Dreams With Sharp Teeth: Week of 9/30/13

Pages Read: 303-325  ( Short story: "Basilisk")

The story introduces Vernon Lestig, a Lance Corporal in Vietnam during World War 1. He steps on some pungi stakes, sharp bamboo stakes usually coated with excrement so the person stepping on them becomes infected. Vern steps on one and is captured by the Viet Cong  an organization that fought against the US. He ends up losing his right foot and end up with partial blindness. His captures torture him, and it makes you wonder just how much people can be affected by traumatic events. He spills the beans about the militaries' plans, but he is still tortured. Eventually he ends up back with the US, but was taken to court for treason. He was honorably discharged and paid for his foot and blindness.

Court could be considered a reproduction of telling the Vietnamese the plans, but the real trouble hits him when he heads black to his home town in Kansas. His girlfriend married, his parents moved away, and his sister married to rid herself of the Lestig name and she doesn't understand why he did what he did. The other neighbors simply hate him for what he did. A gang of guys come and attack Vern, but he manages to get away because something protects him. The hate from the town seems to corrupt Vern, but he just wanted to go back with his family who doesn't want to be involved with him any longer. He meets with his sister in an old, abandoned church at night, hoping to find out where everyone he loves has gone. She explains she loves him, but she doesn't want the trouble from the townsfolk. This shows how the views of other people easily effect the things a person normally would care for. She would have continued on caring for him had the townsfolk not expressed their hate for Vern. She leaves him there alone, but not for long.

He hears creaking of the floorboards, so he reaches for the glasses that help him see. While reaching for the glasses, he knocks down the cane he uses to walk. He again is attacked by men, but he is overcome by a sort of power similar to the powers of basilisks in mythology. It is said that basilisks can kill by simply looking at a person, and their breath is very toxic. Vern looks one of the men in the eye. The man's face begins to rott away in disgusting handfuls. He thinks of all the torture he went through and kills are the men with his toxic breath and burning look. Vern was now very angry and was going to take it out o the rest of the people hoping to get rid of him. The neighbors look for him in the dark of Kansas, on a mission to kill the monstrous traiter.

They find him at dawn, in their mall on their monument for soldiers and sailors. They try to get at him, waving rifles and flaming weapons at him, but he's not worried. He kills the first few men that challenge him and kills the women who try to run away. Vern tells the people to crawl towards him, in reference to all the crawling he had to endure with only one foot in the days of his torture. In the middle of the crawling blob, a woman sits up and shoots Vern in the collar bone, causing him to drop his crutch. He wasn't able to get up again, so the townsfolk take this time to kill Vern.

This story made me wonder how people really would've reacted to a traiter in war. I understand that this was an important war, so would people totally freak and decide to kill the traiter? I think if someone actually betrayed the US military during WW1, people would definitely be angry, but I would think they would keep the law in mind and not decide to go and hunt this guy down. Even though it was WW1, I would hope that people would have the decency to respect this guy's right to live. They could've totally shunned him and let him be on his way, but they went straight for the killing option. Even the family members seemed to be rather vain, trying to count him out of the family so they wouldn't be judged for showing they care for him. This story had a sort of example of the things we do because of the influence of others.