The Perfect Shot

“With that he turns and strides out of the gym, leaving me feeling totally faked out by the moves of a man I expect to breeze past.”

This quote describes Todd right after Brian talks to him about their history project. He uses basketball language such as “faked out” to describe their interaction as if Todd is an opponent on the court who has moves that he can’t anticipate.

“Office Recks nodded. ‘I understand. This must be very hard for you, Brian.’ Somehow, the words don’t sound very sympathetic.”

After Amanda and her family are murdered, Brian talks to Officer Recks about what he knows and saw that day, which is not very much. It is later revealed that Recks is Amanda’s killer, and his lack of sympathy when speaking to Brian foreshadows his role as the antagonist.

“Maybe what we’re supposed to learn from this case is how the justice system works—or doesn’t work.”

Todd says this to Brian after they first read about the Leo Frank case. Though Brian and Todd are both intelligent, this quote illustrates that Todd is able to identify patterns and thematic connections more adeptly, while Brian usually comes to the same realizations later, after his real life gives him concrete examples. By living with Warren, a lawyer, Todd has learned more about the justice and legal systems and the barriers that keep them from being fair.

“So, if that happened to Leo Frank—if his civil rights were taken away from him and the Constitution got hurt—and your brother says it’s still happening today, then we didn’t learn anything, and history’s still repeating itself.”

This quote shows that Brian is starting to understand the larger implications of the Leo Frank case—not only was he unfairly convicted of murder and murdered himself, but the United States Constitution has become weaker because the trial did not follow proper procedures in order to be fair. This case will set a precedent for future cases in which the judge, jury, and prosecutors ignore due process and convict the wrong person.

“I’ve lost all pulse and pressure. I think he’s gone.”

Throughout the novel, quotes like the one above appear interspersed between chapters. All of these quotes are from people who are trying to save someone who is injured and needs emergency care. The reader must make inferences about what has happened; at the end of the novel, it becomes clear that the quotes are the voices of the people who save Brian immediately after Officer Recks shoots him. This adds a nonlinear narrative element to the text, producing anticipation, suspense, and mystery. These quotes, though taken out of context, are full of tension and create a sense of urgency that sets the tone for the novel.

“I don’t want to be like Alonzo Mann.”

In this quote, Brian is seeing the connection between the Leo Frank case in 1913 and Mr. Daine’s current murder trial. In these parallels, he recognizes himself in the role of Alonzo Mann, a young man who was a witness and knew the identity of the murderer. This reinforces the theme of The Cyclical Nature of History.

“‘Remember, the kid was only fourteen,’ I point out. ‘He said Conley threatened to kill him if he told, and he was scared.’ […]

‘Fourteen isn’t that much younger than we are,’ Todd says flatly. ‘He was old enough to be working full-time and that means he was old enough to make up his own mind about what to do. And he knew he should have told.’ […]

‘That’s a little harsh,’ I tell him.”

This exchange between Brian and Todd shows Todd’s black-and-white understanding of the case while Brian’s perspective is more nuanced. He sympathizes with Alonzo because he knows how it feels to be confused and scared in his position. This reinforces the theme of The Danger of Black-and-White Thinking.

“And then, one season, I make it! I make the perfect shot and bring that deer down instantaneously. You can see the hole in the forehead—the taxidermist wanted to hide it, but I wanted to see it.”

This quote from Brian’s father shows how the phrase “the perfect shot” can be interpreted in several different ways in the novel. For Brian, it’s about scoring points in basketball, but it takes on a darker connotation here. When his father gets the perfect shot, it kills a deer, leaving a visible bullet hole in its head. His pride is evident when he insists that the taxidermist keep the hole as-is rather than cover it up.

“‘Look, you don’t want to get involved in a police investigation if you’re not sure. you don’t want to waste their time on a false lead, for a start. And you don’t want them marking you as some kid who’s just trying to get attention, or even start treating you like a suspect yourself.’ There’s a trace of bitterness in his voice, and I know he’s remembering the craft fair theft.”

When Brian is thinking about telling the police about the jogger in the gray sweatsuit, Mr. Hammet discourages him from getting involved—he thinks it’s probably a waste of time and could even damage Brian’s reputation. Brian can tell that his father is projecting his own experience with the police onto him—he is biased against them and that affects the way he sees the situation. When Brian recognizes this bitterness, he realizes he has to take his dad’s advice with a grain of salt. At the same time, there is a deeper truth to Mr. Hammet’s beliefs—the antagonist of this novel is a police officer who abuses his power and distorts evidence to conceal his crime.

