Ellie Stemple

Critical Essay Inexcusable

Transformative education is a powerful tool. While it is not widely recognized and

practiced as much as it should, it has changed classroom cultures in huge ways. Transformative

education is defined as, a process of using a prior interpretation to construe a new or revised

interpretation of the meaning of ones experience in order to guide future action. This comes in

many forms and is shown by various means throughout literature. The book, Inexcusable, by

Chris Lynch, supports this idea of transformative education in multiple ways.

First of all, this book is told from a male rapists perspective. This is different than any

other book that has ever been written. There are various other books about rape which are told

from the victims (usually female) perspective or from a close family or friend or someone

involved in some way. However, writing the book from the perpetrators viewpoint, Chris Lynch

transforms the readers view of rape. He takes prior interpretation of what rape looks like and

changes it by showing the back story and the life of the rapist. This gives the reader an entirely

new experience in which they see and feel different things altogether about sexual assault.

Secondly, Chris Lynch uses this foreign perspective of the rapist to cause the reader to

have a sense of sympathy and pity for the offender. Since Lynch is writing from Keirs (the

rapists) perspective, he is able to share the difficulties of Keirs life, his lack of a positive father

figure and the scrutiny he has been under during his high school career. While it may seem

impossible, Lynch is able to weave such an intricate back story for Keir which pulls at the

readers heartstrings and causes the audience to begin to understand Keirs point of view. Some

even end up agreeing with Keir or believing his excuses and the lies he tells himself to make

himself feel better about what he did.

 Chris Lynch also uses this novel to bring up the issue of male dominance. According to a

different source, transformative education can also be described as, "understanding relations of

power in interlocking structures of race, class and gender. Lynch is confronting this issue of

rape and sexual assault head-on by addressing the power of one gender over another. While it

may be confusing whose side Lynch is on in the beginning of the novel, it becomes clear that

Lynch is using this controversial perspective to show the ridiculous excuses men make up to feel

powerful over women. This has the power to transform viewpoints, no matter how stubborn.

Finally, transformative education is, envisioning alternative approaches and possibilities

for social justice. This book is a call to justice. After Keir misunderstands his girlfriends

wishes and rapes her, that alone causes anger and hatred among readers. But when he continues

to deny that he did it and gives excuses for his actions, anger is the least of the feelings among

the readers. Chris Lynch uses these human feelings of right and wrong. Religion does not even

matter in this situation. Every human has the ability to know the difference between right and

wrong and Lynch utilizes these ethics to create positive change. He seeks justice with a passion

and defends those who cannot defend themselves and that alone has the power to transform. This

book is just one step towards that transformative education.