While They Slept Part 6

In the final part of this book, we begin to understand the main topic of this book, which is how do you survive after such sever emotional trauma. Instead of making the main character Billy, the killer, the author focuses on Jody, the person who has gone through such a horrible event. When asked about it, she says "That there was no way that I could come from such a horrible background and not be damaged beyond repair"(qtd. on 247). She seems to feel that there is no return from such an even, and she may have comtemplated suicide. This creates the theme that for some people there is no return from this and their life will be defined by this event. She further writes that she loves holocaust literature and "knowing that the thin veneer of civility that masks human savagery is universal in extreme situations made me feel a lot more normal"(qtd. in 248). This knowledge that humans are barely different from savages seems to help her a lot. Knowing that what her mother did was not the only time in the world where someone has done horrible stuff has helped her realize that her experience is not much different. She can then indentify with those who had been in concentration camps.
When Billy goes to prison, however, he encounters a much different environment. Much like his father and his relationship, it is a place characterized by violence. Men have to assert their supiority in the most basic of ways. He says "I just got a repuration as a crazy with a deth wish"(264). He may want to outright die, especially when he first showed up at the prison and may have been overwhelmed with the idea of spending his whole life here. This would create a hopeless situation for many people, especially if they were as young as Billy. One of the most important parts of his stint in prison was his creation so a martial arts school. He writes "This parental-like role gave me a reason to live"(267). He may want to prove to himself that he wasn't a bad a parent as his father was, and that he is different from him. He may also just want to be a in a position of powere where he at least has some control over the other inmates.