I think his relationship with his neighbours is interesting.
He seems to know them, but they don't know him. For example, he knows that Kathleen Carpenter was "recently divorced" but Vincent West had no idea that the narrator lived in his street.
This could indicate that part of his motive for the murders was that everyone in the town had treated him like he was invisable. Perhaps they had avoided him because he seemed strange.
Another interpretation could be that he knows their details because he really IS the angel of death. However, I get the impression that he is simply vain, lonely and insane.
I disagree with your interpretation of what motivates the killings. 'I bare no grudge against you' and 'To no man I am a stranger' suggests that being an outcast was not in fact the motive. Furthermore, the narrator could almost be seen as a moralist killer in that he kills a bar keeper's family, a divorcee, a fat man, etc. 'I am the man for which no God waits but for which the whole world yearns' is the most problematic line for me. I can't figure out what this refers to or what his name is, but the victims know...
I disagree with your interpretation of what motivates the killings. 'I bare no grudge against you' and 'To no man I am a stranger' suggests that being an outcast was not in fact the motive. Furthermore, the narrator could almost be seen as a moralist killer in that he kills a bar keeper's family, a divorcee, a fat man, etc. 'I am the man for which no God waits but for which the whole world yearns' is the most problematic line for me. I can't figure out what this refers to or what his name is, but the victims know him, I am certain of that. Another important factor to consider is how the killer feels about the slayings. He shows both signs of repentence and enjoyment of his work. He sees himself as birdlike, and compares himself and his victims to religous figures. The bar is described as being full of God, and this is the point of the song, the killer is carrying out God's will not acting in accordance to his own free will.
I think his relationship with his neighbours is interesting. He seems to know them, but they don't know him. For example, he knows that Kathleen Carpenter was "recently divorced" but Vincent West had no idea that the narrator lived in his street. This could indicate that part of his motive for the murders was that everyone in the town had treated him like he was invisable. Perhaps they had avoided him because he seemed strange. Another interpretation could be that he knows their details because he really IS the angel of death. However, I get the impression that he is simply vain, lonely and insane.
I disagree with your interpretation of what motivates the killings. 'I bare no grudge against you' and 'To no man I am a stranger' suggests that being an outcast was not in fact the motive. Furthermore, the narrator could almost be seen as a moralist killer in that he kills a bar keeper's family, a divorcee, a fat man, etc. 'I am the man for which no God waits but for which the whole world yearns' is the most problematic line for me. I can't figure out what this refers to or what his name is, but the victims know...
I disagree with your interpretation of what motivates the killings. 'I bare no grudge against you' and 'To no man I am a stranger' suggests that being an outcast was not in fact the motive. Furthermore, the narrator could almost be seen as a moralist killer in that he kills a bar keeper's family, a divorcee, a fat man, etc. 'I am the man for which no God waits but for which the whole world yearns' is the most problematic line for me. I can't figure out what this refers to or what his name is, but the victims know him, I am certain of that. Another important factor to consider is how the killer feels about the slayings. He shows both signs of repentence and enjoyment of his work. He sees himself as birdlike, and compares himself and his victims to religous figures. The bar is described as being full of God, and this is the point of the song, the killer is carrying out God's will not acting in accordance to his own free will.