John Grisham's A Time To Kill

John Grisham’s A Time to Kill follows the struggles of Jake Brigance as he transitions from a audacious lawyer to a cautious and slightly traumatized attorney. When Jake’s client, Carl Lee, has kills the two Ku Klux Klan members who rape his daughter, fellow KKK members sends threats to Jake, Carl Lee, and their families. At first, Jake arrogantly waves off the threats he receives. He tells his secretary, “I’ve ha[ve] threats too. I don’t take them seriously… The threats are not serious. There are a lot of nuts out there” (Grisham 254). This perceived invincibility does not last very long. After the Klan attempts to blow up his house, Jake sends his wife and daughter to his in-laws to avoid danger. Almost on cue, the Klan attempts to assassinate
He is no longer the almost reckless lawyer ready to give up anything for a case. He has faced the polarizing issue of discrimination head on, and has limped away scared. No matter what the verdict is, Jake will not only have to rebuild his house, but also his relationship with his family and friends that he has had to give up for this case. He is realizing that he does not think through when he takes this case. He has no idea that any of the violence and intimidation he experiences could have came from a murder case. Even in one of the most racist places in the world, rural Mississippi, no one would expect the trauma, pain, and violence that Jake, his friends, and family have had to endure. Throughout the novel as tensions, stress, and attacks increase, so does Jake’s drinking. Similarly to Johnny in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Jake copes with suffering through the bottle. Jake is thoroughly changed throughout the book. The fresh law school graduate has had to confront death and suffering, leaving him unnerved and wary. His transformation closely mimics the archetype of a hero, a “rite of passage” of suffering that matures the protagonist from bold and reckless to scarred and