62 pages • 2 hours read
Lee ChildKilling Floor
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Vigilantism and the State
Child states that the Jack Reacher books are “revenge novels,” in which Reacher often takes revenge “on behalf of someone else or on behalf of a situation in which an arrogant and contemptuous person prevails in an evil way” (Crime Reads 2018). Revenge typically falls under the definition of vigilante justice, and Reacher exemplifies the best qualities of the escapism a vigilante’s quest provides. He is not bound by any oaths to the law, only by his sense of duty to other people. That duty is earned on a case-by-case basis. He is devoted to his late brother, Joe, and he is devoted to Finlay and Roscoe as they become friends. However, his relationships with the two police officers proves tricky to navigate at first, as he notes that “Finlay wouldn’t sanction the sort of punishments that were going to be necessary,” and the laws Roscoe swore to uphold were “designed to get in my way” (160, 220). Despite these difficulties, Reacher pursues his goals with or without his companions’ approval. He becomes almost single-minded in his relentless search for the truth, and he conducts his “investigation” by his own moral code. In physical fights, Reacher admits he “cheats,” such as headbutting the antagonistic prisoner at Warburton, or sneaking up behind Kliner’s son and the killing squad to break their necks. Reacher believes in efficiency, even if it involves a level of brutality or ungentlemanly conduct, because he is lead not by conventions but by his drive to survive and win.
Reacher and Roscoe do not stay together at the end of the novel, not only because of Reacher’s nature as a wanderer, but also because their relationship represents the incompatible binary between the state and the vigilante. Their union is only compatible for a temporary period, and any legitimate affection between them is superseded by their usefulness in achieving the other’s goals. Roscoe helps Reacher solve Joe’s murder; he helps her clean up her town. When Reacher’s personal cause no longer overlaps with the community’s need to be saved, it becomes clear that he and Roscoe want different things. Her vision of the future includes board meetings, mayoral elections, and fully integrating herself into the new Margrave; it represents everything Reacher left behind in the military, and everything he still rejects in the present. He shudders at the thought of something like property taxes, as he never relinquishes his desire to see his country on his own terms. Roscoe sets her terms within the acceptable boundaries of the community’s needs, but as a vigilante, the only needs Reacher is compelled to meet are his own.
Breaking the American Dream
Reacher’s first impression of Margrave is the assumption that the “prosperous community” must have been built “on prosperous farm incomes and high taxes on commuters who worked up in Atlanta” (6). As he discovers more of the town and meets its citizens, Reacher realizes something is not quite right with Margrave: “The way the place looked, he should have said: how may I help you, sir? But he said nothing. He just looked at me” (7). The attitudes of the townspeople do not match the beautiful outward appearance, and sometimes a pointed comment or sneaky glance at him makes Reacher curious what a whole town could be hiding. According to Finlay and Roscoe, Margrave is a town cut from the map, bypassed by the new highways and airports, rendering it practically invisible. This alienation makes the town vulnerable to Kliner’s corruption. That vulnerability is the result of the American Dream ideology of constant improvement, industrial advancement, and capitalist innovation. But the Dream, which is sold as the result of honest success, easily shifts into corruption in this narrative because of its emphasis on financial status above all else, regardless of ethical means and the town’s well-being. Reacher and Finlay agree that Kliner’s hold on Margrave only became as strong as it did because Teale could not refuse the influx of money—funds he used to rebuild his town and advance his own financial position. Reacher notices the nostalgic appearance of many local businesses and criticizes the people’s longing for a memory of American life that actually never existed: “They pay a fortune for it because it re-creates the way people want America to look. The way they think it used to look” (126). The town appears on its surface to be an idealized community, the real-world visualization of what achieving the American Dream looks like, but it is ultimately empty and false.
In the 2017 essay, “The Lonely Road to Freedom: Jack Reacher’s Interpretation of an American Myth,” Jeroen Vermeulen argues that Reacher “represents a conscious rejection of the American Dream, as he intentionally declines personal wealth and voluntarily seeks oblivion in a vagrant lifestyle” (113). Vermeulen further posits Reacher’s lifestyle as “a type of freedom that includes solitude and wandering without a definite destination” despite his family background making him seem “destined to become a career soldier” (115). By rejecting the American Dream, Reacher’s philosophical approach to life moves beyond that narrative. He no longer needs a “grand récit” to motivate him. Furthermore, he does not charge for his investigative services, since that would make him dependent on clientele and restrict his free movement through the country. He relies on his military severance pay (and counterfeit bills) to cover his expenses, even if that means he will not be an active participant in American society. Because Reacher does not own a permanent home, he belongs to no place and every place simultaneously.
Reacher as Teacher: the Pedagogy of Power
At several points in the novel, Reacher reflects on his training as a military policeman. While the lessons he learned in his career helped shape his specialized skillset, they also made him a surprisingly effective teacher to others. Reacher’s most essential lessons are about power: how to get it, maintain it, and take it away from your enemies. The first time Reacher tests another’s power is when he is arrested and refuses to even speak the single sentence necessary to confirm he understands his Miranda rights. Reacher knows silence can shake an arresting officer’s confidence while simultaneously avoiding the risk of miscommunication, so he keeps quiet in order to keep as much power over the situation as possible. If he stays silent, he never surrenders full control. Later, Reacher “tests” Baker’s civility by silently asking him to remove his handcuffs (10). Reacher enacts this test to judge not only Baker’s intentions, but also to gain a little more control. In Warburton, Reacher recalls a prominent lesson that linked attitude with power: “They taught me that inhibitions would kill me. Hit early, hit hard. Kill with the first blow. Get your retaliation in first. Cheat. The gentlemen who behaved decently weren’t there to train anybody. They were already dead” (79). Reacher’s ability to quickly assess a threat was a skill he learned, just as he learned how to do substantial damage to his opponent in minimal time. Reacher was taught that hesitation makes one vulnerable, and vulnerability is inextricably tethered to losing one’s power. Reacher learned how to never be helpless and to fortify his own status early and often.
Reacher steps into the role of teacher when Roscoe nearly unravels after discovering the conspiracy’s killing squad broke into her home. He carefully considers his approach: “I knew I had to sound confident. Fear wouldn’t get her anywhere. Fear would just sap her energy. She had to face it down. And she had to face down the dark and the quiet again tonight, and every other night of her life.[…] It was working. I was convincing her. I needed her to be bright, tough, self-confident. I was willing her to pick it up. It was working” (227-228). While the scene is rooted in Reacher’s urgency to keep her calm and focused, the image he creates for her of the murderers dying at his hand is also meant to show her how to re-imagine the situation. It helps her rehearse a move from helplessness to power, even and especially in the face of something truly frightening. Reacher’s intention is to prompt Roscoe to relinquish the scene as a moment of horror, and quietly imagine what is possible. She finds strength in the fantasy he creates for her, and that strength helps her survive her later kidnapping.
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