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The Chamber 4 5 by John Grisham 6 Penguin Readers Factsheets level E Teacher’s notes 1 2 3 The Chamber 4 5 by John Grisham 6 ADVANCED SUMMARY he Chamber tells the story of a seventy-year-old T man’s last bid to save himself from execution. Sam BACKGROUND AND THEMES Cayhall has been on death row for more than twenty years when a young lawyer, Adam Hall, appears to Grisham has produced a string of bestselling novels. They be on a mission to save him. As Adam digs into Sam’s have been translated into more than thirty languages, and past he unearths scenes of horror and confessions that many of them have been made into films. Publishers repulse him. But as they work together the two become Weekly declared him to be “the bestselling novelist of the close, bound together by more than a mission. Sam’s 90s”. hopes for salvation rise as they submit appeal after Grisham writes in an easy, gripping style, which THE CHAMBER appeal, but the law seems to be against them. There is combines a solid knowledge of the American legal system just one piece of information that could save Sam’s life, or with an ability to portray a wide range of characters. cost Adam his. Often, he portrays in a sympathetic light characters who have very unsavory personalities. This creates an ABOUT THE AUTHOR ambivalence in the reader, whose natural inclinations would be against the character. John Grisham was born on February 2, 1955, in Grisham draws on his experiences as a lawyer to write Jonesboro, Arkansas, in the USA. His father was a his legal thrillers, and frequently depicts a young lawyer construction worker and moved his family all around the fighting alone against the corruption of large institutions or southern states of America, stopping wherever he could criminal gangs. find work. Eventually they settled in Mississippi. The Chamber, published in 1994, is Grisham’s fifth Graduating from law school in 1981, Grisham practiced novel. It shows a young lawyer battling alone against the law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in odds to save an old man from death. The Chamber is a criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he very subtle legal thriller. There are no frantic chases, was elected to the state House of Representatives and threats or new killings. Grisham slowly builds the tension served until 1990. by increasing hope and then flattening it to despair by One day at the Dessoto County courthouse, Grisham unraveling past horrors with stark clarity, while over overheard the harrowing testimony of a 12-year-old rape everything lies the dark shadow of the gas chamber, and victim. He decided to write a novel exploring what would the smaller shadow of a figure watching events like a have happened if the girl’s father had murdered her hawk. attackers. He proceeded to get up every morning at 5 am One of the most powerful themes in The Chamber is the to work on the novel, called A Time to Kill, which was death penalty, which still exists in some states in the USA. published in 1988. Grisham’s next novel, The Firm, was The courts of Mississippi are hungry for an execution one of the biggest hits of 1991, spending 47 weeks on because they are slipping behind other states - “other The New York Times bestseller list. Grisham was then states such as Louisiana and Texas and Florida, were able to give up law and concentrate on writing. killing at a better rate.” Sam has committed horrific Grisham lives with his wife and two children, dividing crimes, but should he be punished by death in return? their time between their Victorian home on a 67 acre farm Can’t people feel genuinely sorry for their crimes? Some in Mississippi and a 204 acre plantation near people suspect that Sam was not really responsible for Charlottesville, Virginia. the deaths which his own death will punish. Is it right When he’s not writing, Grisham devotes time to therefore that he should be killed and denied all hope of charitable causes, including mission trips with his church future justice? group. As a child he dreamt of becoming a professional Sam committed the crimes when he was a young man; baseball player, and now serves as the local Little League now he is old and his anger has turned to sadness and commissioner. He has built six ballfields on his property guilt. As in many of Grisham’s books racism is a strong and hosts children from 26 Little League teams. theme. When the book opens in 1967, the American south is strongly racist, with the Ku Klux Klan a dominant force. Sam’s father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and Sam © Pearson Education Limited 1999 level Penguin Readers Factsheets 6 Teacher’s notes was brought up to be racist, never knowing any other way again if they believe in the death penalty. Has anyone of life. Grisham questions whether Sam is entirely to changed his or her mind? blame for his actions, or if his environment molded him Chapters 12-14 into the man he became. Put the class into small groups. Ask them to discuss what The importance of family is a theme that recurs feelings they had when they read the book and to write throughout The Chamber. As Adam grew up, he never them down. Ask the groups for their words and write them knew his family. He always felt at odds because he had no all on the board. Have a class discussion and put the words into order of depth of feeling. Then ask the class to roots. His discovery of his grandfather and his past is discuss how Grisham creates these feelings in his readers. horrifying because of the revelation of the truth, but it is also a measure of security. Adam feels like a normal ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK person, and for all his grandfather’s faults he grows close Write the chapter titles on cards. Divide the class into to him. small groups, each with a set of cards, and ask students to put them into the right order. Communicative activities The following teacher-led activities cover the same Glossary sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader, It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. and supplement those exercises. For supplementary They are practiced in the Before You Read sections of exercises at exercises covering shorter sections of the book, see the the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman Active Study Dictionary.) photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class readers, but, with the Chapters 1-2 exception of discussion and pair/group work questions, appeal (v) to ask a higher court to change the decision of a lower court can also be used by students working alone in a self- chamber (n) a room used for a special purpose access center. dynamite (n) a powerful explosive execute (v) to kill someone, especially as a legal punishment for a ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK crime federal (adj) relating to the national government of a country, when Ask students to work in pairs. They look at the front cover the country consists of several states of the book and discuss what type of novel it is. They then fuse (n) a part that is connected to a bomb, that delays or starts the ask each other about other Grisham novels and films. explosion Have they read any of them or seen the films? Did they member (n) someone who has joined a club, group or organization like them? Why? Then ask some of the students to report negro (n) a black person back to the class about their partner’s experiences of patio (n) an outdoor area with a stone floor next to a house, where people can sit Grisham, and discuss any issues raised. prosecute (v) to say officially that someone might be guilty of a crime ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION and must be judged in a court of law racism (n) the belief that other races are not as good as your own THE CHAMBER Chapters 1-2 and should not therefore be treated equally Ask students to work in groups. They draw a time line terrorist (n) someone who uses violent actions to achieve political representing Sam Cayhall’s life, and mark the events of aims Sam’s life starting with the Kramer bombing and ending Chapters 3-5 with his arrest. briefcase (n) a flat case used for carrying papers and books for work colonel (n) an officer with a high rank in the US Air Force Chapters 3-5 confidential (adj) intended to be kept secret On cards write the names of the characters in the book. cyanide (n) a very strong poison On other cards write a description of that character. Divide inmate (n) someone who is kept in a prison or mental hospital the class into small groups. Give each group a set of jumpsuit (n) loose cotton jumper and trousers in the same color, often names and descriptions. Ask the groups to match the worn for sports cards. The first group to finish is the winner. lethal (adj) something that is lethal can kill you pardon (v) to decide officially not to punish someone for committing a Chapters 6-8 crime Divide the class into groups. Ask some groups to write superintendent (n) someone who is officially responsible for a job or down their ideas about why Rollie Wedge breaks into activity supreme (adj) having the highest position of power or importance Lee’s apartment.
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