Chapter 5 in I am the Messenger was an especially jarring chapter, as Ed visits the first address on his playing card. The first address houses a man who sexually abuses his wife. The chapter really shows what Ed is getting himself into. This isn't just giving someone a pat on the back, he is dealing with some very serious problems.
The chapter reflects on Ed's purpose in the solution to the problem towards the end. Ed realizes that the reason he was given the address was so that he could do something about the man or woman in the house. It's unimaginable how overwhelming a situation like Ed's could be. First, who are involved in a bank robbery, then, you get a playing card with directions to a rape case that he has to fix. I, personally, would be incredibly struck by the idea that someone would give me that much responsibility, that I would most likely just notify the police and move on, not visiting any other addresses.
The very beginning of the chapter focuses n the short sentence being given to the convicted bank robber. The robber only gets 6 months in prison. The criminal also warn Ed that Ed is a "dead man." That, plus everything else that Ed is dealing with, is a massive change from his usual life. You hear stories, sometimes, of someone who all of a sudden does something amazing and their life changes forever. something like that, to me, would be horrible for the first while. I am not personally good when it comes to sudden, life changing events, but I'm sure it would catch on at some point.
The end of chapter 6 made me feel very tense while reading it. Ed and the woman getting abused, face to face. You would sort of want Ed to say something about it, but afterwards, that idea doesn't seem to great, considering they were in a grocery store.
Ed also has to hide all of these incredible occurrences to his friends, family, and anyone else he happens to be talking to. Holding stuff from my friends kills me, I would have to tell them, or at least hint that something interesting is happening in my life. But, hinting at something usually means I have to tell them, then they know everything. Ed has to hold all this in while he is playing cards with his friends. You can tell that it is hard for him to hold all of this information in, and he flat out lies when they ask what happened to the card with the addresses.
All in all, I can conclude that Ed is handling a very stressful and heroic situation reasonably well, while I, on the other hand, would have given up, told everyone, or broken down at this point. He can keep himself together, calm, and organized while navigating through the onslaught of questions and situations that are not preferable. Ed is obviously a better choice than me to become a hero.
