The Utterly Perfect Murder Character Analysis

In “The Utterly Perfect Murder”, Doug, the main character, is an insane character due to his obsession with trying to go back to his childhood throughout the whole story. On his 48th birthday, Doug thinks up the idea of murdering his childhood bully, which he used to consider his friend because Ralph was the only one who paid attention to him. As Doug thinks in his bed next to his wife and with his kids in the next rooms, the “utterly perfect… incredibly delightful idea for murder” pops into his mind, and he calls himself “half out of his mind all across America” (Bradbury 19). After 36 blissful years of his life, Doug decides that he needs to travel back and kill someone he knew when he was twelve years old. Although it’s been a long time

Just like Ahab from Moby Dick was obsessed with capturing a white whale, Doug has an extremely strong desire to annihilate Ralph from existence. This is insane, for reason that time should have faded away some, if not all, of his desire to kill Ralph; as can be seen, Doug is still vindictive, in addition to being irrational, for keeping his grudge. When Doug gets off the train, he walks through Green Town, his childhood neighborhood, to enjoy the last golden rays of sunshine. In his plan to kill Ralph, Doug believes he should “kill [and] depart, a stranger among strangers” when he finally arrives at Ralph’s house (Bradbury 22). He also wants to savor his childhood bully’s death because back then he “didn’t know how to give up the vomit that was my miserable ghost” (Bradbury 21). When he was young, Doug would always gravitate towards Ralph because he was the only one who acknowledges his presence, even if it was in a negative way. Even though Ralph keeps abusing docile Doug with physical violence or manipulation, Doug cannot seem to let go of this bond, and therefore wants to continue being mistreated just to have the slightest bit of attention to fill up his lonely