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    Small Great Things

    by Picoult, Jodi
    Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things (2016) explores themes of race, privilege, and justice through the story of Ruth Jefferson, an African American labor and delivery nurse accused of causing the death of a white supremacist couple’s newborn. The novel alternates perspectives between Ruth, the infant’s father Turk Bauer, and Ruth’s public defender Kennedy McQuarrie, revealing systemic racism and personal biases. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote about doing “small things in a great way,” the narrative examines moral dilemmas and societal structures. The book has been praised for its thought-provoking examination of contemporary racial tensions and is being adapted into a film.
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    Small Great Things

    Stage Two: Pushing — Kennedy 3

    by Picoult, Jodi

    The chap­ter opens with Kennedy McQuar­rie receiv­ing a late-night call about Ruth Jefferson’s son, Edi­son, being arrest­ed. Despite hav­ing been fired as Ruth’s lawyer ear­li­er, Kennedy rush­es to the police sta­tion, pos­ing as Edison’s legal rep­re­sen­ta­tive. She learns Edi­son has been charged with van­dal­iz­ing a hos­pi­tal by spray-paint­ing swastikas and a racial slur, a hate crime that shocks her giv­en his aca­d­e­m­ic record. Kennedy nego­ti­ates a spe­cial arraign­ment, lever­ag­ing Edison’s clean record and his mother’s ongo­ing tri­al to secure his tem­po­rary release, though the charges remain seri­ous.

    In the hold­ing cell, Edi­son con­fess­es his actions were a mis­guid­ed attempt to shift blame onto Turk Bauer, the white suprema­cist he holds respon­si­ble for his mother’s legal trou­bles. He tear­ful­ly explains he want­ed to expose Bauer’s racism and defend Ruth’s rep­u­ta­tion. Kennedy admon­ish­es him for stoop­ing to Bauer’s lev­el but agrees to help, cau­tion­ing him to stay silent dur­ing the arraign­ment. The mag­is­trate for­mal­ly charges Edi­son with a felony hate crime, warn­ing him against fur­ther offens­es while releas­ing him pend­ing tri­al.

    Dur­ing the car ride home, Kennedy con­fronts Edi­son about his actions, ques­tion­ing why he embraced the very big­otry he sought to com­bat. Edi­son chal­lenges her, argu­ing that racism in the tri­al was over­looked beyond Bauer’s obvi­ous extrem­ism. This sparks a tense exchange about sys­temic bias, with Kennedy assert­ing that Bauer’s behav­ior was evi­dence enough, while Edi­son implies broad­er com­plic­i­ty in the court­room. The con­ver­sa­tion high­lights their dif­fer­ing per­spec­tives on how racism oper­ates.

    The chap­ter con­cludes with Ruth await­ing Edison’s return. When he admits to paint­ing the slur, she slaps him, dev­as­tat­ed by his reck­less choice. Edi­son defends his intent to pro­tect her, but Ruth’s reac­tion under­scores the per­son­al and legal con­se­quences of his actions. The scene leaves their rela­tion­ship strained, with Ruth grap­pling with the fall­out of Edison’s arrest and the loom­ing tri­al, while Kennedy’s unre­solved con­flict with Edi­son lingers, set­ting the stage for fur­ther ten­sion.

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    FAQs

    • 1. What motivates Edison to vandalize the hospital with racist graffiti, and how does this action reflect his emotional state regarding his mother’s trial?

      Answer:
      Edison vandalizes the hospital in a misguided attempt to shift blame onto Turk Bauer, whom he holds responsible for his mother’s wrongful accusation. By painting swastikas and the phrase “Die Nigger,” he hopes to frame Bauer for a hate crime, thereby drawing attention away from his mother’s case (p. 422-423). This act reflects Edison’s desperation and frustration—he feels powerless as his mother is vilified in court and seeks retribution. However, his plan backfires, revealing his naivety about the legal system and the gravity of hate crimes. His emotional outburst underscores the toll the trial has taken on him.

