Perspectives

Literary period

The short story “Hostage” by Andrew Vachss is a modernist work of fiction. First, modernist fiction tends to step away from overly descriptive language to focus on language that mimics an everyday way of speaking. In the story, slang is used to mirror everyday language, while the dialogue between characters mirrors a plausible negotiator-perpetrator interaction. Furthermore, modernist fiction tends to focus on the inner struggles of the characters. In “Hostage”, the focus is on Walker’s violent past and how it influences his job in the police. 

“Hostage” by Andrew Vachss is also a crime story. The short story focuses on Mark’s criminal past, but also on the aspects that make Walker a sociopath. The plot twist reveals that, out of the two, Walker is the most dangerous one, as he kills Mark without warning...