Small Great Things

by

Jodi Picoult

Howard Character Analysis

Howard is a young black lawyer who is hired in Kennedy's office. Kennedy goes out of her way to be nice to him when Ed spouts off that Howard was a diversity hire, but realizes she misjudged Howard when she learns that he's from a wealthy town. Not long before jury selection, Kennedy asks to have Howard join her on the case. Though Howard is enthusiastic about the fieldwork she asks him to do to learn about potential jurors, he's unable to do as much sleuthing as she'd like because he's afraid that someone will call the cops on him. He instead takes over the online research, using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to find out how potential jurors feel about racism, law enforcement, and white supremacy. Howard is vocal that Kennedy should use one of her strikes against juror number 12. During the trial, Howard mostly helps protect Ruth from the press. He's awestruck when Kennedy brings up race in her questioning and seems beside himself after her closing arguments.

Howard Quotes in Small Great Things

The Small Great Things quotes below are all either spoken by Howard or refer to Howard. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism: Hate, Fear, and Grief Theme Icon
).
Chapter 24, Kennedy Quotes

"You think you're a respected member of a community—the hospital where you work, the town where you live. I had a wonderful job. I had colleagues who were friends. I lived in a home I was proud of. But it was just an optical illusion. I was never a member of any of those communities. I was tolerated, but not welcomed. I was, and will always be, different from them."

Related Characters: Ruth Jefferson (speaker), Turk Bauer, Kennedy McQuarrie, Howard, Davis Bauer
Page Number: 404
Explanation and Analysis:
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Howard Quotes in Small Great Things

The Small Great Things quotes below are all either spoken by Howard or refer to Howard. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism: Hate, Fear, and Grief Theme Icon
).
Chapter 24, Kennedy Quotes

"You think you're a respected member of a community—the hospital where you work, the town where you live. I had a wonderful job. I had colleagues who were friends. I lived in a home I was proud of. But it was just an optical illusion. I was never a member of any of those communities. I was tolerated, but not welcomed. I was, and will always be, different from them."

Related Characters: Ruth Jefferson (speaker), Turk Bauer, Kennedy McQuarrie, Howard, Davis Bauer
Page Number: 404
Explanation and Analysis: