Fear And Grief In Small Great Things

Hate, fear, and grief are exceptionally powerful emotions that can alter one's mindset. In Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Turk Bauer is a white supremacist who is led by hatred and grief for the majority of the novel since he blames Ruth Jefferson, a black nurse, for the “murder” of his newly born son, Davis Bauer. Turk Bauer has an incredible amount of hatred for Ruth, although as the novel progresses he becomes more aware of his actions and thoughts. At the end of the novel is where he truly questions his beliefs, but in the end he understands that his love is getter than his hate. This demonstrates that personal empathy, critical thinking, and love is stronger than hate, fear and grief.

Turk Bauer's ability to love illustrates how love can overcome hatred and grief. When Turk was younger, he meets a man named Raine Tesco. After time, Turk and Raine become best friends, and he eventually introduces Turk to

I thought: s*** I hurt his feelings. Then: So what?
It's not like I stopped using that word. But I'll admit, sometime when I said it, it stuck in my throat like a fish bone before I could cough it free” (Picoult 92).
The words “s*** I hurt his feelings” suggests that Turk saw Twinkie as a friend that he cares about, despite his beliefs. In the back of Turk's mind, he understands that the skin of Twinkies skin is not important, even if he will not let himself accept that fact. As the story progresses, Turk takes Ruth Jefferson to court for the alleged murder of his son Davis. When Judge Thunders calls for a recess during the trial, Turk and Brit Bauer are sitting in the conference room when Turk begins to spiral:
“If I hadn't spoken out against the black nurse, would this have ended differently? Would she have tried to save Davis the minute she realized he wasn't breathing? Would she have treated him like any other critical patient, instead of wanting to hurt me like I'd hurt her?” (Picoult