The+Case+of+the+Murdered+Drunk

The Case of the Murdered Drunk  In the short story, “The Filipino and the Drunkard” by William Saroyan, a controversial issue has been whether the Filipino is guilty or innocent of murdering the drunkard. On one hand, some argue he is innocent because the Filipino acted solely in self-defense. On the other hand, others argue that he is guilty because the Filipino did not exhaust every option of escape and he acted in rage and stabbed over and over. I believe the Filipino is guilty of second degree murder.  The verdict of second degree murder states, “[The accused] intended to kill [the victim] but decided to do so on the spur of the moment or in intense anger…” This is the correct verdict because the story clearly states that the Filipino took out the pocket knife when completely consumed in anger, and when he stabbed the drunkard, the Filipino continued to stab over and over even though it was clear he was no longer in harm’s way and could escape.  Another critical piece of evidence that portrays the Filipino’s guilt is, despite what the Defense says, the fact that he //did not// exhaust every possible and reasonable option of avoidance. Up until the very end of the short story, the officers of the boat are not mentioned. “…the officers of the boat arrived…” This brings up some important questions: Why didn’t the Filipino just go to one of the officers? They must have been there the whole time on duty, so why did the Filipino avoid them like he tried to avoid the drunkard? He could have easily gone to one of the officers, and the officer, who, like the passengers failed to stop what later occurred, would have done his job and stopped the drunkard from harassing the boy. But unfortunately, the Filipino did not use his sensible mind and go to the authorities, but instead hid in the bathroom stall, where he would later commit a murder.  Although I admit it may seem like the Filipino had reason to stab the drunkard once more because he was being choked, I still say that the Filipino is guilty of second degree murder. An instance in the story when the Filipino shows his guilt is when he continued to stab the drunken man multiple times. “[The drunkard] caught the boy at the throat, and the boy began to thrust the knife into the side of the man many times...” The Filipino had absolutely no reason to do this. The average man, choking a woman or boy, takes about twenty seconds to induce unconsciousness and a little under a minute to cause death. Factor in that the drunkard was, obviously, drunk, which goes hand in hand with clumsy, as well as severely wounded, having just been stabbed in the ribs and was suffering for pain, therefore his force was dramatically lower than in a normal circumstance. The Filipino could have easily just pushed the weak drunkard away when the drunkard grabbed him, but instead he chose to stab him to death. This proves what I said before, but it also brings up another point. When grabbed, the Filipino //immediately// starts to stab the drunkard many times, almost like he was waiting for an excuse to do it again. He most likely did this out of rage that was expressed earlier.  Another example of the Filipino’s guilt is when he gives the first threat of violence. “‘I will kill you,’ said the boy.” This shows the Filipino’s guilt because it was he who gave the first threat; the drunkard, on the other hand, was just trying to lead the Filipino away so he could be where the white people were. “[The drunkard said,] ‘I don’t want you standing up here among the white people.’”  Clearly, the Filipino is guilty of second degree murder. He let rage get the best of him and stabbed a man to death. He made the first threat and he continued to stab over and over, his rage in control, and then he immediately fled the scene. Being a student at John Muir and a citizen in Burbank, I have seen many heated arguments and fights. Sometimes, like in the Filipino’s case, one person will just snap and it turns from a yelling match to a fist fight in a matter of seconds. The results could be disastrous, unfair, and can ultimately determine your reputation and sometimes part of your life. Thankfully, I have seen no one stabbed to death, but I hope people in the future to not act like the Filipino did and let rage get the best of them. Because when you let anger control you, only terrible things can happen, and in consequence, terrible things will happen to you. Just like the Filipino will be sentenced with second degree murder.