Character Analysis
FBI agent John Morris seems like a nice enough guy at first, but things quickly go south for this mild-mannered pencil pusher. And it's not even like he's an innocent bystander. Though he doesn't revel in corruption like Connolly does, Morris is deeply entwined with the FBI's shady deal with Whitey Bulger.
Revenge of the Nerd
This is super-ironic because Morris is hired as supervisor of the Organized Crime Squad specifically to counterweight the increasingly volatile Connolly. But, as the book hilariously describes it,
Morris was like the team manager jealous of the jocks who had starred in the big game. (1.5.21)
Morris doesn't want to be the nerd marking down infractions anymore. He wants in on the action.
Although Morris might have been a stickler for the rules before, he's willing to throw them all out the window once it becomes beneficial to him. At first, he just fudges some paperwork, but the turning point comes when he accepts money from Bulger to buy his side chick a plane ticket. From then on, Flemmi and Bulger know "they had Morris in their grip, and he'd come cheap—a plane ticket for an illicit tryst" (2.9.24).
Married to the Mob
We brushed right over it, but it's meaningful that Morris breaks bad because he wants to spend time with his mistress. This is important because, as Morris grows closer to Bulger and Connolly, his wife Rebecca drifts further away from him. And who can blame her? We wouldn't want a couple of hardcore gangsters dropping by for dinner and drinks. Not our idea of good company.
Justified or not, the deterioration of Morris' marriage reflects his personal tailspin over the course of the book. Morris isn't like Connolly; he can't act like everything's fine. He feels a ton of guilt for what he's doing, especially when it leads to innocent deaths, as with the informant Brian Halloran.
By the time Morris accepts the money for that fateful plane flight, things are already well out of control.
Coming Clean
Maybe that's why Morris abruptly reveals the truth about Bulger to reporters from the Boston Globe, starting off the chain reaction that leads to Bulger—and Connolly—being sent to prison for the rest of their lives. Here's Morris' best explanation for that surprising revelation:
"I think part of it, if Connolly were surfaced, that would mean that I would be surfaced; and I think at that point in time I in fact wanted my own involvement surfaced." (2.16.18)
In other words, Morris' guilt has finally caught up with him. But should we forgive him?
Despite his moral reservations, Morris was instrumental in protecting Bulger for decades, and consequently is at least somewhat responsible for many innocent deaths. In some ways, that almost makes him worse than Connolly. He knows what he's doing is wrong the whole time.
Everyman Morris
Most of us aren't criminal masterminds like Whitey Bulger or corrupt blowhards like John Connolly. But a lot of us are like John Morris: good-natured people who can accidentally get involved with bad stuff. In that way, we can from learn from Morris about what not to do when placed in morally sticky situations—though hopefully you never run into one as sticky as Whitey Bulger.