When greeted with a guest the appropriate reaction is to demonstrate hospitality. Whether it be offering food, water or simply being respectful hospitality is what is expected of humans when a harmless stranger encroaches. “A Brutal Murder in a Public Place” is a short story written by Joyce Carol Oates that presents a theme of animal rights to hospitality in urban areas. Humans are generally inhospitable to birds as they are wild and erratic creatures. Throughout the text a sparrow stuck in an airport is passively observed by passers by “A white-haired woman in a wheelchair squints upwards…