Another theme in this novel is control. Marlee and Fitch are vying for control so that they can secure a verdict. At first, both of them have nothing to do with one another, even though both of them have preplanned a verdict and taken measures to secure it. Then, Marlee makes her first of many calls to Fitch. As these calls progress, he loses his control over the trial. With nearly every call she makes, a juror that would side with the defense is bumped. Fitch’s plan falls into shambles and chaos as his control falls into Marlee’s hands. She begins calling the shots, and Fitch all but begs her to help him. She ends up screwing Fitch in the end, but he never harbors a grudge. He even seems happy, maybe because he has met his match and has a promise that they will be pitted against one another again someday.

The very last sentence of the book nearly embodies the whole book in thirteen words. Marlee simply says, “And remember, Fitch, next time you boys go to trial, we’ll be there.”  This sentence screams “Corruption and greed will stop at nothing.”  Marlee is straight up telling Fitch that next time one of these trials pops up, she and Easter will be there, ready to assume control and acquire more money from the verdict. The theme of greed and corruption is prevalent throughout the whole novel, from the whole Hoppy incident to the verdict itself. Marlee makes akilling off of the stocks she sells after the verdict, and she aims to do it again.Fitch wants to maintain his control of the fund, because it is a huge source of income for him and his firm. Simply put, all of the main characters are corrupt. No exceptions.

The first truth about human nature is that people are inherently corrupt. This is exhibited throughout the whole book by every main character. Fitch wants his money, as do Marlee and Easter. Another way you could word this truth is, Money Talks. Both parties in the case, the defense and the plaintiff, are in it for the money.  Fitch wants to keep “the Fund”, so he stops at nothing to try and secure the verdict the tobacco companies desire so greatly. Marlee’s a little less deviant, she has a dual motive. She wants to stick it to the tobacco companies for killing her parents, and she also wants to make a killing on the stocks associated with them. Both of them are corrupted through money.

The second truth about human nature is power through the weak. Marlee seems to be taking advantage of Easter through his emotional attachment to her. He follows her everywhere, does anything she wants, all because he is in love with her. She must see this emotional attachment as a weakness, and she uses it to become powerful and wealthy, through any means necessary.  She may feel a slight attraction to him, through his intelligence and manipulative abilities, but she seems to use him for personal gain. Even their “conjugal visits” seem hurried and not passionate.

The third and last truth about human nature is, people use other people. This one ties in with the two previous ones very well. Marlee uses Easter, Fitch uses his goons, and Easter uses the jurors. All of them are using the others for personal gain, with little to no regard for the impacts on the others that it may bring about. The level of compassion is literally at none in this novel, everyone doesn’t care about the others around them, and interact with each other simply because they have to.

Fitch, the main antagonist in the novel, thinks he is in control through much of the novel. But near the end of the novel, the whole game is changed. Marlee reveals herself and Fitch loses the control he thought he had. Marlee begins bumping jurors, and Fitch begins to break down. He is so used to being in control, and he is usually emotionally strong, but the control he has lost brings him down to near tears. Marlee begins to toy with him, bumping key jurors that Fitch sees as crucial to his win. Fitch basically begs her not to do certain things, when usually he would be the one receiving the begging from others.

John Grisham has excelled with this extremely thrilling read. I have read many of his books, but this one stands out from the rest. The plotline twists, the characters are compelling, and the book itself seems to turn it’s own pages. It pulls you in and refuses to let go until the last page is finished being read. Mr. Grisham has really outdone himself by my account. I would recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest interest i reading, it may cause someone who isn’t very fond of reading to become an avid reader. The book is absolutely delightful in every aspect! So go out and either borrow it from a smart friend who had the sense to pick it up, or drop by your local library and see if you can find it. It’s worth your time.

Nicholas Easter, one of the main characters in this book, is a mysterious man. I like the fact that he is an amazing manipulator, but I also dislike it in the same sense because he is using it for personal gain. He seems to be seriously interested in some of the other characters because he forms more of a bond with them than with the others. This makes him all the more mysterious, as he selects certain jurors to bond with in favor of the others.

