After sitting down in an interview with T.C. Boyle, the author of the short story "Killing Babies" I began to understand what he thinks of his own work. I began the interview by asking him what he thought some the main theme(s) are of the story. His response was most interesting. He stated that his goal of the story and some of the connections he wants his readers to make are simple on the outside but have a deeper meaning. He explained the first theme of not judging somebody without completely knowing them or understanding their situation. He used examples such as the protestors in the beggining of the story because they have judged Rick without even knowing him, by calling him a baby killer. Another example he said dealt with all the characters and their pre-concieved notions of one another that are obvious is the story.
I then went on to ask Mr. Boyle about some of the connections he wants his readers to make. He replied that he wanted his readers to make the connection of the two brothers, and how it relates to the Bible. He told me of some biblical stories that deal with two brothers and their realtionship such as "Cain and Abel," and "The Prodigal Son." Finally, I ended the interview with the question of what his goal of writing this short story is. He explained that he wants his readers to just have something to think about, and make their own connections with their lives and the stories. He ended by saying, "this story is more than just words on paper."
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Alex,
For this post you want to write this as an actual interview...you ask the question, then you type up his response, etc. As it is, this is a summary of an imagined interview. If you go to my blog and go to the bottom entry, there is a link you can go to (underneath Boyle) where you can find actual interviews. This might be helpful. I like your connection to the biblical stories but would love to see you imagine what Boyle what say about how they relate to these two brothers.
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