Eli

Analytical Paragraph: Eli

Ryan Schimpf

05-30-14

 

                In the short story “Eli” by Vincent Lam, each character is immoral for a different reason. The police officers said that “Eli is a bad man, and we find many such people are accident prone.” (p.167) This was their excuse for hitting Eli while arresting him. The doctor found out that Eli was hit because he didn’t have cuts on his hand like a person who had fallen would have had. The actions of the police are the most unjustifiable. Although they were arresting him, nothing in the story says that Eli was violent or resisting arrest. After biting the doctor, Eli said “Didn’t mean to bite you, man,” (p.178) meaning that he meant to bite the police officer to get revenge for when they had hit him. The fact that the police officers pushed him for no reason makes Eli’s actions the most justifiable; although Eli wanted and deserved revenge, he could have gotten it in a different way. Later in the story, the doctor puts a pair of scissors down beside Eli so he can cut the officers. When Eli came into the hospital, he wouldn’t sit still while getting stitches. The doctor switched to using staples because they were faster and would be easier to use. “Thunk Thunk. I put in a few extra just for the sting.” (p.178) The doctor decides that Eli is stubborn and deserves a few more painful stitches. It isn’t until after he inspects Eli’s hands that he realizes Eli didn’t actually fall - the police injured him. After he realizes this he gives Eli the scissors. The doctor is justified because Eli was pushed for no reason, and that the police were the real enemies. The police started this chain of immoral events, and sometimes getting revenge requires actions that some might find immoral.