Emily Schnitzer

AP Lang Close Reading Passages

p. 1

Chapter 1: page 25
In this passage, Bryan Stevenson introduces Walter McMilian’s flaws. He doesn’t
narrate Walter as a bad man, but instead sugarcoats the situation to be better than it
was. He starts off this passage with the direct quote “Walter was not without flaws”.
Although this quote is direct to Walter’s bad decisions, it is said in a much nicer way. He
describes Walters behavior as “well known”, suggesting that nobody should be shocked
by this news. This as well as the statement that he “attracted the attention of some
women” illustrates that Stevenson doesn’t believe Walters' flaws are necessarily his
fault. Overall, Stevenson develops a deeper understanding of Walter’s behaviors for his
audience, even though they are said in a much more relaxed way than they actually
were.

*could’ve also talked about how he was a “ladies’ man”, instead of being talked about as
a cheater; could’ve also talked about how he was “generous” and had a “charming
nature” as well as describing him as physically attractive, instead of saying he should be
able to resist other women since he is a married man

Chapter 2: page 41
In this passage, Bryan Stevenson illustrates the illegal search the cops performed
on Bryan’s car when he was questioned for being guilty of murder. He begins this
passage by stating that “there was nothing interesting in [his] car”. This direct tone
clearly contradicts the illegal search done on his car, by being straightforward with what
wasn’t in his car. He then also states the exact things: “drugs…alcohol…tobacco,” that a
police officer would be looking for, but wouldn’t find in his car. He talks about how he
only had his “bag of peanut M&Ms and Bazooka bubble gum,” which kept him satisfied
if he didn’t have much time for a meal. Stevenson provides all of this evidence for
himself, as to why this search was so unnecessary, as he couldn’t have committed the
crime the police were questioning him about. He ends this passage by joking that he
“would not be eating those M&Ms,” as the police officer unnecessarily smelled the
inside of the M&M bag.

Chapter 3: page 49
In this passage, Bryan Stevenson summarizes Ralph Myers’ explanation to the
police of what happened on the day of the Morrison murder. Stevenson describes
this summary in one fluid sentence with a joking tone, suggesting that Ralph’s
explanation was totally inaccurate in so many different ways. By claiming that Walter
performed the murder “in the heart of Monroeville” and “in the middle of the day” right
away, illustrates how ridiculous this story would be from the get-go. It implies that
someone, in their right mind, would never do that if they didn’t want to get caught,
because of how many people were around and how light it was in the day. Ralph then
states that Walter had forced Ralph to drive him to and from the crime scene, because
“his arm [was] injured”. Stevenson then adds in the fact that even though Ralph claims
that Walter had an injured arm, he was still able to drive alone to the gas station where
the two supposedly met, and drive himself home. By simply stating all of these parts of
Ralph’s story, Stevenson quickly implies how ridiculous this story sounds, and in a
shocking manner that the police believed it at first.

Chapter 4: pages 89-90

In this passage, Bryan Stevenson summarizes his thoughts of a quote from
Herbert Richardson stating to Stevenson that more people have helped him now
than in the “years [he] was coming up”. Stevenson states that when Herbert first
said this to him, he gave Herbert a hug, and then began “thinking about what he’d said”.
After Stevenson reflected on it, he states that he “couldn’t help but ask myself”, and
uses parallel structure with a confused tone to get these points across. He asks
questions that included Herbert’s life experiences where he thought that he would’ve
received at least some help. These included times in Herbert’s life when he was three
and his mom died, when he was recovering from physical abuse, when he was a teen
struggling with drugs and alcohol, and when he returned from Vietnam traumatized and
disabled. Stevenson emphasizes on these events of Herbert’s life that majorly shaped
him into the adult he became. This tone shows that he is concerned for Herbert, but
also relieved that he is finally receiving what he needed.

Chapter 5: page 114 (the last paragraph)

In this passage, Bryan Stevenson reflects on his thoughts as he drove home from
meeting with Darnell after he had realized that it was going to be very difficult for
anyone to prove that Walter was innocent, because they would just be threatened.
This reflection by Stevenson shows how different the lives of people and their families
on death row are versus those able to live their normal lives. Stevenson illustrates this
by saying that some would be heading home to “very comfortable homes” and some
would be returning to “less comfortable homes”. He states that these people who are
going home to their less comfortable homes that they “would not rest as easily” and that
“the darkness brought a familiar unease”. Stevenson deepens the meaning behind
those dealing with loved ones on death row by stating these harsh facts. He says this in
a way of normalcy, as he says that the unease they face is familiar to them because of
how long it’s been since they’ve been able to be at ease in life. Stevenson closes this
passage by stating that he “drove away as quickly as [he] could,” since the whole
situation is hard to even think about.

