JUDE
by Kate Morgenroth
Social Issues: Mother and Son relationship; teenagers in prison; juvenile justice system
The Book
1. The main character is Jude, a teenage boy who, throughout the book, develops a determination, fearlessness, and loyalty that become the cornerstones of his personality.
2. In the beginning, Jude’s previous life is completely turned around when he moves in with his real mother, no-nonsense District Attorney Anna Grady, and her boyfriend, Harry; Jude gets back into the drug dealing business at his new school, but an accidental lethal overdose by a customer sparks turmoil in his new family just as his mother is beginning her anti-drug campaign for her run for mayor. The middle begins when Harry learns of Jude’s affiliation with the accident and devises a plan to save Anna’s reputation and ensure her win in the election; this plan entails Jude going to jail for several years, where he learns that Harry didn’t keep his end of the bargain and that he will remain in jail for his full sentence. The end of the book is Jude’s effort to find evidence to expose Harry’s betrayal to his mother, in which he ultimately succeeds, but not without the price of damaging his existing relationships.
3. I think the author is trying to convey how Jude’s determination is a main pillar of his personality. If it weren’t for his determination in the issues that he faces in his life— Jude trying not to be like his father, Jude trying to expose Harry’s betrayal to his entire family — then he would just be pushed around by everyone who crosses his path.
The Issues
1. I think that one of the most obvious social issues in this book, teenagers in prison, affects three important characters in the story— Jude, Anna Grady, and Jude’s friend Davis; Jude is obviously the most affected by being in prison, because his time in prison did what prison is intended to do to anyone— straighten them out; Jude shied away from the personality traits he inherited from his father as well as matured and formed a well-rounded personality for himself. Davis was indirectly affected by Jude’s time in prison, but in a negative way; he was hesitant in helping Jude at first because of his reputation and thus was afraid to form a foundation of trust with him, and this ultimately led to his betrayal. Anna’s boyfriend, Harry was also affected by Jude in prison; what Harry didn’t think about when betraying Jude was that Jude would have time to find himself and form the determination to expose him, and his reputation was eventually ruined because he was foolish enough to think that Jude was just a puppet.
2. There are two events in this book that make all three of the social issues seem real and important; one being the moment Jude is sentenced to five years in prison and the other being when Jude and Harry reveal their original intentions to Anna. The author does this by having these events emotionally inflict all the main characters with the cold reality of the social issues in the book.
image from: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6695744-jude
great book
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