Fitch, another main character, seems to be the epitome of evil and corruption in the modern day world. I despise every trait he exhibits. He is ruthless, cunning, and will stop at nothing to secure a verdict for the defense. He then proceeds to perform great misdeeds on Easter, by breaking into his apartment and then setting the place ablaze after he gets what he wants. Fitch is corrupt beyond what one would expect of someone of his profession.

Marlee is the mastermind behind the whole operation that is taking place. She is in a way like Fitch, being cunning and ruthless. But she exhibits a somewhat higher moral character. than Fitch, yet also she shows a much darker side near the end of the book. She is out for one reason, to get money and win the case against the tobacco companies. Marlee is very manipulative also, and it can be argued that she is also using Easter for her own personal gain in the end.

The whole of this book is set in a modern era in Biloxi, Mississippi. This benefits the plot seeing as it is the deep southern area in the USA.  The Genre of the b0ok is legal thriller, and it fits in very nicely. The fiction in the book is evident, but it could also very easily be a realistic setting, given the right conditions of the social, political and economical climate. The characters may also very well be based on real people in Grisham’s experiences. Grisham seems to have drawn extensively from his experience as a lawyer and law school; also from stories he might have heard during law school of corrupted juries and get rich quick scams. Grisham might have also drawn from personal experience through litigation, maybe he even had a sequestered jury. The genre fits nicely.

I believe John Grisham chose to call this book “The Runaway Jury” for two reasons. The first being, it’s a great attention grabber. Who doesn’t want to hear about corruption in a civil institution? It very easily draws prospective readers into a snare of interest. But the real reason lies within the book itself. A jury in real life must be held to a high level of accountability and are kept under a very tight leash by the judge and associated security, as well as the control the defense and plaintiff have over them due to the selection process. The appeal of a corrupted jury is evident. The jury in the book is extremely easy to sway, and Mr. Easter uses this to his advantage throughout the whole book. The jury becomes “runaway” in the sense that the Judge cannot control what is happening, and the two sides of the suit have lost what little hope they had in securing a verdict for themselves. The jury is in the control of Mr. Easter, and only one person has any control over him, his girlfriend Marlee. In effect, the jury has “run away” from all authority, and Mr. Easter will stop at nothing to secure a verdict.

The summary of the plot of John Grisham’s novel “The Runaway Jury” is as follows:

A large tobacco company is in the crossfire of a civil trial, one of many that precede it, but of which all have failed. This one is destined to be a rigmarole of a trial. This one is in the hands of the jury, which is controlled by a single man.

It begins with a jury selection fueled with money and power from both sides of the trial. The selection goes well, but there is a mysterious man in the mix, one who either side feels is uncontrollable. the trial begins and the plaintiff fiercely fights by using convincing emotional tactics to sway the jury. Once the plaintiff turns it over to the defense, strange things begin to happen. Jurors are being sent home left and right to a myriad of causes. Little do people know that the strange man Nicholas Easter is behind these “bumpings”. It quickly becomes clear to the jury mastermind of the defense, Rankin Fitch, that this man is in control, and he can little to stop him. Nicholas lives under an assumed identity and in secrecy. Fitch sends two of his goons to Nicholas’ apartment to find out who he is, and they steal his computer and then light the place aflame. Luckily, Nicholas is a smart man, and his computer is impenetrable. The defense then begins their case, and they use cold facts and hardened doctors to try and sway the jury. Meanwhile Easter is running the game, by becoming friends with the jurors and making sure he can secure their votes in the end. His girlfriend Marlee is all this time assuring Fitch that they will secure a defense verdict in exchange for 10 million dollars in cash. Finally, as the jury deliberates the case, and Nicholas sways them in an unexpected way. He wants a plaintiffs verdict, because Marlee’s parents died terrible deaths of addiction to cigarettes. He sways the jury to his way of thinking and secures the verdict for a huge sum of money. He and Marlee escape the states and make a killing on tobacco stocks, and then return the money they took from Fitch to him.