Characters

Steve Harmon, James King, Richard "Bobo" Evans, Osvaldo Cruz

Kathy O'Brien, Asa Briggs, Sandra Petrocelli, Judge and Jury

Mr. & Mrs. Harmon, Jerry, Mr. Sawicki

Conflict

Person-against-self - an internal conflict of feelings.

Person-against-person - the typical protagonist vs. antagonist scenario.

Person-against-society - the protagonist battles against the larger organizations of society
(or a system of beliefs held by society).

Person-against-nature - the protagonist is threatened by a component of nature.

Themes

Question of guilt or innocence

Identity: prejudicial stereotypes, monsters

Truth

Choice, Action, Consequence

Peer Pressure (importance of choosing good friends)

American judicial system (innocent until proven guilty)

Institutionalized racism and crime

Life in prison

Writing to cope

Style

Novel’s Form: Steve’s journals and film script

Interior Monologue

Stream of Consciousness

POV: First-Person Narration (Reliable/Unreliable)