Search Jump: Comments
    Chapter Index
    Back to Story

    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.

    PreviousNext
    Small Great Things

    Stage One: Transition — Turk 2

    by

    Picoult, Jodi

    The chap­ter depicts a gath­er­ing at Fran­cis’s home, where mem­bers of the Move­ment reunite after a long hia­tus fol­low­ing Davis’s funer­al. Fran­cis, the charis­mat­ic host, revi­tal­izes the group with his hos­pi­tal­i­ty, serv­ing beer and engag­ing the old­er kids with his ani­mat­ed sto­ry­telling. Turk, still griev­ing, observes the event pas­sive­ly, not­ing the sub­dued atmos­phere and Brit’s absence due to her emo­tion­al with­draw­al. The scene under­scores the ten­sion between com­mu­nal sup­port and per­son­al grief, as Turk nav­i­gates his own numb­ness while oth­ers attempt to con­sole him.

    Fran­cis takes Turk aside and shares a poignant reflec­tion on loss, explain­ing how grief can even­tu­al­ly lead to grat­i­tude for those who remain. His wis­dom con­trasts with Turk’s unre­solved pain, high­light­ing the gen­er­a­tional and emo­tion­al divides with­in the group. Mean­while, Fran­cis cap­ti­vates the teenagers with a bib­li­cal les­son about Israel, blend­ing edu­ca­tion with his mag­net­ic pres­ence. This inter­lude reveals the Move­men­t’s ide­o­log­i­cal under­pin­nings and Fran­cis’s role as both men­tor and uni­fy­ing fig­ure.

    Turk’s encounter with a cry­ing baby in the kitchen becomes a piv­otal moment. His instinc­tive abil­i­ty to soothe the infant evokes a painful reminder of what he and Brit have lost. The wom­en’s admi­ra­tion turns to dis­com­fort as Brit wit­ness­es the scene, her raw anguish erupt­ing into hos­til­i­ty. Turk’s fleet­ing sense of nor­mal­cy shat­ters when Brit accus­es him of betray­al, expos­ing the depth of her unre­solved trau­ma and their frac­tured rela­tion­ship.

    The chap­ter cul­mi­nates in Brit’s emo­tion­al break­down, as Turk strug­gles to com­fort her. Her despair con­trasts sharply with the ear­li­er warmth of the gath­er­ing, empha­siz­ing the iso­lat­ing nature of grief. Turk’s inter­nal mono­logue reveals his sense of alienation—both from the woman he mar­ried and from the com­mu­ni­ty around him. The chap­ter clos­es with a haunt­ing ques­tion: whether Brit’s fierce spir­it, like their lost child, is gone for­ev­er, leav­ing Turk to grap­ple with the frag­ments of their shared life.

    Down­load PDF Sum­ma­ry

    FAQs

    • 1. How does Francis create community among members of the Movement, and why is this important?

      Answer:
      Francis fosters community by hosting biweekly gatherings at his home for Movement members, providing a space for social interaction that contrasts with the impersonal nature of online connections. These events feature football games for men, kitchen gatherings for women, and educational lectures for teens. The chapter emphasizes how these gatherings help maintain personal bonds after street activities diminished, highlighting Francis’s understanding of human need for physical community. His role as a unifying figure is evident when he resumes these gatherings after Davis’s funeral, demonstrating their importance in sustaining group cohesion during difficult times.

      2. Analyze the significance of Turk’s interaction with the baby in the kitchen. How does this moment reveal his emotional state?

      Answer:
      Turk’s instinctive comfort of the crying baby serves as a poignant contrast to his grief over Davis’s death. His skillful soothing (“Shh… Quiet, now”) and the baby’s subsequent sleep mirror the nurturing role he might have played with his own child. The narration explicitly frames this as “how it should have been,” revealing Turk’s unresolved trauma. This moment also triggers Brit’s breakdown, as she interprets his natural paternal behavior as a painful reminder of their loss. The scene underscores how grief manifests differently for Turk (through suppressed longing) and Brit (through outward rage).

