Situations 7&8
VENGEANCE TAKEN FOR KINDRED UPON KINDRED
AND APPEARANCE OF A NEW KINSMAN
“The tragedy of a man’s life is what dies inside of him while he lives.”
–HENRY DAVID THOREAU
Vengeance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred
Vengeance is infliction of punishment in return for a wrong committed, retribution with great violence or force to an extreme degree. When it involves family members it is even more earth-shattering.
Vengeance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred is similar to Vengeance for a Crime, but in this situation the Avenging Kinsman, Guilty Kinsman, and Victim are all related on some level. They do not have to be blood relatives but can be one of three types of Kinsman:
1. a relative through marriage only
2. a hierarchal relationship such as a mentor and his protégé or a teacher and his student or a mob boss and right-hand man; two people interact on an intimate level
3. friends who have gone through something very intense, intimate, and personal together such as being attacked, going off to war, or saving each other in some way
A very interesting twist in this situation could be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of story where the Avenging Kinsman and the Guilty Kinsman are the same.
This situation requires an Avenging Kinsman, a Guilty Kinsman, and Remembrance of the Victim that may come in the form of a Relative of the Victim and/or Avenging and Guilty Kinsman. More often than not the Victim in this situation is killed rather than harmed because a very strong motivating force is needed to propel two kinsmen against each other. It’s much easier to seek vengeance upon a stranger than it is to seek vengeance upon a kinsman.
THE AVENGING KINSMAN
The Avenging Kinsman will always face a moment of disbelief, where he doesn’t want to believe the Guilty Kinsman is guilty. At the same time he is also dealing with his grief over the Victim’s misfortune. He is intimately tied to both of these people and cannot separate himself from this unfortunate triangle. He may be reluctant and try to wish away the whole event, but sooner or later his grief will turn into anger and his disbelief will turn into a realization of the truth.
The Avenging Kinsman sees it as his duty to keep things “in the family” and seek vengeance himself. Perhaps another kinsman asks him to take care of things or the dying Victim begs him to seek revenge in his name.
His sense of duty and right vs. wrong is very strong and nothing can sway him from his task.
THE GUILTY KINSMAN
The Guilty Kinsman may or may not know he did something wrong. Perhaps he was out partying with the Victim and didn’t realize she overdosed, or he felt like the Victim needed to learn a lesson of some sort only things went too far.
This type of character is rarely remorseful, as is the case with the Criminal in Vengeance for a Crime. Family situations such as this are very emotional and personal. It takes a lot of anger, resentment, or jealously to hurt a kindred as opposed to a stranger.
He is like the wife-beating husband who hurts his wife one day, apologizes to her the next, and then repeats the offense again. This is not a remorseful person. He is locked in a pattern of behavior and may not think there is anything wrong with him at all.
He may even have one of two types of psychological disorders:
1. PARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER: an unwarranted tendency to interpret the actions of other people as deliberately threatening or demeaning. He suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him. He bears grudges. Symptoms include suspicion, inability to relax, poor self-image, being argumentative and easily slighted. This type would probably think the Victim was out to get him in some way.
2. BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER: an individual trait that reflects ingrained, inflexible, and maladaptive patterns of behavior characterized by impulsive and unpredictable actions, mood instability, and unstable interpersonal relationships. He has inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling his temper. He sees things in extremes. Symptoms include unstable interpersonal relationships, frequent displays of temper, and often being impulsive and bored. This type would probably think the Victim was going to leave him or he just couldn’t contain his anger during an argument. This type is usually remorseful.
For more information on these disorder, see http://my.webmd.com or www.mentalhealth.com.
REMEMBRANCE OF THE VICTIM
As stated earlier, usually in this situation the Victim is killed. Therefore, Remembrance of the Victim is present throughout the story. This can come in the form of a Relative of the Victim and/or Avenging and Guilty Kinsman.
In Vengeance for a Crime, the personal relationship between the characters is not as intense as it is with kindred. The Criminal in that situation may even have several Victims, never giving any one Victim much of a role in the story. But here the Victim is present like a ghost haunting the characters until vengeance is served.
A relative of both the Avenging Kinsman and the Guilty Kinsman is present to speak up for the Victim, motivate the Avenging Kinsman, and condemn the Guilty Kinsman. He is a symbol that lets everyone know the Avenging Kinsman is right for seeking vengeance. The family is behind him.
Whether Vengeance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred is used as plot, subplot, or incident, the beginning, middle, and end are the same:
BEGINNING: A Victim is slain by the Guilty Kinsman and the Avenging Kinsman grieves.
• Does the Guilty Kinsman have a psychological disorder of some type? How will you show this?
• How is the Victim slain? Does anyone witness it?
• Was the act impulsive or thought out ahead of time? How long have they been at odds with each other?
• Does the Guilty Kinsman kill for power? (Think of the Godfather movies.) Does he stand to gain anything?
• How closely related are the Guilty Kinsman and the Victim?
• What does the Guilty Kinsman do after the “act”?
• Is the Victim alive long enough to ask for vengeance? Does he make the Avenging Kinsman promise him he will do it?
MIDDLE: The Avenging Kinsman has accepted the situation and vows to hunt down the Guilty Kinsman for vengeance. The Guilty Kinsman reacts.
• Does the Guilty Kinsman run away or stand his ground? Does he have a group of people on his side?
• Does the relative of both play a significant role? (He could pretend to be on the side of the Guilty Kinsman, only to double-cross him later.)
