“What do you expect? You’re an ex-con.”

Adjusting to life outside prison is made deliberately difficult for former convicts. At first, Gary does want to reform, yet he is aware that many will treat him differently because of his past. His wages are lower, and he is told that this is unavoidable, simply because he was in prison. Prison is supposedly intended to rehabilitate, but Gary discovers that he is still trapped by his past even after serving his time.

“She knew what it was like to be in prison.”

Nicole feels a connection to Gary because she understands what it means to be trapped. She may not have her own experience of prison, but she has spent time in similar facilities due to her mental health, and she has been in relationships that have made her feel as though she is trapped. Nicole empathizes with Gary’s resentment and his past of confinement because she understands such feelings for herself.

“Weren’t you afraid? they asked. No, said Gary, act like you own the place.”

As he adjusts to life outside of prison, Gary’s repeated examples of petty larceny illustrate the extent to which he does not operate according to the same social rules, reflecting Individual Will Versus Societal Control. He acts as though he “owns the place” as a means of projecting a vision of himself to the rest of the world as someone who does not feel bound by society’s rules. He operates according to the rules he learned in prison, unlike the rest of society.

“I am one of those people that probably shouldn’t exist. But I do.”

In a moment of acute self-reflection, Gary reflects on his own existence and purpose. He recognizes the extent to which he has diverged from the expectations of society, suggesting to Nicole that he “probably shouldn’t exist.” This moment of self-criticism and self-awareness is followed by an assertion of his own existence. Perhaps Gary should not exist, he writes, but he very much does, so he feels he must find a way to balance this problem if he is to continue to live.

“What means the most, drinking or Nicole?”

Gary is asked to choose between alcohol and Nicole. He is urged to address his substance dependency issues as a means of helping him avoid criminality and to reintegrate into society. Gary’s relationship with Nicole introduces The Influence of Love and Hate in Human Lives, as their love affair initially seems to promise a fresh start for both of them.

“Well, maybe he deserved to be killed.”

Gary’s quiet comment following the first murder shows how loosely he is guarding himself. He is already a figure of suspicion in the minds of many people, yet he cannot bring himself to endure even the broadest criticism of his actions, even when the person speaking does not know that Gary is the murderer. The notion of deserving to die is already festering in Gary’s mind, a notion which will eventually coalesce into the embrace of his own death penalty as he accepts responsibility for his actions at last.

“It would have been a lot simpler if they’d wasted me out there.”

Gary reflects on his arrest and wonders about the simplicity of what might have happened were he to have been killed during his arrest. The effect would be the same—he would be killed by the agents of the state—but the bureaucracy and legal wrangling would have been eliminated. As he stares down the barrel of his execution, Gary craves a simpler, more direct route to the same conclusion. His desire for simplicity reflects the sincerity of his desire to be executed.

“I hope they execute me for it. I ought to die for what I did.”

Gary differentiates himself from other murderers by welcoming his judgment by the state. While he is expected to challenge his sentence, he instead embraces the possibility of his own execution. This is an example of Gary surrendering the responsibility of self-reflection or self-judgment, giving himself up to the judgment of the state. He welcomes punishment for his crimes as a way to escape the responsibility that comes with judging himself, while the issue of his execution introduces The Death Penalty as Public Spectacle.

“That childhood might exist no longer, but she tried to live in it now. It was better than floods of misery that a son of her flesh had killed the sons of other mothers.”

Bessie retreats into her memories, choosing nostalgia over the difficult truth that she raised a murderer. The possibility that her son will be executed and taken from her forces her to consider how the mothers of Gary’s victims may feel. Rather than accept the responsibility for her role in Gary’s actions, Bessie tries to live in the past.

“Now he was at her old nuthouse, Utah State Hospital. A different ward, of course.”

Gary is institutionalized in the same facility that once housed Nicole. As well as playing into their romantic sense of destiny, the experience deepens her empathy for Gary and strengthens their connection, as he confirms for himself many of the complaints and irritations that she shared with him. They are sharing experiences in an unconventional manner, as well as in a manner that makes them both feel as though they have been mistreated by the state.

“Powers is a prisoner like me. I can’t work for you guys.”

Gary is friends with prison guards like Big Jake, but he refuses to do favors for the guards. Even though he dislikes the prisoner whom Jake wants attacked, Gary has a clear delineation in his mind between prisoners and guards. He cannot bring himself to do the bidding of the guards, even the guards that he likes. Outside of prison, Gary may not seem to possess any kind of morality, but his understanding of such rules suggests that he does have some semblance of a moral code, even if it is one that has been twisted by years of incarceration.

“I didn’t except the time or two I told you I kissed a couple pretty boys and even once fucked one young pretty boy in his bootie.”

Gary has a complicated relationship with his sexuality, affected by his years behind bars. Locked away in an all-male space, Gary and other prisoners come to understand sexuality differently. Gary only admits as much to Nicole in his private letters, fearing judgment from men who have not experienced prison or sexuality in the same terms. Gary believes that his sexuality in prison is separate from his sexuality outside of prison, but he fears judgment from the rest of society, who lack his experience.

