In a letter he writes to the dead civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he explains his background academic achievements, and hopes for the future: "My name is Justyce McAllister. An honest and touching depiction of … They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Jus is shot in his shoulder, which leaves him in the hospital for almost a full month. Later, in a conversation with SJ, he reveals that his decision to leave the party felt like making a statement: "Well, either way it went, I was sayin somethin', you know? Therefore, when Jus is attending Bras Prep and Yale, he is attending schools where people like himself have not been historically represented. While in Coach's office, Jared makes another racist comment which was the final straw for Manny: "Anyway, Jared was in Coach's office. Dear Martin, for instance, features many of the hallmarks of high-school drama: fragmented cliques, awkward crushes, and shifting friendships. These realizations cause Jus to question why he is working so hard to succeed in life in the first place, if it won't even bring him respect: "The conversation reminded me of something Doc asked me a few days ago: all the work I'm doing to try and get ahead in life, who am I doing it for? During Blake's birthday party, however, Blake's racism pushes Jus too far and Jus ends up punching both Blake and Jared. Throughout this encounter, Jus knows that this encounter is deeply unjust: "Melo's drunk beyond belief in the backseat of a car she fully intended to drive, yet Jus is the one in handcuffs" (7). Would he have even been indicted?" Like the Shemar Carson case, a jury decides not to indict the officer who killed Tavarrius Jenkins. Manny is Justyce ’s best friend, and one of the only black students at Braselton Preparatory... Jared Christensen. For helping me get my eyes open. It seems that justice will not be served at the hands of the justice system in Dear Martin. The jury could not come to a consensus regarding the felony charge, which means that they declared it a mistrial. Sarah-Jane SJ Friedman has appeared in the following books: Dear Martin (Dear Martin, #1) There are four specific instances of police brutality in Dear Martin. Throughout the funeral, Jus is overcome with his grief, and a part of him does not want to be there in attendance at all: "He would love to just get up and walk out. Jus cannot escape scrutiny, however—because he has been dubbed "The Boy who Survived," he has unwillingly become the face of the fight for justice over Manny's death. This interaction causes Manny to realize that his "crew" never really were his friends: "Them fools don't wanna hear when they're being offensive. THE eminent MLK: nonviolent, not easily discouraged, and firm in your beliefs" (202). I don't wanna walk around all pissed off and looking for problems, but I know I can't continue to pretend nothing's wrong. After Chapter 1, Jus must come to terms with the fact that no matter how far he gets in life, he might always be seen as a threat in the eyes of the police. Our, “Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Jus is not the only character in the novel that struggles with questions of community. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Throughout most of Part 1, Manny stands up for and enables his white friends Jared, Blake, Tyler, and Kyle. Dear Martin by Nic Stone is an amazing book. The dinner is a somber affair as all three of them share an almost overwhelming level of grief. Throughout Dear Martin, we see several cops that get away with murder scott-free. However, at the last moment, he pulls out and goes to SJ's house instead. But … The main character becomes sad and dearest. He commits himself to following Dr. King's examples not in what Martin would do, but in what Martin would be. He knows by this point in the novel that when it comes to police officers and Black people, injustice generally prevails. By Chapter 23, Tison is in jail waiting to appear before a judge again. He does not know, however, that an officer, Officer Castillo, has been trailing him. Why not ? In the subsequent chapters, Manny experiences a racial awakening that drives a wedge in his relationships with his white friends. On either side, Jus is not a complete insider, and as a result, he often feels discouraged. Trey tells Manny and Jus that they will never really fit in with the white people at their school: "'Don't get it twisted, my dawgs. Trey. Yale University) are examples of systemic racism. Trey responds that Jus will never be fully accepted by his white peers, an echo of what Jared suggested earlier that day: "'You'll be back, smart guy. Affirmative action is an attempt by admissions committees to counter the effects of systemic racism