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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Chapter 15: Broken
Explanation and Analysis:
The mood of the book is sorrowful but resolute. Stevenson's clients experience so much suffering that it is almost unbearable for him to keep seeing them through it all. In Chapter 15, he responds to a nurse at Walter's nursing home who says that people don't think "someone like that" belongs there:
“Well, the State acknowledged that he didn’t do anything wrong. He is innocent.”
The nurse looked at me sweetly. “I know, Mr. Stevenson, but a lot of people here think that once you go to prison, whether you belong there or not, you become a dangerous person, and they don’t want to have nothing to do with you.”
“Well, that’s a shame.” It was all I could muster.
Stevenson is a talented lawyer, trained in the art of argumentation and rebuttal. This is one of many moments that leaves him temporarily speechless. He worked for years to get Walter's conviction overturned. They celebrated when the day finally came. After too short a time, however, Walter began to suffer cognitive decline related to the trauma of his time on death row. Walter has just asked Stevenson to help him escape the nursing home, revealing that he thinks he is back in prison and headed for execution via electric chair. The nurse's comments cast Stevenson further into a state of doubt that he has helped Walter at all. As far as Walter and everyone around him is concerned, he may as well still be on death row.
Stevenson pauses on this heartbreaking moment, giving himself and the reader time to sit with the sorrow and sense of defeat. He goes on to describe a mounting sense of hopelessness and overwhelm as his case load grows more demanding of his time and his emotions. After he speaks to another client on the night of his execution, he almost decides to quit defending death row clients altogether. The grief is all-consuming. What he realizes as he allows himself to be overcome is that his own "brokenness" and vulnerability is in fact a strength. It is what connects him to his clients and to the rest of humanity. Once he lets the grief wash fully over him, he emerges newly resolved to keep going. This is the kind of spiritual persistence his clients demonstrate to the ends of their lives. Stevenson identifies it also as the kind of spiritual persistence enslaved people and their descendants have long tapped into by singing "sorrow songs." Stevenson walks the reader through difficult case after difficult case, inviting them to empathize so intensely that they, too, break down and emerge with new resolve to fight for a more merciful justice system.
Related Themes:
