A Time to Kill By John Grisham example essay topic

A Review and Commentary On: A Time to Kill By John Grisham A Time to Kill written by John Grisham is a book that presents the high racial tensions in Canton Mississippi in the early 1990's. The book opens with two young men, James Lewis Willard and Billy Ray Cobb, joy riding in their brand new yellow pick up truck decked out with Confederate flags. They speed though black neighborhoods throwing full beer bottles at people and houses, until they come across ten-year-old Tonya Hailey walking home from the grocery store. The men pull over, trap her, rape her repeatedly, beat her, hang her, throw her off a bridge and leave her for dead. Her siblings find Tonya later that day, barely alive, her father, Carl Lee Hailey., and the black community are outraged. Tonya's missing shoe is found in the back of the yellow pick up truck and both men are arrested for rape and attempted murder.

Carl Lee confronts his lawyer, Jake Brisance, about similar cases where the white criminals were let off or given light sentences for similar charges, which enrages Carl Lee further. Carl Lee asks if Jake will stand by him in a jam, Jake promises he will. The next morning Carl Lee shoots the two men on the way to their arraignment, both men die and a cop is shot and loses his leg. Carl Lee is immediately arrested for the murder of the two men, as promised Jake stands by his side. Carl Lee confesses to the murders and admits he never had anything against the two men until they messed with his baby, he feels sorry for the men's families, but not for what he has done.

Jake and Carl Lee begin to discuss every aspect of the case immediately, they decide that Carl Lee with plea not guilty by reason of insanity. The District Attorney, Rufus Buckley, begins to discuss the importance of keeping the case in this county in order to have a better chance of an all white jury, Jake files a change of venue for the opposite reason. Meanwhile, members of the Cobb and Willard family seek out the Ku-Klux-Klan to get even with Carl Lee and Jake, they begin a Klan chapter in their county, which immediately begins to terrorize Jake and his family. The NAACP comes to Canton and offers Carl Lee a more experienced lawyer, the NAACP believes "Carl Lee's acquittal for the killing of two white men will do more for the black people of Mississippi than any event since we integrated the schools. His conviction would be a slap at us, a symbol of deep seeded racism- perhaps enough to ignite a nation".

However, Carl Lee declines the offer and requests that the money that was raised for the more expensive lawyer to go to his family so they can survive while he is in jail. The Klan continues to threaten Jake with a bomb and burning crosses, Jake's wife and child have to leave town to avoid danger. Judge Omar Lewis decides to turn down Jake's request for a change of venue on the grounds that it would be impossible to find a fair and impartial jury in any county in Mississippi. Jury selection begins with protests to "Free Carl Lee" and the Klan protesting outside as well, tensions are high and a riot breaks out. A Klan member is set on fire, the black sheriff is beaten, and Jake is stabbed in the leg.

The day ends with the inevitable all white jury. The Klan continues to terrorize the city by burning crosses and burning Jake's house down. The National Guard is brought into town to prevent riots for the remainder of the trial. The DA, Buckley opens the trail by bringing Cobb's mother to the stand and showing the gun Carl Lee used to the jury. At the end of the first day Buckley calls Depute Dwayne Luny, the cop who was accidentally shot in the leg the day Carl Lee murdered the two men. Much to the surprise of everyone, Luny does not blame Carl Lee for the loss of his leg, in fact he admits he would have done the same thing if Tonya had been his daughter, he then turns to the jury and repeatedly shouts, "He's (Carl Lee) a hero- you turn him lose!" the court room uproars in mixed reactions.

Both Jake and Buckley succeed in discrediting each other's psychologist used to determine whether or not Carl Lee was sane or not when he murdered to two men. Jake calls Carl Lee to stand; Carl Lee admits he felt outside himself during the shooting of the men and how he could not forget Tonya told him that she called out for him while the men were hurting her but he did not come. When Buckley cross-examines, he pushed Carl Lee to say that he believed that the men deserved to die and he hopes they burn in hell. At that point Jake is convinced that they will lose, he confronts Carl Lee about accepting a plea bargain.

Carl Lee refuses, he tells Jake "You think just like them (the jury) that's why I picked you... How's a black man ever gonna get a fair trail with the enemy behind the bench and in the jury box? My life is in white hands. You Jake, are my secret weapon- you are one of the bad guys... you don't mean to be but you are... you see me as different... you see me like that jury sees me... if you were on the jury what would it take to convince you to set me free. That's how you save my ass". The next morning during closing statements, Jake urges the jury to seek truth not with their eyes and minds were fear and hate are a commonality to prejudice, but with their heart where they do not know any better.

