: Essays Papers

The Victim As a victim Lester Ballard, the main character in Child of God by Cormac McCarthy, never thought that victimizing and murdering others was unjust. If justification is law according to the theory of an eye for an eye, then in many ways Ballard had justification for his actions. Ballard lived by the golden rule, which is to treat others as you wish to be treated. In the following paragraphs I will explain how Lester is a victim and why he is justified to victimize others. GRAPH Lester Ballard did not have the happy, normal childhood we all expect or imagine everyone to have. He never had any brothers or sisters to play with when he was little. When he was a boy his mother ran off with another man and never returned to Lester again. Just shortly after his mother ran off, when he was nine or ten years old, Lester’s father hung himself in their barn. He was left dangling dead for Lester to find later that day. From that day forth Lester was alone in this world. He had no family to share love and happiness with. Lester was not an ignorant child when his father killed himself; he was old enough to understand what had happened and what death was. These situations can have severe mental impact on a child. One member of the community makes a comment about Lester, â€Å"They say he was never right again after his daddy killed himself.† Here Lester is displayed as a victim of his parents. The two people he loved the most and was cl osest to abandoned him. He became a victim of isolation, loneliness, and a broken heart. He could never show love toward people the same way again. Another major impact the loss of Lester’s parents had on him was the loss of role models.