Markus Zusak's I Am the Messenger tells the story of teenage taxi driver Ed Kennedy, who is labeled a hero by the media after accidentally foiling an attempted robbery. Soon after this occurs, he receives an envelope in the mail with three addresses, dates, and times, as well as the ace of diamonds. He decides to go to the addresses at the times listed and finds a man raping his wife, a senile widow, and a young girl who runs every morning but consistently loses her track meets. In response, he kidnaps the rapist, encourages the young runner, and begins visiting the widow every week because she believes he is her late husband. After completing this list he begins receiving even more cards and addresses in the mail, and continues visiting people and solving their problems for several more cycles. The story ends with Ed meeting the man who claims to be responsible for everything that has happened, strongly implied to be the author, Markus Zusak. The book closes with Ed stating that he is "not the messenger at all—I'm the message."
Essentially, what this means is that Ed navigated his own story viewing himself acting on the will of others, delivering aid and justice because he was ordered to by those sending the cards. However, it was Ed himself who made the decision to help those people, and he was the one who carried it out. This is why the book ends with Ed realizing he is not just a "messenger," sent to deliver a predetermined message to people—he is the one creating the message himself, by choosing how to respond to the problems he sees.
No comments:
Post a Comment