Theodore Boone
Theo Boone, also known as
kid lawyer, is a 13 years-old boy. He is only child of busy lawyers Woods Boone
and Marcella Boone. He is the protagonist of the novel ‘HALF THE MAN TWICE THE
LAWYER’. Theo studies at grade 8. He is a well-developed character, likeable,
intelligent, mature & sometimes has an air of superiority around him. It is
refreshing to read about a character who is selfless & always willing to
help those around him. He is undecided about his future. One day he dreamed of
being a famous trial lawyer, one who handled the biggest cases and lost before
juries. The next day dreamed of being a great judge, noted for his wisdom and
fairness. He went back and forth, changing his mind daily.
Theodore "Theo"
Boone is a fictional character created by John Grisham, who is the title
character in Grisham's legal series for children. Theo Boone is a kind,
independent 13-year-old student who resides in the medium-sized city of
Strattenburg, Pennsylvania, with his parents: Woods
Boone, a real estate lawyer, and Marcella Boone, a divorce attorney. Theo
dreams of following in their footsteps one day, becoming either a lawyer or
judge. He knows all the policeman and judges in the city, due to his parents'
professions. Theo knows a great deal about the law, and is often approached by
his own classmates to solve issues they are having.
But Theo finds himself in
court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is
suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded
killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth.
Woods Boone-
Theo’s father was in his
early fifties but seemed to much older for Theo. He was widely known by his
first name Woods. Mr. Woods Boone was a real estate lawyer who never goes to
the court for case and never argued before a judge. He never addressed a jury
and called himself as an office lawyer and his firm is also not so well
furnished, not cleaned, not well-managed and don’t have an interest on fashion.
Mr. Boone has given a name “non-traditional” to April’s family because her
parents had been arrested on drug charges. Theo sometimes pronounced the name
of his father quickly and it sounded like “woodspoon”.
Marcella Boone-
Theo’s mother, a noted
divorce lawyer who was lover of fashion. She enjoys spending money on clothes
and looking nice. She can do anything for beauty. Her firm was also well
managed and furnished. Her desk, glass and chrome, was neatly organized with
most of the surface visible, a sharp contrast to her husband’s.
Mr. Peter Duffy (49
yrs.)-
He was the second husband
of Myra Duffy and accused of murdering his own wife, Myra Duffy. On the day of
the murder, Mr. Duffy played golf, something he did almost every Thursday. He
teed off at 11:00 am according to the computer log in the golf shop. He was
alone, which was not unusual, as he always used his own electric golf cart. He
was a serious golfer who kept score and didn’t cheat. According the claim made
by Mr. Hogan, he began playing golf after he bought the life insurance policy
Myra Duffy
–
She is the murdered woman
in the novel. She was murdered when she was 46 years. She was the mother of two
sons, Will and Clark, both college students. Her first husband had been killed
in a plane crash when the sons were little boys. Mr. Peter Duffy was her second
husband and also, she was his second wife.
Mr. Mount-
Mr. Mount is in his
mid-thirties and he once works as a lawyer. He is Theo’s government teacher/the
debate teacher of class 8 and he wanted the whole class to go the court and see
the trial as their field trip. He is Theo’s favorite teacher. He loved
teaching. He considers the classroom far more important than the courtroom.
April Finnemore-
Theo’s childhood friend
(since they could remember. She dressed like a boy, i.e. she wears jeans,
hiking boots and a navy sweater. She is beautiful but has a problem. Her
parents are divorcing and she has to choose one but she doesn’t like to stay
with either one. She is an artist. Theo loves who was beautiful as well as a
good artist also and she had drawn a picture of Theo standing in front of the
court and saying “overruled” and the juries laughing at him on the background
& she had given this picture on his birthday
Madam Monique
–
She is a tall, dark lady
from Cameroon in West Africa & had moved to Strattenburg three years
earlier when her husband, also from Cameroon took a job at the local college
where he taught languages. She had grown up speaking Beti (her tribal dialect)
as well as French and English.
Jack Hogan (Chapter 5)-
prosecutor wearing a dark
suit, who tries to prove Duffy as culprit. Everyone made a joke of his dark
suit that whether he had only one dark suit or other also because he wore a
black suit every day. He handles the major cases in Strattenburg. He is tall, wiry
and bald. He rarely smiles but begins his opening statement with a friendly
“good morning” and introduces himself.
Clifford Nance (Chapter
5)
–
He is a defense lawyer
who tries to protect Mr. Duffy claiming that there is no proof/evidence to
prove Mr. Peter Duffy the murderer. He is a top criminal district lawyer in the
state wearing a dark suit, shifty(dishonest). He was about sixty with gray hair
over his ears, a thick chest and arms, and swagger. He blames Mr. Hogan for
playing a ‘Maybe Game’. He announces that though Mr. Duffy is not the murderer,
he will be testified.
