The Pact by Jodi Picoult Through a Social Action Lens

 Q: How does the text make you think about justice in the world?
           The book The Pact by Jodi Picoult really makes me think about justice in the world because in the book, two teenagers who are lovers and have known each other their entire lives, and they make a suicide pact to kill themselves. The boy, Chris, shoots the girl, but the police arrive before he kills himself. The girl, Emily, ends up dead while Chris lives. The question of whether justice is being served or not is a prominent issue, along with many other intriguing concepts about justice that come into this book.
         The question of whether justice is being served or not is a very deep issue in The Pact. Emily died, killed by Chris, but it was because she wanted to die. She gave him her consent, and even though he planned to kill himself along with Emily, he lives. I don't think justice is being served because even though he had an intention, it was not fufilled, and Emily is dead. For the parents especially, because their daughter was cherished and loved by both of them. Yet in the book, the police are treating the case as a homicide. Even though I believe that justice is not being served, I don't think Chris comitted a heinous crime. He was a lost, depressed boy who his parents didn't understand. Emily was in the exact same situation as he was. I'm not sure what kind of life he should lead, but I am positive that justice is not being served.
         I think that in the real world, justice would not be served in this situation. In America when children are involved in a murder, the people get very angry. The kids in the book are 16 years old, and people are going to have a lot more sympathy towards the grieving parents than to Chris himself. Children and violence are a very delicate topic all around and if this case were to be tried in the real world, Chris would probably be convicted of a homicide. For example, in the case made against Casey Anthony recently, she was found not guilty yet the public was furious. Because there was a child involved it makes the matter so delicate. In America we are almost blind to the facts, and if this was a real case a jury would probably be blind to the fact that Emily consented to her death.
        In conclusion, the book The Pact by Jodi Picoult says a lot about justice and whether it is being served or not. It makes me wonder about what would happen if this case were to be tried in the real world.