The Old Musician feels responsible for Sokhon's fate, and a single question has tormented him for decades. Do you think he was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?
Created: 03/28/18
Replies: 16
Join Date: 10/15/10
Posts: 3442
The Old Musician feels responsible for Sokhon's fate, and a single question has tormented him for decades. Do you think he was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?
Join Date: 09/03/15
Posts: 89
Join Date: 04/21/11
Posts: 324
It was the right decision because it’s what Sokhon wanted and it was humane to end his suffering. I’m not sure what I’d do in the same circumstances but I like to believe I’d honor a friends wishes
Join Date: 01/01/16
Posts: 454
I believe he was right. This is what his friend pleaded with him to do. I am very sorry he lived with the guilt. He had no idea that they would soon be released. I certainly understand the guilt.
Join Date: 12/01/16
Posts: 292
Join Date: 10/16/10
Posts: 966
Even though they were about to be released, it seemed like it was still at least a little while before their freedom came. There's no telling if Sokhon would even have lived that long. I think the Old Musician's love for Sokhon's wife may have caused him to have more guilt than he otherwise might have experienced.
Join Date: 05/08/11
Posts: 113
Join Date: 02/08/16
Posts: 514
He was rescuing his friend in the only way he could at the time and under the circumstances. It was a compassionate act. He had no idea that the end of the camp was coming, only that his friend was suffering and that he could release him from that.
Join Date: 09/01/11
Posts: 166
Join Date: 04/15/11
Posts: 89
I do think he did what was best in an impossible situation. By helping his friend escape his extreme pain, he did the only kind thing he could do. I don't know that anyone can say definitively how he might behave in similar circumstances. I would hope I would be brave enough and have enough strength in my convictions to also help a friend die if that was the only thing that could prevent more torture and pain.
Join Date: 10/12/11
Posts: 256
He was honoring a pledge he had made to a fellow prisoner. The sad thing is that the Old Musician lived with guilt for the rest of his life. What a relief he felt when he could bare his soul to Sokhon's daughter, Teera. I'm not sure what I would've done under those circumstances except that I would try to prevent as much pain as I humanly could in someone who was suffering so.
Join Date: 06/13/11
Posts: 272
I think it was the right thing at the time as he knew his friend was suffering. The hard thing he then faced was that the regime was almost over giving him doubts of his actions. They had suffered a great deal and was Sokhon bound to survive.
Join Date: 06/27/11
Posts: 16
Yes. What a difficult thing to do though! He carried through based on the friends wishes, despite the struggle inside. I don't know if I could have done it. Being in such a depraved state is so out of my realm of experience,
and as much as I believe myself to be "strong" in character, I don't know!
Join Date: 03/22/12
Posts: 353
I don't really know what I’d do in this situation, i like to think that i could put aside my own concerns and do what my friend wished. I’ve never been in that situation so don’t know if I could follow through.
Join Date: 07/29/14
Posts: 101
The Old Musician was such a tortured soul - for many things in his life, not least of which was committing "murder" in Slak Daek. I had more problem with him naming Sokhun than I did with him following through on his promise to stop Sokhun's pain. That being said, with the torture he endured, the Old Musician's actions are understandable.
I cannot even imagine what I would do during torture but I hope I would honor a promise, as difficult as it is, to someone who was close to death and in so much pain.
Join Date: 02/18/15
Posts: 497
The Old Musician did what he promised to do. I would not call it murder, he carried out his friends wishes. Unfortunately he lived with the guilt for the rest of his life. I don't think anyone can say what they would do in a similar situation.
Join Date: 04/18/18
Posts: 8
I think he made the absolutely right decision which was complicated by his love for his friend's wife, and the release of the prisoners shortly after Sokhon's death. The Old Musician could never have predicted the timing of the liberation of the camp. He performed an extraordinary act of bravery and it was so sad that he felt guilty for so many years for what I would call an act of humanity.
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