One Foot in Eden

Rash explores The Ambiguities of Justice and Morality through the many complexities surrounding Holland’s murder. Because Billy knows that killing Holland is ethically wrong, the narrative highlights the many ways in which guilt causes individuals to punish themselves for their crimes even in the absence of the law’s intervention. Through each narrator’s perspective, Rash reveals the gray areas of morality and examines how individuals go to justify their actions.

Because Billy gets away with murder, he never experiences justice through the South Carolina legal system. However, Billy’s belief in God and the consequences of sin convince him that he will have to pay for his crime in some way. Although Amy trusts in superstition more than religion, she also believes implicitly that she and Billy will suffer from some form of cosmic retribution. This punishment-based morality haunts Amy and Billy for the rest of their lives. Even though they do not face the punitive actions of a court system, their mindset shows the psychological torture that they undergo while they raise Isaac. Their belief system sets up God as their judge, who stands ready to punish them at any time.

Although Amy and Billy adhere to a religious set of morals, Amy’s justification over her affair reveals the gray area around their morality system.