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A Reporter's Choices

 

            Like an exciting football game, wherein the uncertain factors are necessary, such as the players' conditions and tactics, a good story needs uncertainties to help develop plots and make unpredictable ending, through which to arouse interest. In this sense, Two Fishermen,written by Morley Callaghan, is a good story, in which the vague descriptions of a case, elusive psychological changes and equivocal attitudes of Michael create the uncertainty, which makes the plot unexpected and the story interesting. Michael Foster is an ambitious young reporter on the town paper, but why would he face the hard choices and what would he choose? The answers lie in the uncertainty of the story.
             The verdict of Thomas' crime is uncertain. It's not appropriate to say that "this was not a case about revenge and killing, but about self-defense"[1], since the author uses only two sentences to describe the crime: he (Thomas Delaney) had killed old Mathew Rhinehart who he had caught molesting his wife when she had been berry-picking in the hills behind the town; there had been a struggle and Thomas Delaney had taken a bad beating before he had killed Rhinehart[2]. But the ambiguous description indicated the uncertainty of this criminal case. It was vague like hearsay with no witness or evidence mentioned, since no single word shows that there had been a trail, hense this crime could be understood as accidental homicide, manslaughter, or murder, which would make a big difference when a case was ruled. It seemed not unreasonable for the public to believe that young Thomas' behavior was understandable and he was innocent. So when he was sentenced to death, people were enraged, as "a crowd had gathered on the sidewalk,.thrown sticks and bottles and small stones at the out-of-town workmen in the jail yard"[2]. Michael was the only reporter working on the town paper, who was ambitiously with the hope to "work on an important newspaper"[2] someday in the city.


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