      Answer:
      Kennedy employs a pragmatic legal strategy, arranging a special arraignment to expedite Edison’s release and emphasizing his clean record and emotional distress (p. 422-423). However, she privately grapples with ethical dilemmas: she was fired earlier but still acts as his lawyer, and she instructs Edison to withhold details from Ruth, knowing the media will expose the incident (p. 423). Her frustration surfaces when she chastises Edison for “stooping to [Bauer’s] level” (p. 423), revealing her disdain for racism even as she downplays it in court. This highlights her tension between professional detachment and personal morality.

      3. Analyze the significance of Ruth’s reaction to Edison’s arrest. How does it contrast with Edison’s intentions?

      Answer:
      Ruth’s slap and exclamation, “You fool!” (p. 424) convey her shock and dismay that her son would perpetuate the very racism harming their family. While Edison aimed to defend her by imitating Bauer’s bigotry, Ruth recognizes the self-destructive irony of his actions—using hate speech to combat hate. Her reaction underscores her awareness of systemic racism’s complexities: she knows Edison’s stunt won’t exonerate her but could further entrench stereotypes. This moment also reveals her maternal protectiveness, as she fears his future is now jeopardized by a felony charge.

      4. Critical Thinking: Why does Edison argue that racism “barely even came up” in the trial, and how does Kennedy respond?

      Answer:
      Edison critiques the trial’s failure to explicitly address racism, noting that Turk Bauer’s bigotry was treated as an individual flaw rather than part of a systemic issue (p. 423). Kennedy counters that Bauer’s behavior was a “museum-quality exhibit” of racism (p. 423), implying the jury could infer the broader context. This exchange reveals a generational and strategic divide: Edison wants overt condemnation of racism, while Kennedy, as a lawyer, relies on subtler tactics to avoid alienating the jury. The tension reflects broader debates about how to confront racism in legal and social spheres.

    Quotes

    • 1. “I wanted to get Turk Bauer in trouble. If it wasn’t for him, none of this ever would have happened. And after today, everyone was blaming her, and they should have been blaming him… She’s the victim here. How come nobody sees that?”

      This quote captures Edison’s raw frustration and misguided attempt to shift blame onto Turk Bauer, the white supremacist he holds responsible for his mother’s legal troubles. It reveals the emotional turmoil of a teenager grappling with systemic injustice and his mother’s wrongful persecution.

      2. “You really think Turk Bauer is the only person in that courtroom who’s a racist?”

      Edison’s pointed question to Kennedy challenges the superficial handling of racism in his mother’s trial. This moment underscores the novel’s central theme—that racism isn’t limited to overt white supremacists but permeates systems and institutions in more insidious ways.

      3. “It may never have been explicitly discussed during the trial, but Turk Bauer was on full display—a museum-quality exhibit.”

      Kennedy’s defensive response highlights the tension between explicit and implicit racism in legal proceedings. The metaphor suggests racism was visible yet treated as a relic to be observed rather than an active force shaping the trial’s outcome.

      4. “I spray-painted a swastika on the hospital. And…some other stuff. I wrote ‘Die Nigger.’”

      This confession represents the tragic irony of a Black teenager appropriating white supremacist symbols to fight racism. The scene powerfully demonstrates how oppression can distort victims’ responses, leading them to weaponize the very language used against them.

      5. “You fool, why would you do that?… I wanted people to stop saying awful things about you.”

      The emotional confrontation between Ruth and Edison reveals the intergenerational trauma of racism—a mother’s fury masking her fear for her son, and a son’s desperate attempt to protect his mother through self-destructive means.

    Quotes

    1. “I wanted to get Turk Bauer in trouble. If it wasn’t for him, none of this ever would have happened. And after today, everyone was blaming her, and they should have been blaming him… She’s the victim here. How come nobody sees that?”

