Reading Response I am the Messenger

Through out the first few chapters of the novel I am the Messenger we briefly learn about a man named Ed. We learn enough about Ed to know that he is a 19 year old illegal taxi cab driver. Also Ed lives with a very old dog named the doorman that he loves very much. From what he learned about Ed he is a quite man and he seems to be a compassionate person with a heart. When Ed suddenly begins to receive mysterious letters in the mail I believe that his personality is tested. Ed receives a series of letters with addresses on them one of these addresses is a place were Ed encounters a man sexually assaulting his wife. Ed does not know what to do or why he is at this place but the man that is harassing his wife is someone that is too big and too drunk for Ed to try to confront. Thinking over many times what he encounters he also begins to think about the little girl that watched what her father was doing to her mother. After a week or two of Ed not doing anything about the situation he receives another thing in the mail this time it is not a letter but a gun. Soon Ed takes it upon himself to murder the drunken man that was assaulting his wife. This is a surprising turn of events because it does not seem like Ed is the type of person to shoot and kill someone especially a man that Ed does not know. What Ed has done makes me think and ponder about what I would have done in this situation. Would I have killed this man? Would I have told the police? Would I have encountered this man? All questions that we may ask ourselves and most likely some questions that Ed maybe asking himself now or maybe questioning himself if taking these matters into his own hands was the right thing to do.