Fighting Evil Without Becoming Evil: Perceptions of Justice in 'The Round House' Mihika Sathe 11th Grade

In November, 2018, United States Border Patrol agents tear gassed and attacked members of a migrant caravan from Honduras at the US border. After marching for weeks to escape political unrest and seek asylum, the migrants were met with the same violence they were trying to escape from in the first place. Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality for thousands of migrants trying to enter the US through the Southern border. While some may argue that the actions of Border Patrol agents are justified because they are legal, others argue that these actions are unjustified because they are inhumane, despite the immigration status of the people involved. This conflict in morality—the distinction between what is right and what is wrong—is not limited to the issue of immigration and can be seen in discussions around many other social issues, such as abortion, the death penalty, and gun control. In each of these cases, there are several different interpretations about what is right and what is wrong.

In Louise Erdrich’s The Round House, a 13 year old Native American boy named Joe comes across many different standpoints on what is right and what is wrong after his mother is raped. Although the book is not primarily identified with the...