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
This chapter is preceded by another handwritten section, this time reflecting on how life is supposed to be like an exciting feature film, but is actually more like a dull, infinitely repetitive piece of surveillance footage. Back in the main narrative, chaos has struck the courtroom following Josie’s shock confession. Judge Wagner calls a fifteen minute recess. Alex’s secretary grabs her, telling her she’s “not safe here right now.” In this moment Patrick arrives; he sees Alex trying to get to Josie and wants to help, but he is interrupted by Diana. He explains that he figured out that Peter couldn’t have possibly shot Matt, and Diana tells him that Josie just confessed to doing it.
The fact that Josie has confessed to shooting Matt does not change the basic facts of the case, which is that Peter planned a shooting spree and killed many students at his school. However, Josie’s confession shifts blame away from one individual, forcing everyone present to consider abuse, violence, and trauma as a broader issue, not just something that can be ignored via a scapegoat.
Themes
Jordan, meanwhile, tells Peter that if he had been honest about what Josie did from the outset, the trial could have ended very differently. Yet Peter replies, smiling, “You don’t break a promise to a friend.” Meanwhile, when Alex finally gets to talk to Josie, Josie explains, “I loved Matt. And I hated him. I hated myself for loving him.” She accuses Alex of being “perfect,” and thus unable to understand. Josie says that everyone in the world is faking in some way, either by maintaining an appearance that will please others or trying to disappear altogether. Alex reflects on the wisdom that her daughter just expressed, and she takes Josie’s hand.
Peter’s loyalty to Josie does not mitigate the severity of what he has done, but it does provide a final reminder of the deep complexity of the situation—and of Peter’s character. After all, just because a person is capable of committing tremendous acts of cruelty and violence doesn’t mean that they are incapable of good, or that there doesn’t remain some innocence within them.
Themes
Peter is convicted of eight first-degree murders, though in Matt and Courtney’s case this is diminished to second-degree murders. Although he isn’t sentenced right away, there is no way that, with this many first-degree murder charges, he will ever leave prison. Speaking to Jordan after the verdict is announced, Peter thanks him for his effort. He gives back the glasses Jordan asked him to wear, and Jordan puts them on himself. After the trial, Lewis starts researching communities where school shootings have taken place, trying to see if they ever go back to some semblance of normality. He has started work again at Sterling College. One of his students is named Peter; forcing a smile, Lewis tells him, “You remind me of someone I used to know.”
No one ever truly recovers from the shooting, but people still find ways to move on. Peter’s act of thanking Jordan suggests that he has gained a measure of maturity, whereas Jordan’s decision to wear the glasses hints that he ended up feeling empathy for Peter. Meanwhile, Lewis attempts to understand the terrible events of the past months through research, and he is at least able to return to the job he loves. Framing his son as someone he “used to know” perhaps also helps him process everything.
Themes
Weeks pass after the trial before Lacy finally manages to enter Peter’s room. She tidies his things and thinks about how powerless her love is, since it could not save her son. She decides to treasure all the moments in Peter’s life aside from the nineteen minutes on which everyone else fixates. One month after his conviction, Peter waits until lights out, then stuffs a sock into his mouth. As he begins to lose consciousness, he dreams about his first day of kindergarten. He is 18 now, but he is still on the school bus holding his Superman lunchbox. He is the only one there, and feels a profound sense of peace.
Peter’s suicide highlights the simplicity of his desires in a heartbreaking manner. All he wanted was to live his life in peace, and there is some mercy in the fact that he finally manages to do this, even if it is only for a few moments before death. Of course, this doesn’t change what Peter has done, but it does remind the reader that he is a human being who had an innocent kindergartener within him right until the end.
Themes
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