How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The dream took place in the courtroom. I was trying to ask questions and nobody could hear me. I was shouting and shouting but everyone went about their business as if I wasn't there. (5.9)
Sounds like Steve's insides—he wants to be heard and understood, but nobody cares what he has to say. His fate is out of his hands, his future resting with the jury. Yikes. We're not sure this is a dream so much as a nightmare.
Quote #2
He don't hang with nobody. He's just a lame looking for a name. Ain't that right, Steve? Ain't that right? (6.93)
What a bully. He deserves a wet jellyfish for a Pillow Pet.
Quote #3
When I looked at the kids in the class, they turned away from me quickly.
I sat down and looked straight ahead. It was easy to imagine myself sitting where they were sitting, looking at the back of the prisoner. (7.26-27)
In some ways, Steve feels like a criminal, but in other ways, he feels like an innocent kid. While there is literal significance to this—he's on trial, after all—it also mirrors the difficulty of growing up, of standing in the middle of your teen years with one foot in childhood and one in adulthood.
Quote #4
CU of a PRETTY BLACK JUROR. She is smiling.
CUT TO: CU of STEVE. He smiles.
CUT TO: CU of PRETTY BLACK JUROR. She stops smiling and looks quickly away.
MS of COURTROOM. STEVE has put his head down on the table. […] STEVE lifts his head. There are tears on his face. (8.1-4,6)
No wonder Steve feels like a monster—even "unbiased" jury members can't look at him.
Quote #5
Miss O'Brien said things were going bad for us because she was afraid that the jury wouldn't see a difference between me and all the bad guys taking the stand. I think my dad thinks the same thing. (9.2)
Do you agree with Steve here or do you think he's projecting his own concerns onto his dad? We're really not sure, and think you could argue either way.
Quote #6
She smiled at me, and I felt embarrassed that a smile should mean so much. (13.4)
Dude—smiles can go a really long way, and there's no shame in that game whatsoever. Everyone needs a smile from time to time.
Quote #7
If I got out after 20 years, I'd be 36. Maybe I wouldn't live that long. Maybe I would think about killing myself so I wouldn't have to live that long in here. (13.24)
Even with so many other dudes in prison, Steve feels completely alone—so alone that he thinks he might kill himself if he gets sentenced. Whoa. That's some major isolation.
Quote #8
"We can use some friends," she said. (17.8)
She isn't kidding—without people believing in Steve, he's toast. We all get by with a little help from our friends, though, in the end.
Quote #9
Last night I was afraid to go to sleep. It was as if closing my eyes was going to cause me to die. There is nothing more to do. There are no more arguments to make. (19.1)
Talk about isolation—Steve can't do anything but wait for a group of people he's never met (a.k.a. the jury) to decide his fate.
Quote #10
She gathers her papers and moves away as STEVE, arms still outstretched, turns toward the camera. His image is in black and white, and the grain is nearly broken. It looks like one of the pictures they use for psychological testing, or some strange beast, a monster. (20.26)
Who is Steve? An innocent kid? A messed up thug? A monster?