Summary

The short story “Just Like That” by Michael Richards begins by introducing a boy and a man (both unnamed) who are hunting kangaroos. The man tells the boy that if he does not manage to shoot a kangaroo this time, he will never do it.

The man kills the first kangaroo. First he shoots the animal in the neck, and then he gets closer and shoots it in the head. The boy is fascinated with the sight of the dead kangaroo and learns that the man’s plan is to leave the corpses to rot.

The boy feels encouraged to kill his first kangaroo. After he shoots the kangaroo in the neck, the boy finishes it with a shot in the head. However, the boy feels disappointed because the kill did not give him the sense of satisfaction and the feeling of being a man that he had expected.

Then, the boy ...