There have been many legendary courtroom scenes in Southern literature, Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the legal thrillers of John Grisham being two of the most memorable. How do the courtroom scenes in Mississippi Blood compare?
Created: 06/17/18
Replies: 6
Join Date: 10/15/10
Posts: 3442
There have been many legendary courtroom scenes in Southern literature, Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the legal thrillers of John Grisham being two of the most memorable. How do the courtroom scenes in Mississippi Blood compare?
Join Date: 10/15/14
Posts: 363
I thought the courtroom scenes in this trilogy were darker than those in many other pieces of Southern literature I have read. By this I mean the level of tension and fear were more prominent. As a viewer of the action, I felt closer to the scene - more intimately involved somehow. I think that may be the result of the narration choice Iles uses. In the work of both Lee and Grisham narrative voice is 3rd person - here Penn is doing the telling - first person. This brings the reader right into the setting and the heightened fear is very compelling.
Join Date: 01/13/18
Posts: 208
The only courtroom scene I am familiar with is from To Kill a Mockingbird. Obviously, Mississippi Blood was 700 pages versus a much shorter book and took place in present day versus almost 60 years ago for Mockingbird. Just the difference in years makes what occurs, especially in a rural Mississippi courtroom, much different.
Join Date: 06/13/11
Posts: 37
Hard to think about southern writers and court scenes without mentioning John Grisham. The tactic used in the final court scenes was highly unlikely and there is always more violence under the surface - when not in plain sight - in this series.
Join Date: 04/23/12
Posts: 182
Mississippi Blood seemed to follow a different line. The questions were not routine and likewise the answers contained a lot of surprises more like the "old tv Perry Mason" type. I don't think that had anything to do with north or south.
Join Date: 05/29/15
Posts: 460
Join Date: 12/03/11
Posts: 276
Maybe because Mississippi Blood is the end of a trilogy, and I was worn down as a reader by the time I got to it, I didn't find the courtroom scenes as interesting and fascinating as I do in Grisham novels or, of course, in TKAM.
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