Street Lawyer III

John Grisham's The Street Lawyer reflects many topics and issues concerning homelessness and poverty. The story follow's a man named Michael Brock, a successful lawyer in D.C who works at a firm named Drake and Sweeney. After a homeless man takes him and several others hostage at gun point in his firm, Mike sees the huge struggle of the homeless in his own city and ends up changing his ways to help the homeless.


Towards the end of the book, Michael shares the same views as the homeless man, named Mister, at the beginning of the book. They see that the rich, usually the white population including Mike himself, don't think twice in helping the poor and helpless in need. Veterans, such as Mister, don't even get the attention they deserve, even when they are homeless themselves. Mister and Michael share the same view that the differences of the classes hurt both alike and no-one is helping one another out.


Entering his new job to help the homeless in the Street Clinic he made with Mordecai, one of his first clients was a crack addicted woman named Rudy. Ruby represents the homeless in many ways. She is addicted to the drug cocaine, which like many of the homeless, is one of the many problems they face in their struggle to survive out on the streets. She comes to the street firm for help on her case, which many of the homeless do not take advantage of however.


With this in mind, homelessness and lower classes are well defined then the upper classes of D.C. Michael was included with the upper, white class that lived in the nicer parts of the city. People such as Mister (though white himself) lived in the lower side and more dangerous parts of D.C, usually the blacks and lower classes of people who did not have enough money to support basic living conditions. This is a huge problem in the dividing of the upper and lower classes of D.C, and can be the same with cities around the world. Men like Michael need to see and understand this problem and try everything in their power to change this.

End of the Street Lawyer

Many conclusions can be made by reading the end of the Street Lawyer. We follow a middle aged man named Michael who lives in Washington D.C. He was once a very successful lawyer for the firm Drake and Sweeney, made more than enough money, and had a everything set up with him. This all changed when a homeless man, named Mister, came into the firm and took Mike and several other lawyers hostage. After the whole ordeal, we see several changes in Michael. He takes for notice in the homeless in his community and sees the difference life quality between the homeless and himself. He then becomes involved with helping homeless in shelters with a public lawyer named Mordecai Green. This then leads him to quit his well paying job at his firm, divorcing his wife because their relation was not going well, and helping Mordecai step up a legal law firm that is assessable to everyone, including homeless clients.


Predictions can be made of how Michael's life will be after reading the story. Since he is determined to help people in need in legal cases, especially the homeless, he will continue to work at the new firm of 14th Street Clinic. Working there, he will become more and more like his companion Mordecai, more eager in cases and volunteering in shelters. Though his pay is lower than that of his old job working at Drake and Sweeney, his new life style is one of helping others no matter how expensive or hard it is.


Earlier in the story, Michael helps a woman addicted to crack named Ruby with her case. At the end of the story, Mike bonds with her by taking her and his new lover Megan on a vacation to reflect on their lives. Taking this into thought, with the help received from Michael and a well needed vacation, Ruby will recover from her addiction by the therapy classes Michael paid for. As of Megan, Michael will probably marry her because they are into helping the helpless and share many of the same goals, not like Brock's old marriage with Claire who did not care about what he did. He ends up running his own Street clinic with his friend Mordecai, finds a new lover with common interests, and helps countless others including Ruby in their cases.


John Grisham, author of the Street Lawyer, made a pretty clear message, or theme, to his story. The theme is: Do what is right, no matter the cost. Michael Brock not only quits a well paying job and his marriage with another successful person, but he leaves behind his old live all together to help people in need, in this case the homeless in legal cases. He has to change his lifestyle all together to accomplish this, but to him it is the right thing to do, which he starts to enjoy towards the end of the book. Even though he left his old life behind, a new life has begun for him.


Response: Homelessness is a problem that needs to be solved around the world, but until then, people need to help others in need in every way they can. Much like the fictional character John Grisham created to bring this problem to light, Brian Davis, a man who helps homeless in Cleveland, does the same thing. He helps the homeless the ability to sell newspapers and allowed them to have a chance to earn money. By giving this opportunity, he saved many lives by providing them money to buy food, clothes, and a chance to help themselves in a productive way.

Street Lawyer 2

This is blog two of The Street Lawyer, we are around half ways down with the book. Two these point, several key events have happened so far. One, Michael left his firm to work with Mordecai. This is grossly important because this represents Mike changing his life styles and leaving everything behind to represent and help the homeless. This is a big shock to his bosses, co-workers, and his wife, as they think he is going through a mid-life crisis and has no idea what he is doing. However, Mike knows exactly what he is doing, and decides to leave he now boring job. Another key event is the breaking up between Clare and Michael. Even though they both knew the divorce was coming, but it hit fast and quick when Clare announced it shortly after Mike leaving his firm for good. This holds many dilemmas for Mike, for now he is jobless and homeless, and even comments that he himself is now homeless. He is tied up with work with Mordecai, helping around with shelters, attending the funeral for a homeless family he cared about, and dealing secretly of how Drake and Sweeney may of been involved with the deaths of the homeless family. Michael's life has been very haptic and busy, but he does it to help people in need because of his talents in the firm. With everything that has been going on with Mike, he is now working with Mordecai in their new street firm, and though it is a less-paying job then his old job, he does it for the common good for people in need.     

