Crossing the Line

Jack Little is a story about Will Hodge- a jewelry store owner in Memphis, TN who loses his business because he falls for a conman's game. However he gets the chance to get his store back and then some. He not only takes back his own merchandise but also merchandise from the conman's other victims.

Okay.

Not the worse crime in the world.

However by taking what is not his he opens up a door into taking more than what it is. He is opening up the door to stealing. And yes. Caught or not, stealing is a crime and not justifiable for the most part. We all agree it is not moral to take from somebody else.

Yet I wonder how many of us would have made the same decision?

I cannot swear that I would not. After all getting his own merchandise back could be seen as a crime by many. The hardcore law abiding person would have called the police without a second thought. Yet, what would have happened?

Most likely the police would have confiscated the merchandise and locked it away in an evidence room. Sure. Will might get it back eventually but bill collectors don't wait around to be paid. He needed the money right then and there. So taking it back himself is something I would most certainly take advantage of. I believe in God and would feel like the lord had blessed me in spite of the conman's efforts at my downfall. I see nothing immoral about reclaiming your own property.

However I cannot say I would have taken the rest.

I cannot say I would not have either.

In the best fiction one primary ingredient is desperation. Will Hodge feels that. His bills are piling up. His wife has just lost the only woman who was ever a parent to her. His son is away at college and we all know college costs money. He sees the business his father built up his whole life and passed on to Will who in turn dedicated his own life to running it, is going under. He is drowning.

So he take the rest of the merchandise. If we had the same worries(as many of us might have), we might go ahead and take a page from old Will's book. And while it is a crime, how big or bad of a crime is it?

Surely when a man kills a child rapist, he is a criminal for taking the law into his hands. However what if the child rapist would have hurt another child if he hadn't killed him? The man prevented others from being hurt. So while a crime, it is forgivable.

Is Will's crime forgivable?

I believe it is although I know if I were in the shoes of the other stores, I would not think so. The honorable thing to do would be to return their merchandise and if nothing else, do so anonymously. Either way you did not take what was not yours. You sleep well.

But of course Will gets plenty of sleep himself. Clearly he does not look at it as such a bad thing and obviously forgivable. As a reader, I think that I don't stand too much against him since the other stores were bigger and most likely had great insurance that came through anyway. So maybe in his shoes I would have done the same thing.

However this did open up the door for more stealing. Any criminal finds committing his crimes much easier the more he goes along. From here Will starts taking other things and he's pretty darn good at it. So here's the real question.

If he had not taken more than was his, would he have ended up stealing anything else at all?

In my opinion I don't think he would have. Despite his desperation, he would have found another way. Crossing that line changes a person forever.