Everything has two sides - Outside & Inside

 

(Imagine a world that is safe and peaceful. No murders, no crimes, and even no hatred! Would you like to live here forever?)

 

Hello, everyone. This is Judy's reflection on the novel "Pet."

Welcome to a “seemingly” unblemished society!

Ever since the protagonist Jam can remember, she has been taught “there are no monsters in the world anymore” by all the adults surrounding her. With the flying of time, there is something wrong in this society. One day, she accidentally scratches her finger and drops of her blood just drip on the painting that her mother has been drawing. In an instant her expression has turned out to be open-mouthed and stunned. She couldn’t believe what the no-eyed creature in front of her is and couldn’t figure out how everything works out. She has been wide-eyed in amazement for a few seconds. At that time, that creature says that “I am here to hunt a monster in your friend’s house.” Certainly, everything is too inconceivable for her to say anything even if she has a lot of doubts in her mind.

People in Lucille, the city in this story, generally recognize that monsters don’t exist at all. But actually, what is a monster? What does a monster look like? Is Jam’s friend sound now? What can she do if her friend is in peril? These questions occur to Jam one after another. She can’t help questioning what she had been taught about monsters before. Of course, as a reader, I am also curious about those things. Exactly as I guess, lies are full of her growing surroundings. Everyone lies to her, and her parents are no exception. Without a doubt, I would like to criticize how parents can do such things. Parents always play a considerable role in educating and being a role model for children. In addition, shaping the personalities and values of kids is one of the responsibilities for adults as well. However, in actual fact, all the adults in Lucille want nothing but protection for children. They not only establish a “perfect” and “safe” society but also prevent their children from knowing something appalling, hoping their children’s lives are as smooth as possible. From my own perspective, they are definitely so-called “helicopter parents.” Those teenagers always live in an overprotective society.

Nonetheless, even though Jam finds that her parents deceive her, she still has a clear head to know what matter prioritizes currently. She directly asks her mother without hesitation that she doesn’t want to take a risk of her best friend, Redemption’s life. Thus, all she can do is to believe that scary creature’s words and follow its instructions. But at the same time, how her parents are willing to put their daughter’s life at risk. They strongly disagree with her daughter’s decision. Hence, I ask myself when I face the dilemma of parents’ opposition and friend’s life, what actions would I take if I were Jam? I suppose that I will make the same decision as Jam because friendship can’t be overemphasized for me. No friendship, no life. Even if my parents desperately stop me from risking myself, I will still follow my heart due to the value of my own friendship. I will instantly help what I can help and do what I can do with all my might. Just as what Jam has mentioned to her best friend, “we are each other’s harvest, we are each other’s business, and we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” I really appreciate Jam’s viewpoints and disposition. In my opinion, she always has faith in what she thinks it’s right. Also, she is mature enough to know what life’s and friendship’s meanings are.

When it comes to the actual monsters, there is a turning point in the story. Monster is not a creature which looks frightening. Monster doesn’t have a massive body either. Monster is just the seamy side of humanity, including rapacity, selfishness, abuse to satisfy their own sordid desires. In the story, the real monster is Redemption’s uncle, not that no-eyed creature, Pet. Redemption’s little brother, Moss, has been abused by his uncle for a while. He doesn’t have the courage to leak any information to anyone because no one will believe his words. People in Lucille have been taught “there are no monsters,” so everyone will instead consider that he is out of his mind. Thus, thanks to Jam, Pet, and Redemption, Moss can have the possibility to escape from the psychopath. Pet indeed helps them a lot when finding the truth. It also gives “the real monster” a piece of its mind. With regard to this epilogue, it occurred to me that when I reflect on modern society, monsters exactly mirror our modern society. Pieces of news frequently expose crimes nowadays. Those law-breakers can all be depicted as “monsters.” After all, what they have done is not different from monsters.

Hence, after finishing reading this novel, I ask myself if a world looks perfect and safe on the outside such as Lucille in this story or a utopia, do I want to live there? My answer is “no” because there are a few reasons as follows. First of all, it is hard to keep secrets all the time. I have to keep track of them and make sure that they don’t jump out of my mouth. But why do I need to lead such an exhausting life? Secondly, always being kept in the dark is not pleasurable at all. The feeling of being betrayed and distrust upsets everyone. No matter how worse the situation is, I should have the right to know. Concealment can’t be acceptable all the time. Last, no murders, no crimes, and even no hatred on the onside don’t mean there is no corruption of humanity inside. I can’t only concentrate on the surface.