Previous
Chapter 15
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
Ray continues to daydream, imagining an elaborate wedding between him and actress Halle Berry. Just as he goes to kiss her, four unfamiliar guards rush into Ray’s cell; they push him up against the wall and throw his things around. The guards order Ray to strip, instructing him to lift up his testicles and spread his buttocks so that they can see if he’s hiding anything—though Ray knows that they’re only doing this to humiliate him. They explain that they’re there for 12 hours, while the regular Holman staff is over at the prison that these guards normally supervise. After this shakedown, the guards leave Ray to clean up the mess.
While Ray’s daydreaming provides him some refuge, nothing can protect him from the guards’ treatment. This is another example of how on death row, the inmates are severely disrespected treated like their lives are worthless. Like the other aspects of the prison system, they do these things under the guise of making sure that justice is carried out, though really Ray knows that they are simply taking advantage of the powerless inmates.
Themes
Year pass: in 1994, Alan Black files an amended Rule 32 petition for Ray. In May of 1997, Henry learns that he’s going to be executed on June 6. The guys try to assure him that the governor could grant him a stay: the Black men on death row show Henry more compassion than his parents or the KKK ever did.
Ray again emphasizes how critical the community is within the prison—the inmates try to ease Henry’s suffering and show him the compassion he has lacked his entire life.
Themes
The book club has now met a few more times, discussing books like Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin—all books that deal with race in the American South. In the discussions, Henry admits that he is ashamed of how he was brought up. Henry wonders what kind of person Michael Donald might have grown up to be if he had not killed the boy. Ray knows that Henry’s death is important to people: he is the first white man to be put to death for killing a Black man in almost 85 years. His death is making a point about racism and fairness—but to the other inmates, it is like a family member dying.
The other books that the book club reads add to Ray’s assessment that books can be powerful tools to open discussions about big issues. Not only do these books deal with race in the South, but several (like To Kill a Mockingbird) also deal with racism in the criminal justice system, illustrating the deep roots of this problem and how literature can help to expose it. Ray also emphasizes that while the outside world treats Henry’s death as symbolic, inside death row the other inmates value him like a family member.
Themes
Before Henry moves to the death room to await his execution, he and Ray talk one last time. Henry cries, saying he’s sorry for what he did. He tells Ray that he has a brother named Ray, and that he thinks of both of them the same way. Ray’s heart breaks—what the inmates have done in the past doesn’t matter on death row. All they can do is try to survive and show each other compassion. On the night of Henry’s execution, Ray starts banging on the bars and screaming so that Henry knows his life means something and that he’s not alone.
This exchange illustrates how Ray’s support is crucial to Henry, as Henry thinks of him like a brother. This shows immense growth on Henry’s part as well, because in the earlier part of his life, Henry would have automatically hated Ray for his Blackness. This possibility for love and redemption even for a racist killer like Henry implies that everyone’s life is worthwhile and has the capacity for something better, and the fact that Ray and the other inmates bang on the bars shows that they believe people can change and have worthwhile lives as well.
Themes
Get the entire The Sun Does Shine LitChart as a printable PDF.
Soon after, Alan Black brings Ray good news: he thinks he can get the state to consider life without parole. Ray protests, however, saying that he doesn’t want life without parole because he’s innocent. Alan explains that this is a better option, because the state isn’t going to let them appeal on anything that they could have appealed on before, like the ballistics evidence. Alan also mentions that he needs $10,000 to pursue the life without parole option. At this, Ray thanks Alan and fires him—Ray would rather die for the truth than have life without parole and not be able to prove his innocence.
This exchange with Alan proves just how much Ray wants to expose the injustice in the criminal justice system and the death penalty. He is willing to die for the opportunity to prove his innocence, rather than live a long life in jail and let the state of Alabama get away with their unjust treatment. Additionally, Ray again shows how important community support is to him, even among his lawyers. As soon as Ray realizes that Alan doesn’t appreciate his financial situation, he knows that Alan doesn’t truly support him.
Themes
