Christopher Poz

Professor Lasley
English
11/21/19
Lens Essay
There are many connections that can be made between Amy E. Robillard’s It’s Time for

Class: Toward a More Complex Pedagogy of Narrative and Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy.

Some ideas from Robillard’s essay that can be seen in Stevenson’s novel and applied to so as to

have a different perspective on the novel are the different perceptions of time, the difference of

peoples’ lives caused by social economics, the institutional power structures, and the importance

of narratives.

One idea from Robillard’s essay that can connect to Just Mercy is the idea that there are

different perceptions of time. Robillard writes, “I want to establish that there are different ways

of conceiving of time and that these different ways of conceiving of time are class-based” (75).

She describes that time is usually more important for people of working-class backgrounds as

they need to punch in and out to get paid for their time. She also describes how time for the

wealthy is not as big a deal because they are not getting paid on the clock. This relates to Just

Mercy because the people on death row see time as running out, whereas the people who put

them in that position do not care for when they are executed. In comparison with Robillard’s

essay, the people on death row are like the people of working-class backgrounds because time is

more important for them, and the people of the justice system are like the wealthy because time

is not so much a trouble for them. For example, Stevenson writes, “Mr. Stevenson, I have thirty

days. Please say you’ll help me” (Stevenson 72). This statement from a death row prisoner

reveals the desperation and fear of those who are running out of time. Throughout the story,
Stevenson shares many stories of people who are on death row, and the reader can see how their

view of time is different from the people who do not have an execution date. Also, death row

attorneys have very little time to help all the people they receive cases for, so, in a way, they are

also like the people of the working-class backgrounds because they are on the clock because

their clients’ lives are on the clock. In the novel, the reader can see that the justice system, which

acts as the wealthy, are not worried about time because they are not the ones on death row, and

they do not give time for the death row cases. Stevenson writes, “Three days, Mr. Stevenson. If

you can’t make your case in three days after all of this drama you’ve stirred up, you don’t really

have anything” (Stevenson 165). This reveals how time is not fairly given to the ones in need,

and the ones who have control over it do not care for it. The difference in the way the prisoners

on death row perceive time and the people of the justice system exemplify what Robillard

explains in her essay. The idea of the different perceptions of time allows the readers to

empathize with the prisoners that Stevenson describes because they can now understand how

difficult it is for the prisoners whose lives are on the clock. Robillard’s idea of the different

perceptions of time can be seen in Stevenson’s novel multiple times, and the connection from the

story and the essay is reinforced by how similar the details of the story and the idea of time in the

essay are.

Another idea from Robillard’s essay that connects to Just Mercy is the idea of social

economics playing a role in the way people live their lives. Robillard explains how class plays a

role on the level of difficulty for students in school. Robillard writes, “Further, because the

working-class student struggles with the relationship between his or her past and his or her

present, it becomes critical that we recognize the ways students rely on their past experiences to

understand new knowledge” (76). She also describes how people of working-class backgrounds
struggle more than those of affluent backgrounds because they have other responsibilities aside

from school, or they were not given opportunities that those of wealthier backgrounds were

given. This relates to Just Mercy because the African American community, which is part of the

lower class, is mostly targeted for accusation of crimes, and their sentences are unfair and unjust.

For example, Stevenson writes, “Just about everybody in here was standing next to him, talking

to him, laughing with him, eating with him. Then the police came along months later, say he

killed somebody miles away at the same time we were standing next to him. Then they take him

away when you know it’s a lie” (92). This is an example of how African Americans are treated

unjustly because in this part of the story, a man is accused of a crime when he has an alibi that

checks through, but he was still arrested. This represents the way African Americans are treated

unfairly and unjustly, and this was also due in part because of the fact that they came from the

lower class. Stevenson also tells the stories of other people from the lower class that were

incarcerated and sentenced unfairly, which exemplifies how people of different socio-economic

statuses are treated differently. It is not likely that people of different socio-economic statuses

would be sentenced the same way, and Stevenson’s novel represents this idea that Robillard puts

up. Although Robillard’s case is more focused toward how socio-economic status plays a role

for students in school, it applies to the story because socio economic status effects those who are

incarcerated, and Stevenson demonstrates this through all the client cases he writes about. Also,

Robillard’s main point of the fact that different socio-economic statuses play a role in

differentiating peoples’ lives is shown in Just Mercy. Her idea allows readers to better

understand the difference of classes in Just Mercy and why the characters in the story are treated

as poorly as they are. Robillard’s idea of the differences in peoples’ lives cause by social

economics is shown in Just Mercy with how the lower class is treated poorly and are more likely
to be sentenced unjustly for crimes, which they may have not even committed, than those of the

upper class.

A third idea from Robillard’s essay that connects to Just Mercy is the idea of the

institutional power structure that holds whoever is below it at a usually unstable position.