“I’ve considered outright asking you to commit suicide.”

Gary’s letters show the way in which he subtly manipulates Nicole, continuing his pattern of emotional abuse in their relationship. He does not tell her to die by suicide in his name, but then says he has “considered outright asking her” to do so. His constant discussion of the subject ensures that the idea is planted in Nicole’s mind. Gary is hinting to Nicole that her death by suicide would please him, showing the extreme possessiveness that he feels toward her, even in the face of his imminent death, and speaking to how The Influence of Love and Hate in Human Lives has become toxic for Nicole.

“I feel like Judas helping you get executed.”

Boaz’s religious reference is a way to appeal to Gary’s ego. Not only is he framing Gary as the Jesus Christ of their particular relationship, but he is also appealing to Gary’s intellectual pride. Boaz is counting on Gary believing that Judas played an essential role in the execution of Christ; rather than a betrayer, Boaz presents himself as similarly self-sacrificial in the pursuit of Gary’s greater ambition.

“‘I think executions should be on prime time television,’ Boaz said. ‘Then we would get some deterrent out of it.’”

Boaz invites people to acknowledge The Death Penalty as Public Spectacle. If, as many advocates for the death penalty claim, execution prevents crime, then Boaz forces his audience to confront the lurid spectacle of killing Gary in front of the nation’s media. Rather than hiding the execution away, he suggests, the execution should be treated as a “prime time” event. Boaz’s sarcasm speaks to the complexity of the public debate on the issue.

“Inviolate and forever simply means till the next generation. Then you have to do it all over again.”

For certain people, the issue of the death penalty is settled, yet the potential execution of Gary Gilmore demonstrates how this is not the case. Rather than being settled, the absence of executions means that the same debates must be held every generation. Gary is less a victim of the death penalty itself, the claim suggests, than a victim of the absence of debate around the issue in recent years, reflecting The Death Penalty as Public Spectacle.

“Who’s going to play me in the movie?”

Gary’s comments about a potential movie being made about his story show his awareness of The Death Penalty as Public Spectacle. Rather than a wry comment about his situation, however, he is testing Schiller to see whether Schiller is simply placating him. Schiller refuses to entertain Gary’s lurid comments and refuses to make any promises, which shows Gary that Schiller is taking the matter seriously. Gary uses dark humor as a test of how much people understand him.

“Schiller began to feel the relationship of Gary and Nicole in the way those letters had been opened and put back, opened and put back.”

Rather than just the content of the letters, Schiller gets a feeling for the intensity of the bond between Gary and Nicole by examining the physical creases in the paper. The letters are not simply shoved into the envelope without care; they are almost caressed with each reading. Gary and Nicole must treat their letters so tenderly because they cannot be so tender with one another in person. The letters become a substitute for actual physical affection, invoking The Influence of Love and Hate in Human Lives.

“‘It,’ said Gilmore, ‘is just goddamned stubbornness.’”

Gary downplays his own commitment to the hunger strike, insisting that any achievement in going this long without food is mere stubbornness. This shows his level of self-awareness, as all the small battles he fights over the course of his life are a product of this sort of stubbornness, reflecting Individual Will Versus Societal Control.

“Your sixth sense about good convicts has served you wrong in regards to me. I am the one person who has been able to fool, deceive and turn the tables on you, Gary Gilmore.”

Like Gary, Gibbs needs to feel superior to those around him. After leaving prison, his first instinct is to brag about how much he was able to trick people as a police informer. This feeling of intellectual superiority mirrors Gary’s confrontational attitude toward other people. Their similarity suggests that many of Gary’s flaws are not necessarily unique to him, but a product of the environment that he has shared with men like Gibbs.

“Secretly, Gilmore did like literary questions and highly formulated approaches. It dignified his situation.”

Farrell begins to understand that Gary wants to be indulged. Despite his reputation as a cold-blooded killer, Gary wants to be flattered as an intellectual. As suggested through their interactions, Gary does possess an inquisitive mind and a hidden intellectualism, though he is reluctant to reveal it to anyone. Farrell commits to appealing to Gary’s ego as a way to get a better sense of Gary’s true self.

“If they did execute him on the 17th, his death would come nine months and nine days from the time he first came out of prison. By God, she thought, that is just about the term of pregnancy.”

The events of the book take place over nine months. When Brenda realizes this, the idea of Gary’s post-prison life clarifies in her mind into something resembling the responsibility for a child. Gary is someone she brought into the world, almost through a symbolic pregnancy, so she feels as responsible for his actions and his fate as a mother would for a child.

“So his confession wasn’t to homosexuality. It was Gilmore admitting to Nicole how difficult, and pretty, and far-off, and kooky was sex for him.”

Farrell wrestles with the tapes and transcripts, trying to come to grips with Gary’s personality before the execution. Gary’s complicated relationship with his own sexuality is evidence of the extent to which Gary’s true self seems occluded to him. That Farrell should have his clearest insight just as Gary is executed emphasizes the finality of the death penalty, which will deny such understandings from ever reaching a satisfying conclusion.