Summary Of Irony In Just Mercy

Irony is a fickle thing. Some people can laugh at irony and its unusual and unexpected ways it can reveal itself. But to the author of the book Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, didn’t find irony to be funny whatsoever. This however did not stop him from ironically naming his book. One would think that a book with the word mercy in its title would be about just that. Mercy. This is where one would be wrong. In the first couple chapters in the book readers are introduced to criminals put on death row with tragic backstories, many of which grew up poor and abused and in some cases have mental problems that in today’s world would not have lead these people to their death. The 1980s doesn’t seem that far away to us now, but to those that have read

Right of the bat Stevenson declares that Walter is innocent. He does this by telling Walter’s story as if he were there and as if he was Walter himself by inserting thoughts and feelings into the pages. He does this with many people in the book, and it helps him use pathos effectively. For example, Stevenson writes, “ The surreal whirlwind of the preceding weeks had left Walter devastated. After living his whole life free and unrestrained by anyone or anything, he found himself confined and threatened in a way he could never have imagined” (55). Stevenson could have said this in many ways. One being, “Walter told me those week had left him devastated and he found himself confined in ways he could never have imagined.” However, he decided to write it in a way where readers could insert themselves into the situation and feel for his client. Stevenson’s use of pathos is overall effective and helps him to prove his points about the injustice justice