Dear Yearbook committee,
I am thankful for receiving your invitation to the class reunion of the UM graduating class of 1981. It brings me immense happiness to have this chance to reconnect with all of you. Furthermore, I wholeheartedly accept your invitation to give a speech at the opening ceremony. In reply to your request for an autobiography, I have included a brief summary of the main factors that have impacted my writing. I hope that this submission harmoniously aligns with your plans for the reunion book. Your appreciation is eagerly awaited.
Every individual has a unique path to follow, and our actions prior to and after making decisions shape our identities. Therefore, I aim to aid you in evaluating both my writing and myself, John Grisham, as a person through this paper.
I was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas on February 8th, 1955 (www.randomhouse.com/features/grisham/). Despite our large size and unfortunate poverty, we were always content and blissful as children. Moving from town to town was a regular occurrence for us as my father sought out steady carpentry work. Upon arriving in each new place, we would unpack our belongings and then my mother would take us to the local library. Each of us would receive our own library card and select 3 or 4 books (Pringle 1). Our parents prioritized our education above all else.
Arriving at a small Mississippi town, my love for baseball outweighed my interest in writing. Despite my parents’ attempts, education wasn’t my main focus. However, one of my language arts teachers saw potential in me, even though I lacked the motivation to develop it. Sometimes, I explored writings by famous authors, with John Steinbeck holding a special place in my heart.
After completing high school, I attended Mississippi State University with the goal of becoming a professional baseball player. However, realizing that I didn’t have the necessary skills to succeed in this field, I decided to pursue a degree in accounting (Jebb 1). Shortly after, I married my sweetheart Renee Jones, who is also from Southaven, Mississippi. We now have two children aged 20 (Ty) and 18 (Shea), and we purchased a beautiful house on the outskirts of Southaven.
Once we settled down, I enrolled at the University of Mississippi in Oxford where I obtained my law degree in 1981 (Pringle 1). To start my legal career, I established my own law firm based in Southaven. Initially focusing on criminal law, I took on various cases including one particularly intense murder trial. In this case, my client had shot his wife’s lover six times in the head and our defense argued self-defense as the victim had previously shot my client with a .22 caliber pistol but failed to penetrate his chest (Pringle 2). Over time, I expanded my practice to include civil cases as well.
Ultimately, I discovered that law was tedious and uninteresting. Court cases left me tired and bored, sitting next to someone I didn’t like as their representative in seemingly pointless proceedings. During slower times, I took advantage of the opportunity to go on an unexpected vacation by making up an excuse to my wife about needing to handle paperwork in New York. It was during this time that I started seriously trying my hand at writing.
While humorously observing court cases with my college friend, we came across a remarkable case that had a lasting impact on me. A young white girl had been brutally raped and assaulted by a very intimidating man. When the defense called their final witness – who happened to be the victim herself – I witnessed an extraordinary display of raw human emotion. Witnessing this made me think about how I would handle such a heart-wrenching situation if it involved my own child.
This instantly sparked a fascinating story idea in my mind that couldn’t be ignored, so I quickly wrote down notes on any available legal notepaper at that moment. Later on, those scribbled notes were organized and served as the foundation for what many consider to be my most impactful work: “A Time to Kill” (Pringle 26).
The story is set in a small county named Ford, where 74% of the population is white. Two men known as Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Willard, both seen as socially worthless rednecks, kidnap a young girl named Tonya Hailey. They become drunk and proceed to sexually assault her throughout the night before leaving her for dead. Despite their beliefs that black people don’t die easily from such violence, the culprits are eventually apprehended. Tonya’s father, Carl Lee Hailey, learns of the heinous acts committed against his daughter and decides to take matters into his own hands. The novel focuses on Carl Lee’s actions leading up to the moment when the prisoners are being transported by vehicle when he fatally shoots Billy Ray and Pete. From this point onwards, the novel centers on Carl Lee’s subsequent trial.
Throughout the progression of the novel, various elements of a real hearing are depicted, including the preliminary hearing, bail hearing, Grand Jury deliberation, arraignment, Hearing for motions, and finally, the trial. This comprehensive exploration of the legal process was undertaken as most novels typically do not delve into these aspects. Additionally, it was motivated by my reputation for legal expertise and accurate portrayal of courts (Gale). Our protagonist, Jake Brigance, is a knowledgeable “street lawyer” who takes pride in his identity. He willingly defends the common person who requires assistance, in contrast to large firms that cater to prominent clients (Jebb 4265). In creating Jake’s character, I largely drew inspiration from myself during that time—a young, attractive attorney who may not earn a substantial income but strives tirelessly to secure victories.
However, anyone familiar with the legal field can attest to its inherent corruption. I am well aware of this fact, as are the majority of legal professionals. Consequently, I refrain from depicting my characters as wholly virtuous. Jake employs any means necessary to win his cases. For instance, he enlists the services of a psychiatrist to provide false testimony regarding Carl Lee’s potential temporary insanity, an act widely recognized as deceitful. Moreover, he ventures to bribe prospective jurors listed in an illegal document.