Street Lawyer

In the beginning chapters of The Street Lawyer,  a homeless man takes eight lawyers, including the protagonist Mike, hostage in a law firm. During the hostage situation, Mike concludes that the Homeless man, called Mister by the captives, has no intent on killing anyone. After several hours police manage to take out Mister and rescue the hostages. Mike returns home to his wife, who they do not have the strongest of marriages between them. After rethinking of the actions he was in and the condition of the homeless in D.C., Mike leaves his firm to help represent the homeless. He does this because he feels that the homeless are helpless and need someone to help them in cases and problems. Mike almost feels like he is doing this not because he feels guilty for the luxurious life he has lived, but almost like it his responsibility to help the homeless.


Mike had changed after the hostage situation will change his life and career. He leaves a successful, well paid job (which he had admitted that he was not really fond of) and enters the life of helping homeless in their time of needs.  He takes his experience and talents from his previous lawyer career and takes it to the street. With Mordecai Green, another social worker who represents homeless, they take care of people in shelters and soup kitchens. Mordecai has been helping the homeless longer then Mike has, but gladly helps Mike with the swing of things.

The Samaritan

A Samaritan is someone who helps another under any circumstance, and goes out of his way to help someone in need. Samaritans are rare today, but there still are people who care enough to assist others.  In the stories "And of Clay Are We Created" and "A State Championship Versus Runner's Conscience", the main character brings aid to someone who is in trouble. These stories inspire us to become more and more like Samaritans so that we may have a chance to help someone in need. In "And of Clay Are We Created", news reporter Rolf Carle covers a volcano eruption that takes place in Columbia. When arriving at one of the many villages impacted by the natural disaster, he come across a girl stuck waist deep in clay, named Azucena. He tries to pull her free but she is too far deep. He assists her by giving her food and comfort by not leaving her alone for days. However, she becomes weaker and weaker and eventually they have to let go of her. Though Azucena dies, Rolf Carle provided care and comfort to her in her last days. This is one of the strongest examples of someone who is a good Samaritan.

In the real world, examples of people being good Samaritan happens almost everyday without being noticed by others, especially in the military. Men and women alike in service risk their lives on a daily basis to help defend their nation and their fellow comrades. In 2007, U.S. forces occupy a small farming village in Afghanistan. Corporal Steven Miles was a marine sniper stationed there. When his squad came under fire, Miles became wounded as a round hit his left shoulder. Though injured, Miles saw a 13 year old Afghan child receive shrapnel to his chest. Under fire and risking his own live, he crawled 50 yards to the child and gave immediate medical attention. After the firefight, Miles had saved the child's live. Though he did not receive any medals or promotion, Corporal Miles was the good Samaritan for a child in need that day.  

Common Themes

The stories "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant" and "Catch the Moon" both shared common themes. In "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant", the 14 year old narrator takes 17 year old Sheila Mant on a canoe to go to a concert. While doing this, she tells him about herself, and tells him that she thinks fishing is dumb. The narrator is a diehard bass fisher, but does not tell Sheila this. However, he forgets to reel in his line and bait from the boat and the biggest bass in the river decides to get hooked. Stuck between his dream girl and the biggest fish he has ever caught, he ends up letting the fish go. After the concert, Sheila ends up going home with another boy and the narrator loses not only the fish, but his girl. In "Catch the Moon", a young Hispanic boy named Luis works with his father on a junk yard under court order. He is a leader of a small gang who creates trouble in his neighborhood. One day at work, Luis sees a very beautiful girl who is looking for a new tire cap for her car. At the end of the story, Luis goes to the junk yard at night to find the tire cap, and returns it to the girl.

Both themes can be described as a changing in character by letting go of something. In "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant", the narrator has to let the fish go because he can not reel it into the book with Sheila there. He gives up something he loves doing for someone he loves. In "Catch the Moon", Luis gives up his rebellious nature to find a purpose in helping others, such as his father at home and finding the tire cap for the girl. In both stories, the protagonists ends up changing their old ways to start a new beginning, even though Luis gets what he wants and the narrator from "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant" does not end up with the girl.

Poe's Theme

      
           If we think of Edgar Allan Poe' works, we think of dramatic short stories and horrors. Though Edgar wrote more than just that, we remember his most important works such as "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "The Fall of the House of Usher."   But what are the themes of his most favorite works?

           We can look at the themes for this stories and poems as a view of life, especially Edgar Poe's life. Poe's life is filled with sudden death and tragedy. Many of his family, including his wife, died of illness. Reflecting off of this, Poe used this life experience to most (if not) all of his stories. The stories and poems he created follow a simple theme, the narrator or main character suffers from the death of a love one, such as "Annabelle Lee" and "The Raven". However, some of his other known works, such as "A Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" are known as murder stories, where the narrator kills off another one. This follows a more sinister theme that Poe had created, but also follows the common theme of life. Though the murders in both stories are completely different, the theme of both can be the sense of guilt or being able to continue everyday life, even though you may have done am illegal activity such as murder.

           In "The Fall of the House of Usher", Poe creates a story in which a man visits his dying friend in his crumbling estate. Many critics have dissected this story into different meanings. Some view it politically as the old hierarchy (the Usher's and their house) is 'falling' and is a dying way of life. However, it can be viewed in a simpler theme. Everything comes to an end. Since the Ushers were an old family loom, it was destined to die off, such as the condition of the house. This also follows the common theme that Poe uses in his other stories and poems. Life eventually comes to an end, and there is no way to stop or shape it.