Unnecessary traditions
Ray insisted on taking the dog back to Judd, even though Marty begged him not to do so, stating that they didn’t even know if that dog was his or not. When they arrived, Judd came out on “the little porch” he had built at the side of his trailer. Ray and Judd just stood there and talked “awhile”. According to Maryn, up there “in the hills you hardly ever got down to business right off.” First you said your “howdys” and then you “talked” anything else but what you came for. The right time to say what was on your mind was the moment when “mosquitoes” started to bite. The irony of this situation is that both Ray and Judd would gladly leap straight into business instead of talking, but they choose to stick to traditions none of them cares about.
Arrogance
Judd adored hunting; that was his obsession, hence his lack of care for his own animals. In his eyes a dog was just an instrument, and he starved and beat poor animals regardless of what his neighburs thought of him. It seemed that young Mary was the only one who noticed and cared for poor creatures. Though he was afraid of Judd, he gathered enough courage to call him out on it. “Law never told me before what I could do with my dogs, won’t be telling me now,” Judd said. The irony of this situation is that Judd - just like any other law-breaker - is too arrogant to even consider the officials to be a threat. However, when Marty promises to turn him in, his cool and unbaffled composure gets destroyed.
Without answers
Parenting is difficult. Marty’s Ma would definitely agree with this statement. The boy remembered how he had stolen and eaten Dara Lynn’s candy, and the worst part of it was that he lied to her. Before he went to bed, Ma made Marty “get down” on his knees and ask “God’s forgiveness.” She also said that Jesus was looking down “with the saddest eyes” at him and reminded the boy that he could be separated from God’s love. Then Marty told Dara Lynn the truth and apologized to which she threw “a box of Crayons” at him. She also called him “rotten, greedy pig.” The irony of the situation was that Ma “never said” if that made Jesus “happy.”
