Who killed Rebecca June?
The question of who killed Rebecca June is debatable, but I ultimately believe that
Rabbit is responsible for her death. However, Janice is somewhat responsible. First
of all, she is the one who was physically present and attempted to give Rebecca June
a bath. In her painful, confused, drunken state, she let Rebecca June slip and then
sink. She managed to get the baby out of the tub, but it was too late; Rebecca June
was already dead. Had Janice not been intoxicated, she would have had better
judgment causing her to cautiously care for her daughter. This leads us to consider
the ultimate cause of Rebecca June’s death, whom I believe is Rabbit. If Rabbit had
never left Janice, then she would not have constantly been worrying about her
community’s judgments or recalling moments from the past that made her
depressed. Once she prays to Rabbit to return, her emotions are truly shown as she
breaks down into tears. Her emotional instability led her to take a shot of alcohol,
which she followed with more drinks in an attempt to cure her loneliness. Alcohol
impaired her mental state, which eventually led to her drowning her own baby, “the
worst thing that has ever happened to any woman in the world” (227). Rabbit had
absolutely no commitment to his family, which is saddening. The emotional abuse
that Janice had to endure because of his infidelity and habit to run away from his
problems is the main cause of Rebecca’s death. The physical act of drowning was
indeed Janice’s fault, but the blame of her state of being should certainly be placed
upon Rabbit. Precedence