Robillard describes how universities hold power over students, and jobs have power over

workers. She provides an example of how a job can be easily taken away from someone who

relies on it. Robillard writes, “The social structure of the working class is such that there is no

sense of stability. There is a general, vague feeling of having no control, of uncertainty. One’s

life need not actually be out of control, the threat only needs to loom large” (85). Robillard

describes how the institutional power of the job makes workers vulnerable because they can lose

their job at any point should the institution choose to let them go. This relates to Just Mercy

because the institutional power in this case is the criminal justice system. For example,

Stevenson writes, “Some state officials expressed happiness and excitement that an execution

had taken place, but I knew that none of them had actually dealt with the details of killing

Herbert” (90). This demonstrates how the officials are the ones who hold power over the

incarcerated because they can easily execute them. Stevenson demonstrates how the justice

system holds power over whoever it sentences with the multiple cases he shares of people who

were not given fair trials or sentences. The criminal justice system holds power over African

Americans in the story because it gives harsh sentences and usually the death penalty for

underrepresented convicts. For example, Stevenson writes, “Their death-in-prison sentences

were insulated from legal challenges or appeals by a maze of procedural rules, statutes of

limitations, and legal barricades designed to make successful postconviction challenges almost

impossible” (Stevenson 160). This reveals how even kids are held accountable under the justice
system, and this is because of the power that it holds. Stevenson’s job is presented as difficult

because of all the obstacles and challenges that he must go through in order to really help his

clients. For this reason, the justice system also holds power over attorneys like Stevenson to a

certain extent because they can limit what they do. This is exemplified in the story with how the

judge in the story did not give Stevenson enough time to present his case. The idea of

institutional power structures provides readers with details as to how vulnerable and helpless

prisoners on death row feel as well as those who are incarcerated. This idea allows readers to

better understand what it feels like to be held under the hand of the prison system and how

difficult it is for these prisoners to regain some form of power. Robillard’s idea of institutional

power structures connects to Just Mercy with how the way the justice system acts as the

institutional power structure that holds control over those sentenced for a crime.

A fourth idea from Robillard’s essay that can be seen in the novel is the importance of

narratives. Robillard stresses that narratives are a necessary form of writing because they allow

people to tell the stories of their lives or whatever stories they choose to tell. She emphasizes

that these stories need to be heard or told to better understand the person who tells the narrative.

Robillard writes, “Stories are constructs, and the stories we tell ourselves about our social class

standing betray the way we want to be seen and understood” (83). Robillard’s idea of the

importance of narratives is relevant as in ties in to all the other ideas she has in her essay. This

relates to Just Mercy because the people on death row have to tell their story, so they can get

help with their case. For example, Stevenson writes, “My life has been ruined! This lie they put

on me is more than I can bear, and if I don’t get help from someone who believes me—” (22).

The person speaking in the last quote proceeds to tell his story later, which is vital to

understanding his case. Also, Stevenson listens to everyone’s story so he can better understand
the people he is defending, and in most cases, the stories are helpful in providing evidence that

the person was given unfair sentences and trials. Stevenson recounts many narratives given by

some of his clients that he tried to help, and it was important for him to hear the narrative in

order to really see what went wrong in their case. It is important to note that Just Mercy is a

narrative, and it recounts some of Stevenson’s experiences. This is important because it further

demonstrates the idea of the importance of narratives that Robillard puts out because the story

being a narrative means that its truth can be impactful to readers and society with the message

that it provides. The importance of narratives stressed by Robillard helps readers of Just Mercy

understand why Stevenson writes what he writes. Also, readers will better understand the

characters as their narratives are told. Robillard stresses the importance of narratives in her

essay, and narratives also play a major role in Just Mercy as we see them being told by

Stevenson.

Robillard explains many ideas that can also be found in Stevenson’s Just Mercy, and the

novel brings to light the ideas that Robillard is trying to get across in her essay. Her idea of the

different perceptions of time is seen in the novel with how death row prisoners see time

differently than officials and people of the court. This idea allows the readers to empathize with

the death row prisoners as they run out of time. Another one of her ideas that is seen in the novel

is the way social economics plays a role in how people of different statuses have different lives,

which is seen in the novel with how African Americans and people of lower class are treated

unjustly when they are being sentenced or accused of a crime. Stevenson demonstrates this in

the novel multiple times with the multiple cases that he describes. With this idea in mind when

reading Just Mercy, readers can better understand the struggles the characters face because of

their social economic status. A third idea is the institutional power structure, which is seen in the
novel with the way the criminal justice system acts as the institutional power structure because it

holds power over those that it incarcerates, and it usually does not give them a fair trial, which is

exemplary of the vulnerability of those that are under the power structure that Robillard

mentions. This idea allows readers to understand Stevenson’s struggle with his cases as well as

how helpless people on death row feel. The last idea from Robillard’s essay is the importance of

narratives, which is seen in Stevenson’s novel with how he tells the stories of many of his clients

and how their narratives are important for understanding their case and who they are.

Stevenson’s novel itself reveals the importance of narratives because he told this story to be able

to expose what the criminal justice system is really like and how some people on death row were

not given fair sentences. Readers can really get an understanding of why narratives are

important as they read about the different death row prisoners’ stories. Robillard’s essay

provides many ideas that are in line with what Stevenson writes in Just Mercy.