      3. What does Francis’s “Sunday School” lesson about Israel reveal about his leadership style and the Movement’s ideology?

      Answer:
      Francis employs engaging, Socratic methods (“Who likes mysteries?”) to teach racial ideology through biblical narratives. By framing Jacob/Israel’s story as a “mystery,” he makes white supremacist theology accessible to teens. His correction of a boy who identifies Israel as “a country” versus “Jacob” demonstrates how the Movement reinterprets religious texts to support its worldview. This scene reveals Francis’s charismatic pedagogy—using storytelling and participation to indoctrinate youth while maintaining an authoritative yet approachable demeanor (sitting on a stump, rewarding correct answers). The content reflects the Movement’s appropriation of Christian symbolism for racist narratives.

      4. How does Brit’s reaction to the gathering and Turk’s baby interaction illustrate the couple’s differing coping mechanisms?

      Answer:
      Brit exhibits avoidance (retreating to bed with a headache) and hostility (“I fucking hate them”), rejecting communal support systems that Turk passively accepts. Where Turk finds momentary solace in nurturing the baby—a subconscious attempt to fill paternal emptiness—Brit perceives the same act as betrayal. Her visceral reaction (“Jesus,” as an accusation) and subsequent breakdown reveal how grief has fractured their marriage: Turk seeks distraction in Movement rituals, while Brit resents their forced normalcy. Their disconnect culminates when Turk fails to comprehend her metaphorical distress about the water, symbolizing their inability to communicate profound loss.

      5. Evaluate Francis’s advice to Turk about grief (“the reason we lose people…”). Is this perspective constructive or harmful? Why?

      Answer:
      Francis’s survivalist philosophy—that loss exists to heighten appreciation for the living—offers Turk simplistic comfort while discouraging authentic grief processing. By framing God’s will as transactional (pain as payment for gratitude), he promotes emotional suppression characteristic of toxic masculinity. While this perspective may help Turk functionally endure (as it presumably helped Francis), it pathologizes Brit’s visible anguish as weakness. The advice proves harmful in context: Turk’s zombie-like state and Brit’s isolation suggest this ideology prevents healthy mourning. Francis’s reduction of complex trauma to a divine “explanation” ultimately serves Movement cohesion over individual healing.

    Quotes

    • 1. “the reason we lose people we care about is so we’re more grateful for the ones we still have. It’s the only possible explanation. Otherwise, God’s a sorry son of a bitch.”

      Francis shares this hard-won wisdom with Turk about coping with loss, revealing both his pragmatic philosophy and his raw anger at divine injustice. This moment shows how grief shapes the worldview of these characters.

      2. “This is how it could have been. This is how it should have been.”

      Turk’s visceral reaction to holding a baby underscores the profound grief he and Brit carry after losing their own child. These two simple sentences powerfully convey the haunting presence of their unfulfilled parenthood.

      3. “I fucking hate them. I hate them for being in my house.” […] “That’s what I hate the most. I hate the way they look at me.”

      Brit’s outburst reveals the depth of her trauma and isolation, showing how grief has transformed her from a social hostess to someone who resents even well-meaning visitors. Her anger exposes the raw nerve of her loss.

      4. “It feels just as foreign to be soothing Brit while she sobs as it was for me to cradle an infant. This is not the woman I married.”

      Turk’s reflection captures how grief has fundamentally altered their relationship dynamics. The parallel between comforting a stranger’s baby and comforting his own wife highlights how loss has reshaped their identities and marriage.

    Quotes

    1. “the reason we lose people we care about is so we’re more grateful for the ones we still have. It’s the only possible explanation. Otherwise, God’s a sorry son of a bitch.”

    Francis shares this hard-won wisdom with Turk about coping with loss, revealing both his pragmatic philosophy and his raw anger at divine injustice. This moment shows how grief shapes the worldview of these characters.

    2. “This is how it could have been. This is how it should have been.”

    Turk’s visceral reaction to holding a baby underscores the profound grief he and Brit carry after losing their own child. These two simple sentences powerfully convey the haunting presence of their unfulfilled parenthood.

