Amanda's Literature Spot: Pet Sematary Where loss is everything.

Jud standing with the Creed family (horrordvds.com)

Was it wrong for Jud to just bring Louis to the burial ground without telling him about it first or giving him a chance to change his mind?



Jud brings Louis to the burial ground presumably as a favor for saving his wife's life during Halloween. However, he soon reveals to Louis that this is not entirely the truth.

"'... You do it because it gets hold of you. You do it because that burial place is a secret place, and you want to share the secret, and when you find a reason that seems good enough, why . . .' Jud took his hands away from his face and looked at Louis with eyes that seemed incredibly ancient, incredibly haggard. ' Why then you just go ahead and do it. You make up reasons. . . they seem like good reasons . . . bust mostly you do it because you want to. Or because you have to...'" (King 168).

Norma, Jud's wife, had a heart attack and Louis helped her. When Jud finds Louis' daughter's cat Church dead, he feels like he owes it to Louis to bring Louis to bury his cat so it will be revived. He doesn't tell Louis what is going on until they get to the burial ground, in which he just says to bury the cat and explains what will happen and does happen the next day.

Should Louis get the right to pick the choice of whether or not he wants to bring back Church? Jud knows that when Church is brought back, he will be radically different, including a smell of rotting earth and soil. Jud had brought back his pet Spot when he was younger and has already lived the experience he puts Louis through. Jud was brought to the burial ground without being told the full details of what would happen. When his dog Spot is brought back, he has to deal with the changes.

"'But the second or third time I called him, he came. He sort of jerked toward me, and when I let him out onto the porch, damned if he didn't run right into the side of the door and just about fall over. He ate the scraps though, just wolfed them down. By then I was over my first fight and was starting to get an idea of what had happened. I got on my knees and hugged him, I was so glad to see him. Then he licked my face, and . . .' Jud shuddered and finished his beer. 'Louis, his tongue was cold. Being licked by Spot was like getting rubbed up the side of your face with a dead carp'" (King 163).

Not only will Louis have to deal with this new Church but also the fact that he is lying and keeping secrets from his family. Jud also risks Louis' family finding out and getting upset over the whole scenario. When Church is brought back, Ellie never fully loves him the same way she did before his death.

"Elle no longer wanted Church to sleep with her, that was true, but sometimes when she was watching TV, she would let the cat hop on her lap and go to sleep. But just as often, he thought, hunting through the bag of plastic widgets that were supposed to hold Ellie's Bat-Cycle together, she would push him down after a few minutes, saying, 'Go on, Church, you stink'" (King 186).

However, because of his new actions and smell, Ellie doesn't love him as much, which means she no longer becomes upset at the thought of him dying.

"'If he died now, I could take it,' she said, and then seemed to consider the thought she had just spoken aloud, as if mildly started. then said said, as if agreeing with herself: 'Sure I could.' And with that went to find Rachel" (King 201).

This leads to an easier explanation of death to Ellie, even though Jud doesn't tell Louis things work out okay. Was it right to take a risk like that on Louis' family? Was what Jud did for the best?