in order to create an equal playing field for all applicants. Jus wonders if Officer Castillo deserved to die. In Chapter 8, he reveals to Jus that he is scared of attending Morehouse next year because he has never been in an all-Black community before: '"You're my only black friend, dawg. Jus is shocked: some part of him still believed that personal success in life would lead to respect: "To think Mr. Julian has all that authority and still gets disrespected? He decides he's going to figure out who he is and what he believes in. Jus will never truly be able to escape Manny's death, not even after Officer Tison is eventually found dead in his jail cell at the end of the novel. This moment is transformative in Jus's life, and not only because it weighs him heavily with grief over his lost friend. . He was happy and liked to have fun. . What were they like at the beginning? Manny replies that Justyce was unarmed the night that Officer Castillo arrested him. Most of the teachers are fresh out of college and leave after a year'" (62-3). Justyce McAllister is the 17-year-old protagonist of Dear Martin. Officer Castillo's unjust use of force in this moment leaves lasting scars on Justyce, who is forced to reevaluate the way others see him in this world. Bras Prep) and universities (e.g. In Dear Martin, we meet Justyce McAllister, a senior in high school who finds himself a victim of racial profiling. After the class criticizes Jared for assuming that his test scores are higher than Jus's—it turns out that their test scores are about equal—Jared maintains that even if he and Jus had equivalent applications, his place will still be taken by other minority students. Nic Stone, the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out,creates two unforgettable characters in one hard-hitting story about class, money--both too little and too much--and how you make your own luck in the world. Jus goes to help his ex-girlfriend, Melo, who is extremely drunk and all by herself in a supermarket parking lot. As Jus comes of age in Dear Martin, he must learn how to navigate systemic racism in all of its forms. Dear Martin Dear Justyce Odd One Out Jackpot Clean Getaway Read all the books from Nic Stone! . He knows how easily he could have lost his life in his encounter with Castillo, and this knowledge eats at him. Quotations by Dean Martin, American Actor, Born June 7, 1917. It is no coincidence that…, Instant downloads of all 1383 LitChart PDFs Jus and Manny's parents eat in silence, all three of them understanding that it's easier not to talk. The novel's major concern is with police brutality, as Jus must learn how to live in a world where he might be killed by a police officer at any moment. I'm ranked number two in our class, I'm captain of the baseball team, I do community service on weekends, and I got higher test scores than Justyce. . He appears before a judge, but he is never called to respond for the crime of murdering an innocent teenaged boy. Allen, Alessandra. Justyce's name itself is a commentary on this theme, as despite the fact that his name is a different spelling of the word "justice," he faces much injustice through the book. In Societal Evolution class, Jared asserts: "'Let's observe, shall we? On top of that, Jared and his friends insist that racism no longer exists—an assumption that goes against Jus's lived experiences in the world. Finally, the tragedy of police brutality comes to a head in Jus's life when an off-duty police officer shoots Manny in Chapter 14. She asks Jared to consider another student, who goes to a school that does not have the same resources: "'He lives in a really crummy area and goes to a public school that has fifteen-year-old textbooks and no computers. Cooper, James ed. Jus knows that the encounter with Officer Castillo would have gone differently if he weren't Black and it bothers him that he was racially profiled even though he goes to a good school, gets excellent grades, and dresses and acts respectably in public. Gain some respect? Dear Martin Feed War Brothers Never Fall Down The Crossing The Hate You Give. To prove myself? Injustice is a major theme in Dear Martin. Jus's encounter with Officer Castillo makes Jus take a closer look at the Shemar Carson case. The group of Bras Prep boys decide to leave the party, and Jus faces the decision of leaving with them or staying with the kids he grew up with. . And how are they now? He thinks at length about the death of Shemar Carson, an unarmed Black teenager who was shot by a white police officer in Nevada earlier that year. How is the main character changing? Another injustice of this encounter is Officer Castillo's racial profiling of Jus; he believes that Jus's race is an indicator of criminal activity and that he is in Oak Ridge, a wealthy Atlanta neighborhood, to cause harm. Despite Jusytce's success—as well as the fact that he dresses "respectably" on a day-to-day basis—he is racially profiled by Officer Castillo in Chapter 1. The Hoodie. Manny. All they 'protect and serve' is their own interests. In the weeks leading up to the trial, Jus's character is defamed on the news when someone submits a cropped photo of him in his "Thug" costume from Halloween. Before Jus is unfairly arrested in Chapter 1, he believes that his respectability will keep him from harm. Especially the cops. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. While there are more Black students at Yale than there are in Bras Prep, white people are still the majority at both of these places. He seeks out the advice of Quan Banks and Martel, the leader of the gang Black Jihad, who he thinks might understand how he feels. . It makes him want to burn the world down" (127). Jus responds, "'Nah, it's cool. These white people don't got no respect for us, dawg. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”. Surprisingly, by the end of the novel, Jared and Jus are able to find communion in their shared grief over Manny. In Chapter 15, Jus must attend his best friend's funeral, which has been postponed for more than three weeks until Jus is well enough to attend: "Twenty-seven days. As Mr. Rivers stands up to deliver the eulogy at the funeral, Jus catches sight of Jared and the rest of the "crew." Just because he's been admitted, however, does not mean that his trouble is not over. Much later in the novel, Manny goes through his own political awakening of his own. There are protests across the nation in support of Manny and Justyce, under the banner of "Justice for JAM." . Especially at that school'" (35). Hi. They couldn't care less what it's like to live in our skin" (109). He has sunglasses on, but he can see them sneaking glances. This is important because some people rarely even acknowledge it. He writes his last letter to Martin just a few days after Manny is killed, and it is just three lines long: "Dear Martin, He's gone. . As if hearing that the book will be called Odd One Out wasn’t enough, Nic Stone retweeted the news with the hashtag #JustyceJupiterCourtneyAndRaeBustinDownDoorsInTheGrandUK, thus revealing some character names for the novel: Jupiter, Courtney, and Rae! The day after Jus's acceptance, Jared is hostile towards Jus in Societal Evolution class and suggests that the only reason that Jus got admitted over Jared (Jared was deferred) was because of affirmative action. One of the stories of police brutality that Jus learns about is the murder of Shemar Carson. Unlike Jared and his friends, they do not claim not to see Justyce’s race; they acknowledge the way his life is different from theirs because of the color... What two things put Justyce in an awful mood? He’s a top student at school, Yale-bound, and has never been in trouble. (8). Noticing stuff I would've glossed over or tried to ignore before" (100). Copyright © 1999 - 2020 GradeSaver LLC. He also questions what would have happened if Officer Castillo had seen Jus as a threat and killed him that night: "What if Castillo had killed Jus, though? Jus is unable to explain himself as the police officer physically assaults him: "'Officer, this is a big misundersta—' he starts to say, but he doesn't get to finish because the officer hits him in the face" (7). Later, he learns that Manny's cousin, Quan Banks (who Jus grew up with), has been arrested for the murder of Officer Castillo. There are several examples of the text that highlight this theme. (114). Dear Martin is the story of an extremely intelligent and hard-working boy named Justyce. Throughout Dear Martin, Justyce goes on a journey of political awakening that starts after he is physically assaulted by Officer Castillo in Chapter 1. Jus and Jared silently acknowledge each other from across the church pews: "Jared turns around like he can feel Jus jabbing arrows into the back of his head. As related to the main character, Justyce, Nic was incredibly intelligent and gifted, yet out-casted for being the only African American in her school. He clipped me once, but I can't even tell you how good it felt to pound that dude'" (109). In Nic Stone's unflinching exploration of racism, high school student Justyce McAllister writes letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in order to process the violence and prejudice he encounters in his community. He only lets Jus go after the parents of his classmates at Bras Prep arrive to intervene on his behalf. It's been almost a year and I still just can't—I'm sorry, man, you don't wanna hear all this.'"

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