Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Nineteen Minutes, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Victims vs. Perpetrators
Vengeance vs. Justice
Expectations and the Failures of Family
Lost Innocence
Appearances vs. Reality
Summary
Analysis
On Peter’s first day of kindergarten, he is so excited that he wakes up at 4:30 in the morning. Having watched his brother Joey ride away on the school bus for years, he is thrilled that it is finally his turn. Lacy makes him his favorite breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes. She hands him his turtle-shaped knapsack alongside a special surprise: a Superman lunchbox. When it is time for them to leave, Lacy tells Joey to look after Peter, but when they get on the bus, Joey abandons him. Josie shouts his name, telling him she saved him a seat. While Peter shows her his lunchbox, another boy grabs it, calling Peter a freak and asking if he wants to see Superman fly. The boy throws Peter’s lunchbox out the window. Josie takes his hand, saying they can share her lunch.
The contrast between Peter’s initial excitement and optimism about kindergarten and the pointless cruelty immediately directed at him by other kids is heartbreaking. It is a reminder that most children initially see school as exciting—a place of fun, wonder, and new adventures. Yet for so many students like Peter, the reality turns out to be more like a nightmare.
Themes
While Josie is at her first day of kindergarten, Alex is speaking to a 19-year-old she is representing who has committed a robbery. Alex’s former boss, a man named Whit Hobart who became a surrogate father figure to her, calls her and suggests that she apply to the two judgeships that have recently opened up in the local area. Alex is shocked and tells Whit that she is “so not the right person for that job.” Alex believes this based on the fact that her father was a superior court justice. As a last gesture of persuasion, Whit points out that judges work regular hours, which will help Alex take care of Josie.
Despite all that she has achieved in life, Alex seems to doubt her own competence and suitability for authority. This is perhaps a gender issue; as a woman, she may not have seen too many examples of female judges. Furthermore, women tend to be encouraged to underestimate and underplay their own accomplishments.
Themes
In the Houghtons’ kitchen, Lacy expresses her frustration that Peter has lost his lunchbox three times within his first month of kindergarten. She points out that Joey never did anything like this, and Peter can feel his parents’ disappointment over the fact that he is not Joey. Meanwhile, one of Alex’s former clients—a man she helped evade domestic violence charges after he got in a drunken argument with his wife—proudly shows off an enormous dead bear he brought for her as a present. Shocked, Alex thanks him but explains she doesn’t eat meat. At that moment, her secretary calls out to her, saying that Josie’s school has called to say that Josie just “beat the crap out of a boy in the playground.”
The beginning of this passage is a reminder that adults often misperceive and misunderstand the true nature of what is happening in their kids’ lives. Peter has likely lied to his parents about why his lunchbox is missing, and instead of further questioning if this is likely to be true, they take his story at face value. As such, they miss the terrible reality of what Peter’s life has become and seem to implicitly blame him for his suffering.
Themes
Alex drives Josie home, eyeing her dirty, torn-up outfit. At home, Josie quietly explains that a boy named Drew bullies Peter, and that she wanted to turn it “the other way around.” Alex explains that you can’t always do what’s best, but rather must settle for what’s “rightest.” She admits that, while she wishes Josie hadn’t beaten up another boy, she’s proud of her for standing up for Peter. In this moment, she decides to apply for the judgeship.
Alex’s statement about what’s doing “rightest” over what’s best is an important idea in the novel. It shows how people often avoid acting in the most just manner because this can contradict social laws and norms. Of course, it is debatable whether this is actually a good thing or not.
Themes
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At the elementary school, Peter’s very young-looking teacher tells Lacy that, unfortunately, certain kids are singled out and bullied by others. In Peter’s case, his sensitivity and attachment to Josie make him an easy target. The teacher assures Lacy that if another kid is ever seen picking on Peter, they are immediately sent to the principal’s office. However, this becomes a problem because the kids then start to blame Peter when they get in trouble. The teacher says she is trying to encourage Peter to stand up for himself, which Lacy finds shocking, but the teacher replies that this is simply the only way to stop getting bullied.
One recurring motif in the novel is the ineptitude of teachers when it comes to tackling the problem of bullying. While Picoult identifies that many teachers are simply ill-equipped to handle this difficult problem, she doesn’t lay all the blame on teachers themselves. As Peter’s teacher points out here, often when a teacher intervenes in bullying it often ends up becoming worse for the child being bullied.
Themes
Outside, Lacy finds Peter and tells him she loves him. She adds that she knows about everything going on with Drew, Josie, and the lunchboxes, and she makes Peter promise her that next time, he will stand up for himself. She feels horrible doing this, deliberately spoiling Peter’s innocence. Reluctantly, she tells him that if he doesn’t stick up for himself next time, he won’t be allowed to have any playdates with Josie for a month. The next day at recess, Peter tells Josie that he wants other people to like him, not just her.
Recall that Lacy has been framed as a natural parent who has strong emotional instincts. In this passage, she contradicts these instincts in a way that makes her feel horrible. However, she does this because she is desperate to protect her son and concerned that her previous approach was not working.
Themes
While Alex is completing the application to become a judge, she realizes she does actually want the job, which surprises her. The night before her interview with the 12-person commission that will draw up a shortlist of candidates, she was up late with Josie, who had a nightmare. While she is giving her answers, Logan shows up unexpectedly. Alex is momentarily thrown, but she quickly resumes talking. Peter gets new glasses and is thrilled by the fact that he can finally see clearly. However, his happiness soon fades when it becomes clear that, at school, his glasses are just another excuse for bullying. Even worse, he can now see the mocking disdain in people’s eyes when they look at him.
The trajectory of Peter’s life involves a horrible pattern wherein whenever one good thing happens to him, several bad things happen as a result. This pattern brings to mind the handwritten section that opens this chapter, in which the writer muses that perhaps the reason why there is so much bad in the world is to make people aware of the good. Is that writer Peter? It seems very plausible, although the book never resolves this issue for certain.
Themes
At Open School Day, Alex and Lacy sit chatting about Alex’s application to become a judge. They are both supposed to write down a word that summarizes what they love about their child for a “love collage.” They are interrupted by their children, who explain that they are pretending to be married. They play house; Josie acts out going to work as a judge, while Peter makes dinner. Their teacher comes over and tells Lacy and Alex that Josie and Peter love to play house together. For her love collage entry, Lacy writes down “Tender.” Alex writes down “Mine.”
Josie and Peter’s close friendship is a little unusual, in part because—as depicted here—it defies gender norms. While this is excellent for Josie, who has clearly been inspired by having a high-achieving mother to have big ambitions herself, for Peter it means being in a feminine role. Boys being perceived as feminine very often becomes victims of bullying.
Themes
Soon after, the fifth-grade boys throw out Peter’s lunchbox yet another time, and Peter sadly tells Josie that he can’t come over for a playdate. Alex is shortlisted for the judgeship and meets the young female governor. The two of them get along well. However, in order to secure the role she needs to convince an Executive Council featuring five Republican men that they should nominate her. At this interview, the council members ask her who she thinks has a right to judge others. Alex replies that while no one has a moral right to judge others, in a legal sense acting as a judge is a “responsibility.” They then ask her for her opinion on firearms; although she is in favor of gun control, Alex replies, “Legally […] I am pro-firearms.”
Featured in part to show the challenges Alex has to overcome in order to secure her judgeship, the detail about the five Republican men grilling her about gun rights arguably has a more important purpose. It reminds the reader that the novel is set in New Hampshire, a libertarian-leaning state where the right to own a gun is fiercely protected. This is important considering the way in which the issues of gun legislation and school shootings are so closely connected.
Themes
Having been successfully nominated as a judge, Alex is at the Houghtons’ house to pick Josie up from a playdate. After initially being unable to find their children, Alex and Lacy discover them in the basement. To their horror, Josie is holding a rifle, which Josie explains Peter retrieved from a safe. An argument ensues between Lacy and Alex, and Alex finds herself thinking that Josie needs to make other friends. Coldly, she tells Lacy they are leaving.
The juxtaposition between Alex’s interview and this scene brings the abstract issue of gun legislation (very) close to home. The fact that children may access firearms in their homes—even if they are locked away in a safe—is one of the main factors often cited in arguments in favor of gun control.
Themes
Ever since the gun incident, Alex and Josie can’t stop fighting. During an argument in the grocery store, Josie screams that she hates Alex and that Alex is “the worst mom in the world.” Alex panics, keenly aware of her new public role as a judge. She speaks to Josie calmly, which clearly surprises her daughter. She wonders if devoting one’s whole life to caring about other people’s opinions will leave her like a mask with no face beneath it. At the same time, she notices that Josie has calmed down from her tantrum. On her first day as a judge, Alex is terrified. She thinks about her father, wanting him to be proud of her even though he is dead.
Again, while Lacy is the kind of mother who bases her behavior on her own emotional instincts, Alex instead chooses to act based on others’ perceptions and expectations of her. This may not seem like a good strategy for parenting, although in the supermarket scene it does actually happen to work.
Themes
Later that morning, when Alex tries to make her own coffee, an attorney intervenes and makes it instead. Alex accidentally spills the coffee, and is puzzled when the attorney herself apologizes, rushing to clean it up. Alex goes outside, where she finds a woman smoking a cigarette. After the woman introduces herself as Liz, explaining that she takes care of property maintenance, Alex explains that she’s the judge, but she asks Liz to forget that and treat her like anyone else. Liz agrees.
Recall that Lacy perceived Alex as being comfortable in any situation, happily moving between different groups of people. Here, however, it becomes clear that this outward appearance of comfort does not necessarily reflect how Alex feels underneath. The stuffiness and authority of her new role actually freaks her out.
Themes
Peter, who is grounded, hears a noise coming from the basement and goes down to see what it is. Lewis is cleaning a gun, and he asks Peter if he wants to help, explaining that he thinks Peter should learn how to “respect” guns. Lewis shows Peter the gun, explaining how all the different parts work, and he promises that one day they will go hunting together. Peter is overwhelmed with excitement at this prospect. Lewis asks Peter to try pulling the trigger, explaining that it’s safe and nothing can happen. He adds that people who are horrified by guns don’t really understand them, saying, “If you know them, you can handle them safely.”
Nineteen Minutes is not an overtly political book; people with a wide range of political views would likely feel that their perspective was represented and confirmed by the narrative. At the same time, one thing that the book does make emphatically clear is that Lewis’ argument about learning to “respect” guns is wrong. Here he believes that if Peter learns to interact with guns in a proper manner, he won’t misuse them. Of course, the reader already knows how untrue this is.
Themes
