The Absurdity of Punishing a Fellow Human Being

The short story "Some of us had been threatening out friend Colby" by Donald Barthelme is a satire about human cruelty. The author showed how irrational it could be for a group of people to enforce punishment on a fellow person, especially in the case of capital punishment. The author begins the story by declaring a bunch of friends wanted to have a friend, Colby, hung. The reason of this shocking action was mentioned very …

…before, just like what the friends were planning to do to Colby. (6) This satirical piece makes an interesting reading. The author expressed his view against human repression and capital punishment by putting it under seemingly absurd circumstances, pushing it to the extreme. He powerfully demonstrated the irrationality of such practices. When the reader contemplates issues like the society's right to restrain people's undesirable behaviors, reading this story can provide a reference for clarity of mind.