    This quote captures Edison’s raw frustration and misguided attempt to shift blame onto Turk Bauer, the white supremacist he holds responsible for his mother’s legal troubles. It reveals the emotional turmoil of a teenager grappling with systemic injustice and his mother’s wrongful persecution.

    2. “You really think Turk Bauer is the only person in that courtroom who’s a racist?”

    Edison’s pointed question to Kennedy challenges the superficial handling of racism in his mother’s trial. This moment underscores the novel’s central theme—that racism isn’t limited to overt white supremacists but permeates systems and institutions in more insidious ways.

    3. “It may never have been explicitly discussed during the trial, but Turk Bauer was on full display—a museum-quality exhibit.”

    Kennedy’s defensive response highlights the tension between explicit and implicit racism in legal proceedings. The metaphor suggests racism was visible yet treated as a relic to be observed rather than an active force shaping the trial’s outcome.

    4. “I spray-painted a swastika on the hospital. And…some other stuff. I wrote ‘Die Nigger.’”

    This confession represents the tragic irony of a Black teenager appropriating white supremacist symbols to fight racism. The scene powerfully demonstrates how oppression can distort victims’ responses, leading them to weaponize the very language used against them.

    5. “You fool, why would you do that?… I wanted people to stop saying awful things about you.”

    The emotional confrontation between Ruth and Edison reveals the intergenerational trauma of racism—a mother’s fury masking her fear for her son, and a son’s desperate attempt to protect his mother through self-destructive means.

    FAQs

    1. What motivates Edison to vandalize the hospital with racist graffiti, and how does this action reflect his emotional state regarding his mother’s trial?

    Answer:
    Edison vandalizes the hospital in a misguided attempt to shift blame onto Turk Bauer, whom he holds responsible for his mother’s wrongful accusation. By painting swastikas and the phrase “Die Nigger,” he hopes to frame Bauer for a hate crime, thereby drawing attention away from his mother’s case (p. 422-423). This act reflects Edison’s desperation and frustration—he feels powerless as his mother is vilified in court and seeks retribution. However, his plan backfires, revealing his naivety about the legal system and the gravity of hate crimes. His emotional outburst underscores the toll the trial has taken on him.

    Answer:
    Kennedy employs a pragmatic legal strategy, arranging a special arraignment to expedite Edison’s release and emphasizing his clean record and emotional distress (p. 422-423). However, she privately grapples with ethical dilemmas: she was fired earlier but still acts as his lawyer, and she instructs Edison to withhold details from Ruth, knowing the media will expose the incident (p. 423). Her frustration surfaces when she chastises Edison for “stooping to [Bauer’s] level” (p. 423), revealing her disdain for racism even as she downplays it in court. This highlights her tension between professional detachment and personal morality.

    3. Analyze the significance of Ruth’s reaction to Edison’s arrest. How does it contrast with Edison’s intentions?

    Answer:
    Ruth’s slap and exclamation, “You fool!” (p. 424) convey her shock and dismay that her son would perpetuate the very racism harming their family. While Edison aimed to defend her by imitating Bauer’s bigotry, Ruth recognizes the self-destructive irony of his actions—using hate speech to combat hate. Her reaction underscores her awareness of systemic racism’s complexities: she knows Edison’s stunt won’t exonerate her but could further entrench stereotypes. This moment also reveals her maternal protectiveness, as she fears his future is now jeopardized by a felony charge.

    4. Critical Thinking: Why does Edison argue that racism “barely even came up” in the trial, and how does Kennedy respond?

    Answer:
    Edison critiques the trial’s failure to explicitly address racism, noting that Turk Bauer’s bigotry was treated as an individual flaw rather than part of a systemic issue (p. 423). Kennedy counters that Bauer’s behavior was a “museum-quality exhibit” of racism (p. 423), implying the jury could infer the broader context. This exchange reveals a generational and strategic divide: Edison wants overt condemnation of racism, while Kennedy, as a lawyer, relies on subtler tactics to avoid alienating the jury. The tension reflects broader debates about how to confront racism in legal and social spheres.

    Note