A Time to Kill

Why does Jake take the case for so little money and risk so much? Craft an argument that goes beyond simple professional ambition.

Argue for or against the statement that rape is a crime worse than murder. 

Examine Looney’s role in the story. Why is he willing to forgive Carl Lee after his leg is amputated? And how does his position compare and contrast with what other characters in the book are willing to risk or sacrifice for an ideal?

The novel makes much of the fallibility of jurors. Argue for or against the viability and fairness of being tried by a jury of your peers. 

Explore the role the Ku Klux Klan plays in Carl Lee’s trial—and its outcome. For comparison, include real-world examples of how hate groups have historically operated to influence legal proceedings.

How is religion portrayed in the novel? Explore multiple examples.

Do you believe that Cobb and Willard would have been convicted of the rape if they had been put on trial? Discuss and use examples from the narrative to support your argument.

Examine the scene in which Wanda Womack asks her fellow white jurors whether they would want to kill the men who raped their own daughters; it is implied that the white jurors are imagining white children. Would they have found Carl Lee not guilty if they had been picturing a black child instead? Take a stance and craft a supporting argument.