Fear of Becoming Someone Else

The Ax

Burke recognizes that repeated violence is changing him, then tries to treat that change as temporary and reversible.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The First Threshold The First Threshold from "The Ax". The First Threshold A Man Who Had Never Fired Before the first murder, Burke has never fired a weapon at a person.

The First Threshold from "The Ax". The First Threshold A Man Who Had Never Fired Before the first murder, Burke has never fired a weapon at a person.

The First Threshold A Man Who Had Never Fired Before the first murder, Burke has never fired a weapon at a person. He fears the act and wonders whether his father’s experience could have prepared him for it. Capacity Revealed After shooting Everly, Burke knows he can kill. The discovery alters his self-understanding even as he tries to describe the act as a single necessary exception.

A New Normal Threatens A New Normal Threatens from "The Ax". A New Normal Threatens The Boyfriend Thought Burke imagines killing Marjorie’s lover before he knows who the man is.

A New Normal Threatens from "The Ax". A New Normal Threatens The Boyfriend Thought Burke imagines killing Marjorie’s lover before he knows who the man is.

A New Normal Threatens The Boyfriend Thought Burke imagines killing Marjorie’s lover before he knows who the man is. What frightens him is how calmly the solution appears in his mind. A Monster Within He recognizes that killing has begun to feel like an ordinary response to a problem. He describes this capacity as an armed and dangerous person living inside him.

The Campaign Takes Its Toll The Campaign Takes Its Toll from "The Ax". The Campaign Takes Its Toll Pleasure Flattens Burke says food, music, driving, sunlight, and sex have lost their former vividness.

The Campaign Takes Its Toll from "The Ax". The Campaign Takes Its Toll Pleasure Flattens Burke says food, music, driving, sunlight, and sex have lost their former vividness.

The Campaign Takes Its Toll Pleasure Flattens Burke says food, music, driving, sunlight, and sex have lost their former vividness. The prolonged strain of planning and killing has narrowed his capacity for ordinary pleasure. A Promise of Recovery He believes that finishing the campaign and getting the job will allow the damage to bleach away. His hope depends on treating moral change as a temporary side effect of a completed task.

Fallon’s Death and Attachment

Fallon’s Death and Attachment A Fellow Worker Killed Burke enjoys talking with Fallon and recognizes his intelligence and knowledge. He nonetheless kills him to create the vacancy. A Skill He Hopes to Forget Burke reflects on how far he has advanced in his ability to plan and conceal murder. He hopes never to use the skill again, while admitting that it is now a skill he possesses.

The Detective’s Photograph The Detective’s Photograph from "The Ax". The Detective’s Photograph Grief at the Faces Burke looks at photographs of Everly and Asche and feels sadness.

The Detective’s Photograph from "The Ax". The Detective’s Photograph Grief at the Faces Burke looks at photographs of Everly and Asche and feels sadness.

The Detective’s Photograph Grief at the Faces Burke looks at photographs of Everly and Asche and feels sadness. He recognizes their ordinary appearance and the lives that continue to be absent. A Self Not Resolved Burke can feel sympathy while lying to Burton and preparing for a job interview. His humanity remains present, but it no longer governs his actions reliably.

May 8, 1997

Mid-June 1997

Late June 1997

July 3, 1997