Although Jake may appear to be bad, both Jake and Carl Lee’s enemies are far worse. The primary antagonist in this story is the District Attorney. The D.A. becomes increasingly evil compared to Jake, and eventually becomes a suspect for leaking information to the reborn K.K.K. resistance about the case. These hints suggest that the D.A. is entirely corrupt. The K.K.K. is equally as evil, threatening jurors and attempting to bomb Jake Brigance’s house. This implies that the D.A. may be as evil as the K.K.K. itself. Jake and the antagonists are not the only deceitful aspects in this novel; the book itself is filled with deception. Jurors lie in order to remain in the pool, ministers conceal relief money from churchgoers so that it can be given to the Hailey family, and the sheriff brutally and unlawfully obtains information from suspects in the Carl Lee and Brigance Bombing cases (Jebb 4226). The reason behind all this dishonesty is because I believe that not only is the world dishonest, but the legal system is twice as worse. Instead of portraying a flawless legal system with no flaws or issues, I depict the real legal system; brutal, relentless, and cunning. Despite it being the darker side of life, my personal experience in the tax law community has shown me that this conclusion is ultimately correct (Pringle 2).
After the success of The Firm, the re-release and positive reception of A Time to Kill not only motivated me to write more but also increased my desire to write commercially successful books. My focus is on highlighting the law process and incorporating the elements of a classic thriller, featuring a principled hero fighting against overwhelming odds (Pringle 21). However, even though I write with the intention of making a profit rather than for artistic expression, I still believe that I am entertaining readers and providing for my family.
Following a few books, I decided to venture into a new direction with The Runaway Jury. Instead of my usual focus on lawyers or law students, I chose Nicolas Easter as the protagonist—a potential juror in a tobacco case. I enjoy exploring significant topics like tobacco and gun control because they are not only relevant to our daily lives but also have personal implications for each individual (Tobacco, in particular). The central case in this novel revolves around a lawsuit against the Big Four tobacco companies (known as the Big Five in real life). Given that these tobacco companies have yet to lose a lawsuit both in the story and in reality, they remain the clear favorites (Jebb 6312).
To enhance their chances of winning, the companies enlist the services of Rankin Fitch—an experienced jury consultant who is familiar with every deceitful tactic in the book. Fitch starts by illegally obtaining a list of potential jurors and proceeds to photograph, track, and analyze each one using investigators.The text reveals that the person in question is gathering information to carefully choose a jury that would potentially support the tobacco companies. Unfortunately, this individual fails to recognize that they unintentionally selected a impartial jury and unknowingly allowed our protagonist, Nick Easter, to be part of it.
Rankin Fitch manipulates, bribes, and controls the jurors he selected to secure a verdict. The plot of this story was inspired by the real-life case of Horton v. American Tobacco in 1988, where World War Two veteran Horton lost his lawsuit against the American Tobacco Company. Plaintiff’s lawyers later claimed that the jury had been intimidated and coerced by the defendants, resulting in a mistrial. In a conversation with other jurors, Nicolas Easter pointed out similarities between their case and Horton v. American Tobacco, stating “There was some pretty outrageous behavior before the jury was picked and after the trial started” (Jebb 6313). I included a tobacco executive in my story who resembles a mysterious executive claiming to possess evidence of tobacco companies’ awareness of nicotine’s addictive and harmful nature for quite some time because smoking has long been an issue affecting both adults and children alike. Addressing underage smoking is crucial as many jurors admit to either currently or formerly being smokers themselves, with many starting at a young age. Discussing this topic represents one of today’s greatest challenges (Jebb 6313).
Nick Easter is working for Rankin Fitch to manipulate the verdict in favor of tobacco companies, but unknown to Rankin, Nick is actually an anti-tobacco advocate who utilizes fake identities to monitor and potentially influence lawsuits against tobacco. Nonetheless, Nick manages to convince the jury to support the plaintiff, securing a notable triumph against major tobacco corporations. Furthermore, several months later, a Florida court awards a $750,000 verdict in favor of an anti-tobacco plaintiff (Jebb 6313). These occurrences illustrate the ongoing struggle and accomplishments related to these vital matters. Both youth smoking and smoking as a whole demand our attention and prompt action as numerous young lives are lost daily due to direct or indirect exposure to tobacco smoke. Ultimately, progress is being made towards rectifying these longstanding injustices.
I tackle the issue of jury effectiveness in this novel, exploring recent cases such as O.J. Simpson and Rodney King. Despite strong evidence against the defendants, mistrials and clear records occurred, raising concerns about potential taint on juries. How can we effectively combat this ongoing threat? As a writer, I am known for my ability to expose both the schemes of wrongdoers and the innocence of others while creating thrilling novels. Although I appreciate positive reviews and sales, my goal remains to address significant issues. I hope that reading this will provide you with a better understanding of my true identity.
Work Cited
Brashler, Bill. “John Grisham.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research, (Year not given), Vol. 84: 191
Jebb, John F. “John Grisham.” Beacham’s Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction. Ed. Kirk H. Beetz, Ph.D. Osprey, Florida: Beacham Publishing Corporation, 1996, Vol. 2: 1
Jebb, John F. “The Runaway Jury.” Beacham’s Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction. Ed. Kirk H. Beetz, Ph.D. Osprey, Florida: Beacham Publishing Corporation, 1998, Vol. 11: 6312,6313
Jebb, John F. “A Time to Kill.” Beacham’s Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction. Ed. Kirk H. Beetz, Ph.D. Osprey, Florida: Beacham Publishing Corporation, 1998, Vol. 7: 4225, 4226
“John Grisham.” DISCovering Authors. Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Reproduced in student resource center. Detroit; 2004
“John Grisham.” John Grisham: The Official Website. (No Date Given)
