Second Half of Pet Reflection

 Ruth Owusu

 Dr. Juniper Ellis

 Postcolonial Literature

Second Half of Pet Reflection 

    This book is very intriguing and thought-provoking. There were so many themes and messages that Emezi was confronting, and I want to lay out a few. Specifically, Chapter 8 was one of my favorite parts where Ube took them to the archive room where there were pamphlets about the different family monsters and the bad things happening in homes such as rape, domestic violence, child abuse, etc. I found it interesting that although monsters were really bad at the time of the revolution in Lucille. And now presently, there are supposedly no monsters. The memory or knowledge of them is hidden, secret, and kept in archival boxes. It is no longer exposed to the public, so now everyone in Lucille is happy and jolly going about their business. Granted that is fair and understandable; however, it may be true that although the angels came and killed many of them; it is not possible that they are extinct. Such is the case of Redemption House. If the memory of an evil thing is erased, then recognizing the signs of it possibly happening becomes scarce and unfamiliar to people. Later on in the book, Jam has a revelation when she says, "She and Redemption were stuck in a reality where Moss was bruised and flinching, afraid of his own family, but all these other kids were still there, playing with chalk on the sidewalks and biking down the street and falling safe in that special way that only Lucille could make you feel" (Emezi, Chapter 9). Redemption and Jam are exposing themselves to the "unknown" and the "unseen" in learning about the past of Lucille and who the monsters actually were. 

    Although the past is painful and abuse is traumatic, addressing it and bringing it out to the public is important so that even the signs of it are checked and corrected. However, the town of Lucille has decided that the past is done and should be kept in the past; nor bringing it up at all. Which is really doing damage and disserve to the community, which is why in the case of Pet, he had come to complete this mission of saving Redemption and the household of a monster that still lingers. Even though Jam understands all these things about Lucille. Jam still wants to keep it hidden from him, coddle him, and not push him further. Although she believes in this mission, Jam is a part of the larger society that does not want to fully confront the past about monsters and their possible continual presence in Lucille. 

    This speaks to a greater message about how in the present world, this is often the case. I don't punish or even shame Jam for believing but then also not believing Pet. When it was later revealed that Hibiscus was the monster, it shocked me as well. Because how? How can someone who looks like an angel, trains children to fight evil, and is linked to Redemption's family then reveal his true identity as a monster to Moss? In a way, it brought more clarity to our current contemporary stories such as Keke Palmer and her ex-boyfriend who is also a Monster. At times, it's hard to believe it because how they present themselves in the larger society does not match the doings of a "monster." But just as Pet had said, "Do not measure, Pet said in her head. A monster is a monster. A hunt is a hunt. It is simply that way" (Emezi, Chapter 9). 

    Although Monsters such as Hibiscus and our contemporary monsters, don't seem to fit on the measuring line of "good" or "bad" monsters; they are simply that. And because they are that, they have to be dealt with accordingly.