Mule Killers: Analysis of Change and Responsibility

a) Lydia Peelle’s short story, “Mule Killers”, from 2004 is an interesting anecdote about the unpredictable passage of life and its sudden changes. It can be turns for worse but also turns for better. Peelle shows us that unexpected alterations which may seem frightening and confusing can become into something good, if you really work for it.

“Mule Killers” is taking place in the American country side and is about three men from three different generations: The grand-father – the old days, the father – the transition and the son – the modern days. It is a story which the son recounts after having heard it from his father while doing gardening. We hear about the modernisation of the farms including the grand-father’s which means that the mules are being substituted with machines. At the same time we are told about the father being in love with a girl called Eula at the age of 18. Both thing meets struggle and great responsibility. One of the grand-father’s workers is killed in an accident with the new tractors and the father gets another girl pregnant. The grand-father and the father have to adjust themselves into their new way of life. The grand-father industrialises his farm and the father goes from being a boy to being a man.