“‘You don’t want to get involved, Brian,’ Dad says patiently, his voice almost condescending, as if he still sees me as just a little kid who can’t fathom the complexities of adult decisions. But I’m beginning to understand that complexity all too well.”

Three chapters after the previous quote, Mr. Hammet again tells Brian that he should avoid getting involved in conflict. This time, though, the problem is that Julius has been arrested for no reason, and Brian refuses to back down. Mr. Hammet’s continuous fear of getting involved gives readers insight into his character; he is letting fear and past experiences distort what he thinks the right actions are for himself and Brian.

“‘Dad,’ I tell him, pacing my words evenly, ‘you’re wrong this time. What I’m doing is right, and I’m not backing down.’ Before his shocked expression can turn forbidding, I brush past him and out the front door to tilt at Don Quixote’s windmills with Todd’s brother.”

Brian’s father has told him to not get involved in both Mr. Daine’s murder case and Julius’s arrest, but in this moment, Brian decides to follow his own instincts, a coming-of-age moment. He knows that helping his friend is the right thing to do, and he can’t stand by and let bad things happen out of obedience and loyalty to his father. He imagines that he is “tilting at windmills,” which is an allusion to the Spanish novel Don Quixote, in which the main character attacks imaginary enemies—windmills. This suggests that whomever—or whatever—Brian is up against is either not real or is an impersonal structure so big that it does not care about him.

“But that’s all too often the way the police do things. They get a feeling about someone, and then make up their minds to find the evidence to prove it.”

When Warren, Todd, and Brian go to the police station to pick up Julius, Brian is shocked to learn about the real way the “justice” system works. Warren explains that even though Julius didn’t do anything wrong, the police probably think he has done something at some point, so they want to arrest him anyway. In Willisford, Julius and Brian have not seen such examples of racial profiling by the police, especially because everyone knows that Julius is the star of the basketball team. Once Julius becomes a young, anonymous, Black man in the city, he becomes a target.

“‘I’m glad you didn’t listen to me…I’m glad you went and got him. It was a good thing to do.’ He looks up at me, almost bemused. ‘You’re a good kid, Brian. I’m proud of you, being the way you are, seeing the right thing to do and doing it.’ He searches my face, then shakes his head. ‘I only worry, sometimes, you’ll charge ahead and do something that seems right to you, and only later see it’s a mistake.’

I can’t help myself. The words just burst out. ‘How can it be a mistake to do the right thing?’”

After Brian returns from helping Julius at the police station, his father admits that he was wrong, and Brian was right to help. His dad says that sometimes, doing the right thing can sometimes also have negative consequences. Brian asks how doing the right thing could be a mistake, showing that “black and white” and “gray” perspectives on right and wrong can be present at the same time, making it difficult to make the right choice.

“‘You’ll understand when you’ve got a son of your own, Brian. Every father wants his son to get the breaks—to get the chances—that he didn’t have. […] You’re going along, and you take one wrong turn, and you think it’s just a kind of a temporary detour, and you’ll be back on track any moment. […] Then that detour becomes your life, and it’s too late to find your way back to what you want to do.’”

This quote from Brian’s father illustrates the motif of fathers and father figures giving imperfect guidance to their sons. Brian can tell that his father’s past experiences are affecting the way he sees his current situation; everyone, to some extent, projects their past on the present. His father tells him that he’ll understand the difficult position he’s in when he himself is a father—emphasizing the idea of history repeating itself in the way parents guide their children.

“When I realized I was gay, I was honest about it. And my parents practically went crazy…my father told me about tough love and standing up for what is right, even if I was his son.”

Todd tells Brian about how his parents disowned him after he came out as gay. As an evangelical Christian preacher, his father has specific ideas about what is right and wrong. He is willing to forgo a relationship with his son to “stand up for what is right,” in his own mind. Brian sees that this kind of thinking is wrong and knows that it is a huge loss for both Todd and his father. This broken relationship shows how black-and-white thinking can be damaging.

“‘I do see you differently,’ I admit. He stiffens and I shake my head. ‘No—I mean, I’ve always had the feeling there was something different about you, and it’s bugged me, not knowing what. Now I know. But it’s like Julius is black. I’m not. I won’t ever be. I won’t ever know what it’s like to be black, or to be—gay. But once we got past driving each other crazy, I’ve liked working with you. I’m not going to pretend I don’t know you anymore, once the assignment is over.’”