Chapter 6: page 124 (third paragraph)

In this passage, Bryan Stevenson illustrates the first time he met with Charlie to
talk with him. He describes what happened after Charlie told Stevenson that he had
been raped and abused by the other adult men in the jail with him on his first night. He
states that he told him that it was “going to be okay” and that he decided to “hold him
until he stopped [crying]”. He reflects on how badly Charlie was crying as he’d “never
held anyone who gripped [him] as tightly…or who cried as hard or as long.” By
describing this, Stevenson shows the readers that Charlie was truly traumatized from
being in that jail, because he wasn’t a bad kid and was never involved in anything bad
prior to what happened with George. Stevenson also says that as he was leaving,
Charlie “begged [him] not to leave,” even though Stevenson was coming back later that
day. The fact that Stevenson described every detail of this time with Charlie shows how
much of an impact it made on Stevenson’s view of the case, as well as a very scary and
nerve racking time for Charlie.

Chapter 7: page 132 (second to last paragraph)

In this passage, Stevenson describes the surroundings of his runs with Michael
after a long work day. He illustrates how these runs help the two to “wind down” after
their day. By stating this, Stevenson demonstrates just how tiring his job is because of
cases like Walter’s. He implies that these runs help him relax because they are
surrounded by a “beautiful park that houses the Alabama Shakespeare Festival”. By
stating vivid details like this, Bryan distracts himself and the readers from the difficult
cases he is constantly dealing with during the day. The purpose of this passage is to be
a calm distraction of the context it is in that is heavily about the challenges of Walter’s
trial, and specifically the troubles of the trial after Walter’s appeal was denied. He ends
the text by bringing himself and the readers back to a harsh reality by introducing his
thoughts about what he and Michael started to think about, involving what Myers would
tell them.

Chapter 8: page 150 (second to last paragraph)

In this passage, Stevenson elaborates on Trina’s initial state when she was
dropped off at the prison for the first time. He starts out by stating how Trina was
only sixteen years old when she was “immediately shipped off to an adult prison for
women”. By providing these important details, Stevenson reasons how wrong that
sounds. He elaborates on this situation by providing the detail that Trina was mentally
very ill and that to her knowledge, “she would never leave”. This deepens the readers’
empathy for Trina, because she was truly suffering so much and it may not have been
obvious before when Stevenson introduced Trina and her story. This provides the
purpose of this passage, which is to make the readers aware of how terrible and wrong
this situation was for Trina. With this, it provides another example of how Stevenson is
pleading for justice in the world.

Chapter 9: page 163 (second paragraph)

In this passage, Steveon describes how Michael and himself were feeling before
Walter’s hearing. He states that Michael and him have “gone over the case a dozen
times”, to provide the evidence of how long this hearing had been waited for by the two.
By stating this, he is also reminding the readers that he had truly spent so much time on
this one case. He introduces his main worry of the upcoming hearing to be Myers,
because “he’d broken under pressure before”. This gives the readers a reminder of how
this whole situation started in the first place, with Myers putting the blame of the
Morrison murder on Walter, all because he caved to the polices’ temptations. He then
contradicts his worries by stating that he was “consoled” by the fact that they already
had enough documentary evidence to introduce during their testimony. By elaborating
on his worries and affirmations, Stevenson implies that the purpose of the text is to
provide context of his personal state going into Walter’s hearing.

Chapter 10: page 186 (second paragraph)

In this passage, Stevenson introduces Avery Jenkins in the context of providing
his thoughts on the prisons in America. Stevenson claims that when he first
spoke to Jenkins, he “was pretty incoherent”. With the context of providing his
thoughts on how America treats the mentally ill, Stevenson implies that he was
incoherent because of his mental state. He states that when Jenkins would talk
about his experiences in prison he would be distracted by “a random thought
[that] caused him to abruptly switch topics”. This deepens Stevenson’s
prediction of Jenkins’ mental state early on in their interactions. The purpose of
providing these details of Stevenson’s first talk with Jenkins, is to illustrate how
hard it is for the mentally ill to function normally in society. This supports the
context of this text, because Stevenson is deepening his claims about how wrong
the American prison system is for the mentally ill.