Always a Motive Case

Crime is committed every day. The Crimes may be serious like murder or minor like stealing a chocolate bar but no matter what the size of the crime, there is always a motive. In the story "Always a Motive" by Dan Ross, Joe Manetti is accused of kidnapping the Miller's boy after he returns him to them. The chief investigator believes Joe did it because he had a strong motive for committing the crime. The theme of this story is the motives for an individual's actions may be quite different once the truth is revealed. This them is shown through irony, and the plot.

To show the theme of the story, Dan Ross uses irony. When Joe returned the Miller boy to his parents and was later arrested, Inspector Winters was convinced it was Joe who had kidnapped the boy. As the story advances, the reader behind ton see that it was not Joe's fault and he was trying to the right thing . As the interrogation progresses, Inspector Winters asks Joe, "Is it true you lost your six year old son?" (pg.109), and Joe responds, "he was killed by a truck. A street accident when I was out of town on a job." (pg.109). When Inspector Winters hears this this response he assumes that was the motive for Joe's actions because he wanted to have his son back, and accuses him of kidnapping the boy. Later on in the story a toll booth operator steps forward and speaks on Manetti's behalf and proves he is innocent. Once the Inspector hears this he resentfully let's Joe go. As Joe was about to leave the Inspector asked Joe one last question. "Why didn't you bring the kid directly to us?" (pg. 111), Joe responds with, "I wanted to see the face of a father who lost his kid and then got it back." (pg.112). This is ironic because when Joe lost his son in the street accident he probably felt the same way as the young father so when he returned the boy to his father he got some closure to his son's death. And that was the closest thing he could get to having his son returned.

The use of plot also helped create the theme for Dan Ross. There are many important times in the plot for Joe, like giving the Miller boy back, and being arrested. One of the most important times in the plot is when the toll booth operator speaks for Joe to he is innocent. The toll booth operator said,

"The young fellow who didn't wait for his change at the expressway toll station where I was off duty. He gave me a dollar and before I could hand him his change he'd driven off. Seemed to be in some sort of daze. I yelled after him, but that didn't work. But that's him, all right, and it was eleven-thirty. I know because my relief was due then and I was waiting for him. So he couldn't have been way out there and here in the city picking up the kid at the same time." (pg.111).

When the toll booth operator said this, Joe became relieved because