I don't think we can justify rape anyway ? Like, he can have the saddest backstory ever a rape is still a rape ? Anyway I agree with everything that you said and I don't think that the author tried to make us like Chang but just tried to show us how he came to love Ed and why he acted this way all this time ? (Sorry for my poor english)
I don’t think rape can be justified, but the author tried to somehow justify it by showing how Chang had come to take that path.
First of all, i think it’s pretty stupid to actually try to justify it (well i think it’s different if the rapist has turned crazy and we get a backstory to know how he became a crazy person). But even there, i think the attempt was horrible, that’s what i meant.
The backstory was a way to explain that Chang always loved Ed and that everything he has done towards Ed, he did it BECAUSE of his love.
And YET, everything he did was for his own happiness and he never took Ed’s feeling in consideration while destroying Ed’s life.
So a rape was thrown in this story, and the reason given is love, and yet the rapist never acted as a person that loves the victim.
That’s what i meant.
I think that giving a backstory to a character doesn't mean trying to justify is actions but I get you, guess we just disagree on some points (even if I agree on the most of it) and it's fine
The author explained Chang’s story, and about his feelings for Ed. That itself means the author was trying to make us understand Chang point of view. And that means justifying his actions. But i’m not saying that the author is trying to make us think it’s okay.
More like she wants us to understand him. And doing that is trying to make him less of a bad guy.
(But Chang’s actions were absurd to me so it was pretty pointless to give him a backstory)
For example : if a man killed my mother. I would feel hate that person to an insane level. But if i was told that his intentions were initially not bad, for example, his life was shit and he became alcoholic and then started drugs and doesn’t even know he it came to killing my mom. I would still hate him, but knowing that he isn’t pure evil, that he didn’t wish for that (even though it’s technically his choice to drink and take drugs). If i can understand his life path, it make it look like he ain’t as bad as i thought.
If you still disagree, i respect that. I could be wrong but it makes sense to me.
I mean.... if the author wanted us to empathize with Chang (just a little bit, by making him more human, you know). Shouldn’t she atleast make him regret the rape right after it happened?
Instead he
- Mock McQueen by talking about having sex with ed(rape) IN FRONT of Ed. (Thats like stabbing a victim right after the rape)
- Keeps stalking Ed after it happened
- Tries to make only himself feel better
He doesn’t even feel regret about the rape because thats the kind of person he is, he always treated Ed like shit from the very beginning and he didn’t change at all.
And if he eventually regrets what he did, it won’t be because of hurting Ed, but most likely he will regret because his actions led to losing Ed.
And it’s pretty fucked up to justify all the trash he is done by saying : he loved Ed so much.
That *love* is just as good as the love of a husband that beats up his wife every days.
The backstory didn’t even justify any of his actions. The author should have made him become crazy due to xxx events, that would have made more sense.