    3. “I fucking hate them. I hate them for being in my house.” […] “That’s what I hate the most. I hate the way they look at me.”

    Brit’s outburst reveals the depth of her trauma and isolation, showing how grief has transformed her from a social hostess to someone who resents even well-meaning visitors. Her anger exposes the raw nerve of her loss.

    4. “It feels just as foreign to be soothing Brit while she sobs as it was for me to cradle an infant. This is not the woman I married.”

    Turk’s reflection captures how grief has fundamentally altered their relationship dynamics. The parallel between comforting a stranger’s baby and comforting his own wife highlights how loss has reshaped their identities and marriage.

    FAQs

    1. How does Francis create community among members of the Movement, and why is this important?

    Answer:
    Francis fosters community by hosting biweekly gatherings at his home for Movement members, providing a space for social interaction that contrasts with the impersonal nature of online connections. These events feature football games for men, kitchen gatherings for women, and educational lectures for teens. The chapter emphasizes how these gatherings help maintain personal bonds after street activities diminished, highlighting Francis’s understanding of human need for physical community. His role as a unifying figure is evident when he resumes these gatherings after Davis’s funeral, demonstrating their importance in sustaining group cohesion during difficult times.

    2. Analyze the significance of Turk’s interaction with the baby in the kitchen. How does this moment reveal his emotional state?

    Answer:
    Turk’s instinctive comfort of the crying baby serves as a poignant contrast to his grief over Davis’s death. His skillful soothing (“Shh… Quiet, now”) and the baby’s subsequent sleep mirror the nurturing role he might have played with his own child. The narration explicitly frames this as “how it should have been,” revealing Turk’s unresolved trauma. This moment also triggers Brit’s breakdown, as she interprets his natural paternal behavior as a painful reminder of their loss. The scene underscores how grief manifests differently for Turk (through suppressed longing) and Brit (through outward rage).

    3. What does Francis’s “Sunday School” lesson about Israel reveal about his leadership style and the Movement’s ideology?

    Answer:
    Francis employs engaging, Socratic methods (“Who likes mysteries?”) to teach racial ideology through biblical narratives. By framing Jacob/Israel’s story as a “mystery,” he makes white supremacist theology accessible to teens. His correction of a boy who identifies Israel as “a country” versus “Jacob” demonstrates how the Movement reinterprets religious texts to support its worldview. This scene reveals Francis’s charismatic pedagogy—using storytelling and participation to indoctrinate youth while maintaining an authoritative yet approachable demeanor (sitting on a stump, rewarding correct answers). The content reflects the Movement’s appropriation of Christian symbolism for racist narratives.

    4. How does Brit’s reaction to the gathering and Turk’s baby interaction illustrate the couple’s differing coping mechanisms?

    Answer:
    Brit exhibits avoidance (retreating to bed with a headache) and hostility (“I fucking hate them”), rejecting communal support systems that Turk passively accepts. Where Turk finds momentary solace in nurturing the baby—a subconscious attempt to fill paternal emptiness—Brit perceives the same act as betrayal. Her visceral reaction (“Jesus,” as an accusation) and subsequent breakdown reveal how grief has fractured their marriage: Turk seeks distraction in Movement rituals, while Brit resents their forced normalcy. Their disconnect culminates when Turk fails to comprehend her metaphorical distress about the water, symbolizing their inability to communicate profound loss.

    5. Evaluate Francis’s advice to Turk about grief (“the reason we lose people…”). Is this perspective constructive or harmful? Why?

    Answer:
    Francis’s survivalist philosophy—that loss exists to heighten appreciation for the living—offers Turk simplistic comfort while discouraging authentic grief processing. By framing God’s will as transactional (pain as payment for gratitude), he promotes emotional suppression characteristic of toxic masculinity. While this perspective may help Turk functionally endure (as it presumably helped Francis), it pathologizes Brit’s visible anguish as weakness. The advice proves harmful in context: Turk’s zombie-like state and Brit’s isolation suggest this ideology prevents healthy mourning. Francis’s reduction of complex trauma to a divine “explanation” ultimately serves Movement cohesion over individual healing.

    Note