Riddle us this: Who gets to decide what's just? Our gut instinct is to answer "the law" or "morality," but what about when those fail us? We might agree it's wrong to kill someone. Enter a man with a gun into your home (like Shorty sees) or a warzone (like Toussaint). Is it still wrong to kill someone? In Darkness never really gives us straight answers to these million-dollar questions. It's easy for us to make judgments on the characters when we're safely reading the book in our homes, but it's much more complex than that in the Site.
Questions About Justice and Judgment
- Which actions in this novel are just and which are unjust? Which characters are morally ambiguous and which are firmly "good" or "bad"?
- Who decides what is just in the Site? During the Revolution? What happens when people disagree on that?
- What is the relationship between justice and revenge in the novel? How does Toussaint differentiate between them? Why is one necessary and one troubling?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Shorty is not motivated by justice but by revenge. He wants Boston gang members dead because they make his life miserable.
Toussaint is motivated only by justice.