72 pages • 2-hour read
The Client
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Symbols & Motifs
Movies and Television
Movies and television collectively serve as a recurrent motif throughout John Grisham’s The Client. Film and television are intrinsically linked to Mark; when mentioned in the book, it is typically from Mark’s perspective, with few exceptions. For example, in Chapter 3, when Mark is debating whether to call 911 to report Romey’s body, the narration explains, “Mark watched all kinds of rescue shows on television, and knew for certain that every 911 call was recorded” (34). This example is only one of many instances in which Mark thinks of movies and television throughout the book. The motif is often presented in this format: Mark, in a time of pressure, danger, and/or stress, thinks on what he has seen on television and in movies to calculate his next move.
The television motif serves several purposes in The Client. Perhaps most important is its link to and support in building the novel’s theme of childhood trauma. Mark’s reliance on television to inform his next move highlights that he has had no real parental figure in his life to teach and guide him. His father was abusive and, by the book’s beginning, is absent from Mark’s life; his mother, Dianne, is largely absent as well, preoccupied with work and the stresses of affording the costs of living. Mark thus uses television in place of family, signaling to readers that his character is a resilient—yet traumatized—child.
The motif of film and television as Mark’s way of understanding the world also serves as a recurring reminder that the novel’s protagonist is a child. Grisham employs the television motif as a stark reminder that Mark is a child being thrust into the entangled net involving the FBI, the mob, and Senator Boyette’s murder. For instance, when Mark reflects on becoming embroiled in a mafia murder case after Romey’s suicide, he immediately thinks of the movies. “He’d seen The Godfather on cable,” the narration explains. “In fact, he’d even seen the first sequel to The Godfather, and he knew all about the mob” (88). This quote is both tragic and comedic; Mark believes he is well-versed in mob issues because he has seen two mafia movies. This motif emphasizes that Mark, being a child without parental guidance, has few resources on his side and therefore must rely on fictional stories on TV and in the movies to survive impossible scenarios.
The Press
The press motif is a significant presence in The Client—one that looms over all the events of the novel. At times, it is a presence powerful enough to directly alter the course of events. This motif is constructed of several moving parts, including journalists, newspapers, and television coverage of Mark and the Boyette case. In building his motif out of these components, Grisham illustrates the different “tentacles” that comprise the press—and the subsequent long reach these tentacles have into the lives of some of the novel’s most beloved characters.
This motif compliments and enlightens The Client’s theme exploring who truly fights for justice. Several characters in the novel are concerned with press, publicity, and fame. Some of the most notable examples are Roy Foltrigg and Barry Muldanno. While they are on opposite sides of the Boyette murder case, both characters are united through the press motif and their shared obsession with public appearance and fame. These two characters allow their obsessions with publicity to guide their actions, affecting the course of events in the novel. Most concerning is that Foltrigg, as the attorney spearheading the efforts to catch Muldanno, is driven not by ideas of justice but by gaining good headlines for the press and popular approval.
The press motif thus operates implicitly through fame-obsessed characters like Foltrigg and Muldanno to shape the drama of The Client. Further, in specific regards to Foltrigg, the press motif emphasizes the novel’s theme that those working in the legal system are often fighting for ideals other than justice. The press motif is an important tool in Grisham’s overarching critique of the American justice system, its flaws, and the personalities that are drawn to working within it.
A particularly important character to the press motif is Slick “the Mole” Moeller. Slick, a journalist on the crime beat, personifies the press motif and represents a physical manifestation of the power the press has in the American justice system. This is well represented in the subplot involving Mark's incarceration in the juvenile detention center when Moeller illegally leaks that Mark refused to tell Judge Harry Roosevelt and the FBI the location of Senator Boyette's family. In Chapter 29, Judge Roosevelt is enraged over Moeller's unethical actions, which jeopardized not only the murder case against Muldanno but also Judge Roosevelt's ability to keep Mark safe. Roosevelt puts Moeller on the stand and grills him on his article leaking confidential court information. This scene serves as the culmination of the press motif, with Judge Harry Roosevelt questioning Moeller—the personification of the American machine of press publicity—over his meddling in the wheels of justice. Grisham then not only uses the press motif to critique the press's role in law proceedings and power to alter the course of events (just as Moeller does with his leaked article), but he also uses the character of Moeller as a way to physically manifest this motif and confront the press on the stand.
Juvenile Detention Center
The jail cell that Mark is held in represents how the protagonist is trapped by his actions. Mark, confronted by his most profound ethical dilemma, will remain trapped until he decides to either reveal the location of Senator Boyette's body or lie on the stand to save his family. Mark is first incarcerated in Chapter 21. Before Chapter 21, Mark had been avoiding deciding in the hopes of outrunning the situation he was in. However, his various schemes of dodging the FBI and hiring Reggie for protection could not protect him forever. The jail cell symbolizes how the power of the criminal justice system had finally caught up to Mark by Part 2 of the novel and that Mark could no longer run from the situation he wishes to escape.
Grisham emphasizes the unfairness of Mark's incarceration, having recurrent scenes in which characters discuss the injustice of having an innocent child stuck in a jail cell. In one of the novel’s most emotional chapters, Chapter 23, Mark argues with Reggie over his confinement and what to say on the stand in Judge Roosevelt’s courtroom. Mark cannot understand why he is in custody, lamenting, “I haven’t done a damned thing wrong, and I’m in jail. I don’t understand this” (277). The chapter ends with Mark crying in exhausted frustration over Reggie’s inability to help free him. By this point, the Juvenile Detention Center also represents Mark’s complete isolation and helplessness. Mark is trapped, alone in the cell, with no resource to help him against the overwhelming power of the American justice system. With this symbol, Grisham depicts how Mark has been unfairly ensnared in the net of the criminal justice system. Here, the symbol then also emphasizes the novel's continuous critique of the American justice system and how it often fails the public.
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