Just Mercy Literary Devices

Explanation and Analysis—Lawyer and Client:

In the Introduction, Stevenson recalls meeting a death row inmate for the first time. Stevenson immediately sees this man, Henry, as a foil for himself, and their relationship foreshadows the relationships Stevenson will have with many of his clients over the years:

The man who walked in seemed even more nervous than I was. He glanced at me, his face screwed up in a worried wince, and he quickly averted his gaze when I looked back... He was a young, neatly groomed African American man with short hair—clean-shaven, medium frame and build—wearing bright, clean prison whites. He looked immediately familiar to me, like everyone I’d grown up with, friends from school, people I played sports or music with, someone I’d talk to on the street about the weather.

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Explanation and Analysis—Southern Charm:

Stevenson avoids making the book all about the discrimination he faces as a Black lawyer in Alabama, but he is constantly aware of how race and class play into his and others' ethos in and out of court. In Chapter 13, he briefly introduces a White Southern foil for himself:

Rob McDuff, an old friend of mine from Jackson, Mississippi, agreed to join our team for the civil litigation. Rob is a white native Mississippian whose Southern charm and manner enhanced his outstanding litigation skills in Alabama courts.

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Just Mercy: Foil 2 key examples