He then vividly recounts every brutal detail of Tonya's attack, he asks the jury "Can you see her? Now imagine she is white". Carl Lee is found innocent and released immediately; he hurries out to meet and embraces Tonya outside the courthouse. A Time to Kill is an extremely powerful book that can easily bring the reader to tears or make them nauseous by presenting vivid writings of intense racism... Bringing this story to life demonstrates many things that most Americans do not want to admit. First, racism was alive and well in America in the 1990's...

Second, a black man in the heart of Mississippi probably could not have gotten a fair and impartial trial... Third, Ku-Klux-Klan is still around waiting for opportunities to express their idea of god's justice. But probably most important truth that is revealed in this book is near the end where Carl Lee explains to Jake why he picked him as his lawyer. Although Jake certainly did not realize it or mean to be, he was "one of the bad guy". Jake saw black people as different, but had his eyes opened by Carl Lee's statement... The book A Time to Kill has several protagonist and antagonist.

However, the most important protagonists are Jake and Carl Lee. Jake and Carl Lee were heroes because Carl Lee risked sacrificing himself by taking the law into his own hands to prove that the legal system was not fair and impartial. Jake stood by his side, opening his eyes to the harsh reality that he was part of the racism problem, but could also do something to solve it. The antagonist is really represented in several ways, such as the Cobb and Willard families, the Ku-Klux-Klan, the jury, and Buckley the DA. The antagonists are a negative force because they remain blind to racism and the effects of racism in the courts. Even if they do recognize that racism and unfair trials continue to exist they find a way to justify racism and continue in their racist beliefs and practices.

Carl Lee and Jake have to find a way to show the jury the situation that drove Carl Lee to take the law into his own hands. Carl Lee's daughter was raped, beaten, and almost killed by two white men. These two white men might be set free or only serve ten years for their crimes. Carl Lee could not live with the fact that these men would not serve ample time for their brutal crimes.

Not to mention black men charged for similar crimes were more severely sentenced. Jake paints a simple picture for the jury by describing in detail Tonya's attack, then telling the jury to picture her white. This proves to the jury that if the situation had been reversed, if two black men raped, beat, and almost killed a white girl, if there had been a chance that two black men would have gotten off for their crimes, if a white father had shot two criminal black men, there probably would not even be a trial. Most people would have seen a white man who killed to brutal black criminals as a hero, as Dept. Luny saw Carl Lee. As directed by Carl Lee, Jake forces the jury to see that color is the main issue in this case, the jury then deliberates with their hearts where color is not an issue and the problem is solved for this situation.

Almost every chapter in A Time to Kill conveys a message, contains something intricate to the plot, or an important thought provoking statement. The opening scene of the book, where Cobb and Willard are joy riding blatantly disrespecting the black community, followed by the kidnapping, beating, rape, and abandoning of Tonya really sets the tone of the book... This chapter demonstrates the attitudes and actions of many of the white people in Canton, their obvious disrespect and lack of regard for the black community and their rights. The next chapter of evident importance is where Carl Lee shoots the two men in the courthouse.

This chapter shows the extreme way Carl Lee took the law into his own hands when he felt that he had no choice. This section really sets the entire plot rolling. Finally, the entire courtroom chapters, from opening statements to the acquittal of Carl Lee, are truly important. Through out the scenes in the courtroom, the truth about racism in Canton and America is revealed. Carl Lee and Jake prove to the jury that Carl Lee being black, Tonya being black, and Cobb and Willard being white are the central issues in the case. The jury then finds the strength to pass judgment that was not based on race.

Although A Time to Kill is based on a fictional story, it still presents many interesting and realistic scenarios. It is easy to imagine that the events in the book actually did happen or could happen in American today. The series of events that unfold easily invoke strong emotions in the reader, no matter where that reader stands as far as racial beliefs. The book represents a wide range of views on the situation, from the Ku Klux Klan, Jake, Carl Lee, the NAACP, Buckley, the Judge, the jury, Dept. Luny, and the general population of Canton. The book presents everything from the extreme events to everyday actions.

A Time To Kill is an outstanding book that deals with important issues and shows many simple realities.