“What he liked was the idea of justice, though. Putting-things-back-to-right he liked. Such abstractions as law, good conduct, valor in service, eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth”
The Rookie Cop ratifies Retaliatory Justice; a wrongdoer should agonize consummately for his or her crime. The wounded are vindicated to retaliate for all the wounds they withstand.
“How A LIFE is decided. How a life is ended. Good Luck, bad Luck. Purely Luck.”
Here, Oates proposes that life is utterly contingent on the “Good Luck” versus “Bad Luck” binary. Hence, privileged folks are considered to be beneficiaries of ‘good luck’ whereas the unsuccessful persons are regarded as casualties of ‘bad luck.’
“You WERE BETHEL MAGUIRE everybody called Bethie. Your childhood ended when you were twelve years old. Always you would think If. If Momma had not said no. You’d have stayed at Casey’s that night both of you. And What would happen in Rocky Point Park would not happen and no one would have knowledge of the possibility of its having happened and so your childhood would not have ended.”
Oates exploits 'User Involvement' by addressing the reader blatantly by using “ you”. The undeviating address invites the reader to analyze the implications the Teena Maguire’s rape would have had on his/her childhood if he/she were Bethel. Clearly, Bethel falls from her naivety after perceiving her mother’s rape.
