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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sun Does Shine, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Discrimination and the Criminal Justice System
Optimism, Faith, and Choice
The Death Penalty
Suffering, Community, and Support
The Power of Stories
Summary
Analysis
Alan Black asks Judge Garrett for money for new ballistics experts to investigate Ray’s case, which the judge grants. Ray wonders why the judge is giving them money now when he didn’t give it in the actual trial. Ray thinks that if he had money, the whole trial might have turned out differently.
Ray reinforces how his lack of money led to his conviction in the trial. The judge’s reversal in this decision also foreshadows Ray’s reason for eventual release, because Ray had the right to more money for a better expert and was denied it.
Themes
Legal filings are the only mail the guards can’t open. They read everything else because they don’t want the inmates complaining about how they’re being treated at Holman—particularly the lack of ventilation in the hot prison. One day, Ray jokes with one of the guards, asking if he can borrow his truck to go to the local swimming pool. The guard laughs, and Ray asks if he can get a message to the warden. Ray is trying to work within the system, as his mom always taught him. He’s trying to make the prison better for everyone on death row.
Ray’s friendly exchange here reinforces his complete change in outlook. Rather than remain surly and cut off, now he is trying to use humor and empathy to connect with others and improve the lives of the whole inmate community at Holman.
Themes
Ray meets with Charlie Jones, the prison warden. Jones greets Ray and asks why he didn’t want to talk on camera when Geraldo Rivera—a national reporter—was there for the night to experience what it was like on death row. Ray and the other inmates noticed that when they handed Rivera his food, the guards gave him a tray on top like a lid, and that made all the difference: Rivera was just playing at being there for a night.
The incident with Rivera reinforces how the inmates are treated as though their lives are worth less than others—he is given a lid on his food, while the other inmates don’t get that simple extra gesture. This counters Ray’s assertion that all of their lives are worthwhile.
Themes
Ray asks Jones if he can start a book club that would meet once a month in the library. Ray explains that it will help keep the peace in the prison, but inwardly he admits that with books, the men can feel smarter and freer. Jones agrees, saying that they can have six guys in the club, but that they’ll have to pay for the books themselves.
Ray wants to start a book club as a way of improving the lives of the whole community on death row. Books are a symbol of both hope and freedom, as the stories allow for a powerful means of escape and distract inmates from the despair of their situation.
Themes
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Jones then asks if there’s anything else he needs to know about in the prison. Ray says that the guys noticed that Geraldo Rivera got a lid on his food. He comments that it was a great idea, and wonders if they can do the same for all of the inmates. Jones agrees and says he’ll let the kitchen know.
Connecting with his fellow inmates—and with the warden and other guards—is crucial for Ray’s survival on the row, because it allows him to advocate for them and improve all of their lives.
Themes
The next visiting day, Lester and Sia come alone—Ray’s mom isn’t feeling well enough to visit. Ray tells them that he’s starting a book club, and Sia gets excited, suggesting a bunch of different books that they can read like To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Tell It on the Mountain. Ray asks if they can send him copies of the books, and they agree.
The books that Sia suggests are particularly apt, as they deal with racism and touch on the criminal justice system and the legacy of slavery in the laws. Her suggestions hint at the fact that the books will not only provide an escape for the inmates, but they will also become powerful tools to consider many of the issues that the inmates face.
Themes
Suddenly, there’s yelling at another visiting table. Sirens go off and the guards escort the visitors out, while inmates have to go back to their cells. Henry tells Ray that his dad, Bennie, fell over like he had a heart attack—he has a trial coming up that he’s concerned about. That night, a guard tells Henry that his father died. Ray prays for Bennie to know more in death than he did in life. After the guard leaves, the inmates all start to pass food and candy to Henry’s cell in sympathy. No one interrupts the chain—they all know grief and isolation, and they want to help in whatever way they can. Even the guards, whose job is both to take care of the inmates and to execute them, help pass the food.
Ray continues to build a community in the prison. Just as he values having people around him to support him, he tries to extend that same empathy to others. In doing so, he fosters compassion throughout the prison, setting off a chain of support represented by the food and candy that they pass to Henry. With this community, they both empathize with and help alleviate each other’s suffering.
Themes
