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Old ways die hard and even now in the fast-changing American South, but some old ways die harder than others. It's the lesson learned by Carl Lee Hailey, a Mississippi factory worker, when his ten-year-old daughter is brutally assaulted by two racist “good old boys” on a drunken spree. It's the lesson learned by eager young lawyer Jake Brigance, called upon to defend Carl Lee in court after Hailey shoots both men in an act of passionate retribution for the shattered innocence of his little girl. And it's the lesson learned by Ellen Roark, an energetic and ambitious Boston-born law student at "Ole Miss." As Jake fights to defend Carl Lee, his own life and the safety of his family and colleagues become increasingly jeopardized. This story line in “A Time to Kill” provides and interesting view into the sociological issues that are faced today by several groups. Racism, sexism, and classism are all evident in this movie. Carl Lee Hailey is a low paid mill worker in the southern state of Mississippi. His economical status in the scheme of things is fairly low. Because of this status he is often overlooked as an important member of society and therefore looked down upon by those, who have higher paying, higher status jobs. His wife and family are left without their primary provider when Carl Lee goes to jail and are forced to depend on handouts from their church and other locals. This is often degrading for people. Even though low income people don’t have certain luxuries, they still tend to pride themselves on being self sufficient. Taking this feeling of self sufficiency away crushes their pride. Jake Brigance, a bright and ambitious young lawyer, takes on the case of Carl Lee Hailey despite the stigma associated with it. He is a young white man in the south who is defending a black man. Most societies probably would not even differentiate the two by their skin color but in Mississippi that is the key difficulty, skin color. Jake Brigance faces threats from the Ku Klux Klan simply because he doesn’t choose to follow the backwards social norms and let Carl Hailey die unjustly.
Approximate Word count = 1415
Approximate Pages = 5.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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