After Todd tells Brian that he is gay, he asks if Brian thinks of him differently. Brian realizes that he does, but not in a bad way. He is glad to know Todd better and understand why he behaves the way he does. After talking to Todd and helping Julius, Brian is beginning to be aware of his privilege—he does not know what it is like to be black or gay, so the way he experiences life is very different from his friends.

“They think Coach will understand and cut Julius some slack, maybe even get protective of him, because Coach Ritter would have. But Coach Guilford isn’t like that.”

Since their original coach, Coach Ritter, has been replaced by Coach Guilford, a guidance counselor, the players have had to adapt to a very different perspective. Coach Guilford emphasizes well-roundedness in his players, including doing well in school and behaving appropriately. Coach Ritter was more protective of his players and tried to negotiate them out of trouble to keep them on the team. Brian knows that Guilford will not be sympathetic if he hears about Julius’s arrest, and he is concerned that his teammates will tell him about it.

“What if the police didn’t bother to investigate because they were only looking for evidence against Mr. Daine? What if the jogger was actually the revenge killer Mr. Daine was trying to tell the jury about?

[…]

What if the prosecution hid the report of what you told the police, like Todd’s brother said they sometimes do, and the defense attorney doesn’t know? Do you really want to carry that evidence inside you for the rest of your life, like Alonzo Mann?”

Brian’s internal monologue shows how stressed and confused he is about choosing to share the information he has about Amanda’s possible murderer. Because of his research project and experience picking up Julius from jail, he is overwhelmed by the many possible consequences of sharing what he knows and how that choice could affect other people. He is also more aware of the flaws in the justice system, from the possibility that the police are only investigating one suspect to the possibility that his report never made it past the officer’s desk. This foreshadows Officer Recks’s guilt—he did indeed hide Brian’s report that implicated him.

“We haven’t learned one single thing since 1913, when Alonzo Mann kept silent and an innocent man was convicted of Mary Phagan’s murder. People still don’t want to get involved. They still look in the other direction and don’t say anything, and the jails are overflowing with innocent people because nobody seems to care about the truth—not the prosecutors, not the police, not the judges. They just care about statistics. Do we have a murder? Yes. Now let’s get a conviction. So what if he didn’t do it? If we call it a conviction, if the court rubber-stamps it, then someone goes to jail for the crime and we rack up another success.”

Brian gives this impassioned speech when he and Todd are presenting their project about Leo Frank. He now understands what Mr. Fortner was trying to show the class through this project and why learning history is so important. He is frustrated that society does not seem to have learned anything or done anything to change the systems that allow innocent people to be convicted of crimes.

“You not my brother, white boy. You don’t know nothing about what it’s like to be a black man! And Shooter, here, and Brainman, they be talking about black boys in nice clean suburbs who scare the poor white boys so they be helpless to stand up for what’s right.”

Brian and Todd’s presentation ignites some heated emotions, and Julius reacts aggressively when another classmate suggests that Conley, a Black man, obviously killed Mary Phagan. Since his arrest, Julius has been acting and speaking differently, wanting to align himself more with other Black teens rather than the mostly white kids at his school who don’t understand his experience. Being targeted by the police for his skin color has given him a different perspective on his place in the world.

“It’s a shot Julius could make, but it’s also a block the Jackson player could make, and I see he knows it. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Shooter, up in the corner, edging away from his man, who’s focused on Julius. I shout, ‘Joyous—Shooter!’

The Jackson player goes up to block Julius, and I realize he’s thinking I yelled ‘Shoot her!’ But Julius gets the message.”

At the end of the big basketball game against Jackson, Julius helps win the game by passing the ball to Shooter instead of keeping it and trying to make the shot himself. This is a successful play, partly because of the nicknames Julius has given everybody—the other team mistakenly believes that Brian is telling Julius to shoot the ball himself when he is really telling him that another player, Shooter, is open. This final shot shows the special way the team understands each other and works together on the court; it also demonstrates growth on Julius’s part because he passed the ball for someone else to make the final shot, something he would have kept for himself earlier in the book.

“Across the gym I meet my father’s eyes and see his pride. I can’t imagine a better moment.”

This quote illustrates the motif of fathers and sons; Brian wants to make his father proud even after the disagreements they have had. This creates a positive resolution for their relationship.

“And yet I don’t know that I’ll trust anybody else to protect me ever again. Even on the best team, each player has his special strengths. No one else can substitute and make the same contribution.”

Brian is reflecting on his experiences from the past several months, both on and off the basketball court. The basketball team works together, and each person has their own set of skills that they bring to the court. He is realizing the same is true of his friends and family. He has learned that he needs to trust his gut and his instincts in both places, too—he may not always be able to count on someone to protect him.