Today in lecture Mr Ogden spoke about the letters written to Jason a couple months after the massacre (106-116). He mentioned that he got the impression that these letters from Cheryl’s family were horrible letters contributing to Jason’s state of hell. Even after reading and rereading this section in the book, I can’t find the negative vibe that professor Ogden seems to feel. If anything, I think that the letters from Mr. and Mrs. Anway would soften Jason’s heart and reduce the hate going on in his life.
These letters are sincere letters written out of love and remorse, rather than out of hate. When something as tragic as the death of your daughter takes place, your natural reaction will be anger and blame. We make decisions out of impulse because our body is in shock and our mind is so fogged up and twisted. As humans, we need explanations and reasons for everything and it fell into place that the reasonable explanation for their daughter’s death is that Jason is to blame.
Linda Anway writes at the beginning of her letter, “I don’t ask your forgiveness, but I do request your understanding”(106). According to Mr. Ogden, this is why this letter contributes to Jason’s state of hell. She’s not even asking for forgiveness but just wants to explain herself and ask him to see where she’s coming from. Although it starts out like this, throughout the letter, her pride breaks down and Linda ends up apologizing. She writes, “I beg your forgiveness, wherever you are. Please write or phone or visit if you can. Please think of me kindly and know that is how I think of you”(108).
Mr. and Mrs. Anway’s letters are genuine as they realize their wrongdoing in blaming Jason. It is when Jason receives Chris’ letter that one may second-guess the sincerity of the first two. I think that Chris still isn’t over Cheryl’s death and still wants to blame Jason. He is upset about his parents’ change of mind and that is why he told Jason about their reactions after the shooting. Even without reading his parents’ letters, he still knew what they were about. He doesn’t want to make Jason’s life any easier and knows that Mr. and Mrs. Anway’s letters will be a load off Jason’s chest. This is why he tries to make it seem like his parents are lying, he wants Jason’s life to remain a living hell.
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I was also baffled and surprised when Professor Ogden included the letters from Cheryl’s parents as contributors to Jason’s state of hell. When I read the letters, I did not see any hint of cynicism or wickedness. Instead, I noticed the humility and remorse (for judging Jason on impulse) involved in the letters. However as I reviewed my notes, to prepare this response, I realized that maybe those letters were not initially intended to supplement Jason’s current state. It was the letter from Cheryl’s brother, Chris, which turned these letters into something else.
I’m not sure about this, but I am assuming that Chris’ letter took advantage of Jason’s loneliness and misery. By telling Jason that the letters from Mr./Mrs. Anway were “outright crap”, he fuelled Jason’s hatred and reason to be isolated (Coupland 112). In addition, his letter also gave Jason the wrong kind of assurance. By claiming that the preceding letters were a bunch of lies, Chris gave Jason the impression that he is a friend, always available every time Jason needs help, and Mr./Mrs. Anway are enemies, cynical and liars.
I think this is an interesting question of the letters to Jason by Emily. When I was first reading this section in the book, I was quite puzzled. I thought to myself are these letters so sincere? If they were, why did they write them in secret from the rest of the family? Cheryl’s father “drove down to [Jason’s] house […] but it had been sold quite a while ago” (109). Knowing this fact and how the letter may never get to Jason, he still wrote it. I also find it interesting if you are not sure if the letter will get to whom you are writing to the only reason writing it is self-comfort. In the part of Cheryl, she hardly mentions her family and if they were close to Jason. However, Jason was the scapegoat to their pain and blaming him was more comforting. Within each letter the Anway family was wrote more about themselves of how they are still trying to deal with Cheryl’s death and how life has turned out, than Jason and how he has been. I did not see the sincerity, but rather a selfish way to put their guilt on someone else again. I agree that the letters expressed nice comments, but it sounded more like polite gestures than sincerity.
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