AAM - Theme
Human nature may often tell people to fill the void of their losses, to obtain closure. Different people have different ways of getting closure. In Dan Ross’s Always a Motive, Joe Manetti achieves closure by bringing back what was once his, through a different way. Joe is a lonely man who suffers from losing his wife and son. He is accused of kidnapping the Miller baby, and is interrogated by Inspector Winters. He mentions that, “my wife left me” and that “he was killed by a truck”, referring to his child. This may explain why he is described as a young man whose “face was pale and wore a haunted look. “ Joe is a hopeless man, when asked where he drove he says, “Anywhere! I just drive until I feel better.” His deep sadness shows that his losses had a major effect on him. The losses of those loved ones that cannot be brought back can be agonizing for some people. At the end of the story, it is revealed that he did not kidnap the little boy, but returned him to his father because he “wanted to see the face of the father who had lost his kid and then got it back.” Joe wanted to see the face of the child’s father, seeing it as a way to fill the void of his losses. He felt that the accident with his son was resolved in a way. Losses are common occurrences in everyone’s lives. In this case, Joe chose to obtain closure by bringing the Miller child back to his father. Dan Ross shows a character who chose closure with a lost, loved one, through a sympathetic action.