Sandy Coe-
Theo’s friend, pleasant
boy, an eighth grader at the middle school, but in a different section. He
wanted Theo’s suggestion because he and his family were also in the problem
that their parents had borrowed a hundred and twenty thousand for a thirty-year
mortgage but they had not made the monthly payments in four months, and there were
going to face foreclosure. Theo asks Coe’s father’s and mother’s name to find
detail about the foreclosure (a person who owns a home can’t make the mortgage
payments and the bank wants to take the house) and finds their detail and says
that his parents cannot help but says to meet bankruptcy lawyer Steve Monzingo
What is Sandy Coe’s
problem? (p.39)
What is foreclosure?
(p.39)
What is a mortgage?
(p.40)
Emily Green-
Myra’s sister, who was 44
and lived in Strattenburg, worked as a fitness counselor. As Myra Duffy was
going to her for lunch, she began calling Mrs. Duffy’s cell phone, ten calls
over the next two hours, and became concerned enough that she drove to Waverly
Creek, to the Duffy home and found her sister dead on the living room carpet.
She thought that her sister could’ve simply fainted. She informed the police
and together, they thought that she had died of a heart attack or a stroke or
some other natural cause. Later they became suspicious because Mrs. Duffy was
only forty-six, she was fit and had no any history of drug abuse.
Omar Cheepe-
Omar was thick,
powerfully built, with a large round head that he kept shaved. he was not a
lawyer; he was well known in legal circles. He was former federal agent of some
variety. He, now, has his own firm. He
specialized in investigations and surveillance (observation) and other
activities that lawyers needed from time to time. He was helping Clifford.
Bobby Escobar
·
Julio’s cousin, from El Salvador, (page
110)
·
A man of eighteen or nineteen
·
He works out the golf course in Waverly
Creek (He cuts grass, puts water in the coolers, all that sorts of stuffs)
·
He was working on the day of the murder.
He was eating lunch. His lunch starts at 11:30 ad goes to 12. He is very home
sick, mostly he sneaks away from others and eats alone. He carries his family
photo and looks at it every time he eats. He sends money for the family every
month.
·
He was sitting under some trees in a
dogleg (a sharp bend especially on a road or in a golf course) – almost hiding
·
an illegal migrant (so he sneaks from
others/hides). He is also known as faceless witness
·
he
had seen a person on the particular day when murder happened & the man
hurriedly took golf shoes opened & door went inside as door not locked.
Julio’s cousin was living in Quarry which was one of the rough parts where the
lower income people live & illegal migrant live & the crime goes there.
The man wearing white gloves on left hand, wasn’t normal because most of them
wore on the right hand. The strange part is that the man reached door took off
shoes & put them by back door &pulled out another glove & quickly
put two white gloves on his right hand.
He came back walked,
around the patio (veranda) for a minute, took his time, looked up and removed
both gloves and put them in golf bag and a couple of hours his friend told
cousin some excitement happened on the Creek Course, i.e. a woman was murdered
and it was shown in television as News.
Mr. Duffy was shown as
culprit & Bobby was quite sure that the man shown on the television was
just like the man whom he saw entering the house. Bobby was illegal so he doesn’t
want to come & tell anybody & become a witness coz he may be caught by
police & if he would be caught then his family couldn’t survive coz his
family was poor & was depended on him
Judge Gantry-
His full name is Henry
Gantry. A close friend to Theo’s parents and Theo’s honorable judge. He is the
one who has to decide whether Peter Duffy is a culprit or not. He behaves
friendly to Theo and sometimes asks Theo’s opinion about the murder case. He is
a popular Judge who can indirectly take opinion from the society, or let’s say
public opinion.
Elsa: -
Elsa Miller had worked
for Boones since long before Theo was born. She was the receptionist,
secretary, office manager, and paralegals when needed (p. 32). She was very
important in the lives of Boones. Theo considered her a friend and confidante (
a person that you trust and who you talked to about private and secret things.
Dorothy: -
The real estate
secretary, a nice lady
Julio:
Julio informed Theo about
his cousin, Bobby Escobar who works in the golf course in Waverly Creek and saw
something wrong with a man on the day of the murder. But Julio was worried
about his cousin that the police would arrest him.
Ike Boone
Ike Boone is Theo’s Uncle
with whom Theo shared the secret about Booby Escobar but he didn’t tell his
name as he promised Julio not tell anyone. Ike has ideas about the mistrial. He
helped Theo to open his mouth to the parents about the mysterious witness/faceless
witness/surprise witness what Judge Gantry called phantom witness.
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