Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dear Martin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Privilege, Entitlement, and Implicit Bias
Appearances and Assumptions
Support, Acceptance, and Belonging
Opportunity and Upward Mobility
The Media and Public Discourse
Summary
Analysis
Two days after Tison’s trial, Justyce is spending time at SJ’s house. They’re watching a documentary on the National Geographic channel, but he can’t focus on anything other than the fact that the jury was “unable to reach a verdict” regarding Tison’s murder charge. As he and SJ lie there together, Mrs. Friedman receives a call. When she gets off the phone, she tells SJ and Justyce that there isn’t going to be a second trial for Garrett Tison because he has died.
Garrett Tison’s sudden death cuts off any possibility of bringing him to justice. And though his death might seem like retribution in a certain way, it fails to send a positive message to the public. After cases like Shemar Carson’s and Travarrius Jenkins’s, convicting Tison of murder would have reassured people like Justyce that the courts are capable of holding police officers accountable for their actions. Now, that will never happen.
Themes
