Fixed

Heath Urbaniak
English 250
Dr. Albert Rouzie

The story “The Fix” written by Percival Everett is not your average everyday run-of-the-mill story. For one the aspect of one man being able to fix so many things, including the fixing of mortality, does not quite seem possible to most people. The story is a clever mix between the real and surreal based around a character that can literally defy death. Some may read the story and think it is quite the tragic tale of some extraordinary man, but Aesop might find a moral to this fable. To me this story has underlying messages involving social aspects, moral codes, and biblical references.
The main characters in the story are Douglas Langley and Sherman Olney. Douglas is a kind hearted sandwich shop owner where Sherman is a quiet man who is quite handy at anything he does. In a way Douglas can be viewed as the Good Samaritan from the infamous story in the bible. The story tells about a man who was robbed and beaten on a road. While lying there he is passed by a number of respectable figures such as a priest. All the social elites passed the poor man by while a Samaritan, who in biblical times was viewed as a heathen, took care of the man. Douglas takes in a beaten Sherman and gives him food and shelter only asking for a few tasks to be done around his faulty sandwich shop. There are also other stories in the bible involving Samaritans. There is another story involving a Samaritan woman drawing water from a well. Christ is sitting near the well and asks for a drink of water and then for a bite to eat. The woman was astonished that a Jew would ask a gentile for any assistance. Nevertheless she gives the man food and drink and because of her act of kindness she is blessed with endless supplies of water and flour. Once again Doug portrays the Samaritan and Sherman would play the role of Jesus. In “The Fix” Doug profits greatly from Sherman, he gets business from the mending abilities of his new friend as well as having all his appliances running in tiptop shape. Lets take the Jesus role of Sherman a little further. The story of Christ resurrecting Lazarus is a story that can be easily recollected by anyone who attended Sunday school as a child or has a basic background of the bible. In the story Jesus arrives too late to heal his friend Lazarus of his ailments and while Jesus was on the way Lazarus dies. After being dead for days Christ brought his friend back to life. Sherman also defies death by reviving a dead woman. After the resurrection of the woman, Sherman a man of many miracles decides that he must end his life due to the mob crying, “fix us”. The end of the story leaves a gap and a question of whether or not Sherman actually goes through with his sky dive off the bridge, but you get the feeling he might have. He sacrificed himself for the greater good, leaving people to fix themselves.
Morality is quite a broad and touchy subject. What constitutes moral actions and what constitutes immoral actions? The definition of morality says that morals pertain to something that is good and ethical. While the definition gives you an idea it is not concrete. Good and ethical can mean different things depending on the interpreter so I will analyze what I think based on my own moral convictions and meanings of good and ethical. To start off I would describe Douglas as a good man. He is a hard working small business owner who cares about others. This is evident in the ways he helps out Sherman, a complete stranger. He helps out someone he doesn’t even know despite his wife’s accusations against his sanity. He shows the need to help out others in need and the act to respect Herman and his privacy. Sherman is another character I would define as moral. He is a kind person that doesn’t protest helping others in need. He has a great gift and is willing to use it when he is asked. He will fix anything for anyone as long as they ask him, however at the beginning of the story he is ruffled up by government agents due to his lack of cooperation. What did they want him to fix or at that make? We never find out what the government wanted Sherman for but one can assume it was for a task that would not coincide with his beliefs or right and wrong. Sherman never commits a wrongful act through the whole story; he is merely a man willing to help. Some might say he is selfish for ending his life but in reality there was no way to live a life filled with the demands of thousands.
The story also touches on the problems of society. Society as a whole is very centrally based. Everyone wants something that will make their life easier as soon as they can; a quick fix. Herman is their quick fix; their hero, the answer to all their problems, and they overwhelm him with their problems because they believe he has all the answers. In reality one man cannot save the whole world from themselves. If you take a look at popular movies you will see societies desire for a hero. The top grossing film of the past year was about a superhero. Superhero’s come from our desire for someone to be heroic and fix our problems. In Sherman’s case he literally fixed problems whereas a superhero fixes a cities crime situation by beating the bad guys to a pulp and disappearing into the night with the good-looking girl. Society desires a single hero to save them instead of looking inside them self to find the hero lying inside each of us. It is very easy to put your problems upon someone else and let him or her deal with it. Sherman did his best to help those who asked with their minute problems, but when word got out Sherman was a present day messiah things escalated quickly and the mob came after him. The situation at the end of the story calls attention to the mob mentality of society. Mob mentality is the decisive factor of a large group of people. There is evidence everyday in the news. A mob of people attacked another mob of people because they differed on religious beliefs. Protesters, religious activists, rioters, gangs, congressman, lobbyists, and even a group of friends can fall victim to mob mentality. The feelings of one can rapidly transfer throughout everyone in the group with little or even no persuasion. The news of Sherman’s miracle spread throughout the town and a mob was formed. The world cried, “fix us” so Sherman left the world. The truth is people are unable to handle power even if it is not their own. They saw what Sherman could do and instantly abused his powers. Society cannot handle a hero like Sherman.


I couldnt come up with a conclusion so some ideas would be helpful