• What are the Avenging Kinsman’s plans for the Guilty Kinsman? What tools does he have at his disposal?
• Does the Avenging Kinsman have any special skills or resources to help him?
• Will they have one big confrontation at the end of the story or meet several times in the middle—each meeting more intense than the last one?
• Will law enforcement get involved?
• How will you foreshadow the ending?
END: The Avenging Kinsman defeats the Guilty Kinsman.
• How will vengeance be served?
• Will this be physical punishment? Humiliation? Financial ruin? (Be creative.)
• How does the Guilty Kinsman react to his downfall? Does he repent? Ask forgiveness? Does he curse his family?
• How do the family members feel after it is all over? How does the Avenging Kinsman feel?
• What will the Avenging Kinsman do now?
• Do they formally remember the Victim after it’s over?
“There is not enough magic in a bloodline to forge an instant, irrevocable bond.”
–JAMES EARL JONES
Appearance of a New Kinsman
Appearance here refers to the act of appearing in a particular place, company, or proceeding.
In this opposite situation, the Avenging Kinsman becomes the Protecting Kinsman, helping to bring a new member into the clan or to look at an existing member in a new way. This can be through:
• the birth of a child (especially an heir to a throne)
• a friend or ally who wishes to join the clan
• a long-lost, New Kinsman who is returning home
• a New Kinsman who has developed a talent and wishes to advance in the clan
• a clan member who wishes to break with accepted roles
In each of these types a New Kinsman comes into the clan, and there are those who do not want to allow him entrance, especially if this new member has or will have power. Think of stories that have been about:
• one King ordering the death of another King’s heir
• a father who should not have fathered a child because he is married to someone else or the mother is too young for him, creating an illegitimate child, which could possibly split the clan apart
• a man returning home to take over his father’s business, taking it away from an uncle
• a child who will be born with a handicap and the family isn’t sure he should be brought to term
The Protecting Kinsman would be focused on the child and keeping him safe, no matter how old the child is during the story. His duty is still to the family as it was in the opposite situation as an Avenging Kinsman, but here it is to keep the New Kinsman alive rather than to avenge a kinsman’s death.
If the story is about a New Kinsman trying to challenge stereotypes held within the clan, the Protecting Kinsman will take more of a mentor role, serving to give him confidence to keep going.
Whether Appearance of a New Kinsman is used as plot, subplot, or incident, the elements of the beginning, middle, and end are the same:
BEGINNING: A New Kinsman joins the clan.
• Are others suspicious of him right away?
• Is his parentage in question?
• What type of power does the New Kinsman have?
• Why do some of the kinsmen want to get rid of him?
• Does the New Kinsman have allies in the clan?
• What will the New Kinsman potentially do for the clan? What benefit is he?
• Will some want to use him as a pawn? Making false alliances with him?
MIDDLE: A Protecting Kinsman decides to guard the New Kinsman at all costs.
• Why does the Protecting Kinsman guard him? What’s at stake for him?
• Why does the New Kinsman stay when the situation gets tough? Does he feel a need to serve the clan? To help others as if it is his duty?
• What obstacles are thrown in front of him? Does he know who is against him?
• Is the New Kinsman trusting the wrong people?
• Who speaks for the New Kinsman if he is a child?
• What motivates the Guilty Kinsman?
END: The Protecting Kinsman defeats the Guilty Kinsman, and the New Kinsman contributes to the clan in a positive way.
• What does the Guilty Kinsman do to try to defeat the New Kinsman? Does he get others to help him?
• How does the Protecting Kinsman make everyone see what has happened? Why didn’t they want to see the truth before?
• How does the New Kinsman learn more about his power, duty, or perhaps his true lineage?
• How is the whole tribe strengthened by the New Kinsman? And how is the Guilty Kinsman punished?
• How does the New Kinsman contribute to the clan? (He could be an inventor, scientist, doctor, royalty, or guru, someone who has secret knowledge or skills.)
EXAMPLES
Richard III, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
VENGEANCE TAKEN FOR KINDRED UPON KINDRED AS PLOT— Richard seeks to gain the throne from his elder brother, Edward, by any means within his grasp including murder, marriage, and fratricide.
The Bacchae, EURIPIDES
VENGEANCE TAKEN FOR KINDRED UPON KINDRED AS PLOT—The Bacchae is a classic myth in which Dionysus, son of Zeus, seeks vengeance on Thebes, the city of his birth and site of his mortal mother Semele’s cruel and horrible death.
The Golden Child, MICHAEL RITCHIE
APPEARANCE OF KINSMAN (TO HUMANITY) AS SUBPLOT— Eddie Murphy plays a detective with a specialty of finding lost children. He is told he is the “chosen one” who will find and protect the Golden Child, a Buddhist mystic who was kidnapped by an evil sorcerer.
Whale Rider, NIKI CARO (based on the novella)
APPEARANCE OF KINSMAN AS PLOT— The story begins with a girl’s birth and the simultaneous death of her mother and twin brother. Her grieving father Porourangi gives her a boy’s name, Paikea, after the legendary warrior who rode in from the sea on a whale’s beak to found the Maori people. Years later, little Pai is being raised by her grandfather Koro, the tribal chief descended from a centuries-old line of chiefs, who remains disappointed that his granddaughter lived while his grandson died. Only a firstborn son can inherit the title. His belief in tradition blinds him to the fact that Pai is the best choice for the title.