What Is the Law?
Ever wondered what the law is? A character in the book defines it in metaphorical terms. The answer may be surprising to some. Keep in mind, however, that this definition springs forth an activist attorney who explains that the law is not about making millions of dollars. Why? Because:
“The law is a higher calling.”
What Year Is This?
The book was published in 1998 and takes place during the same period. Which makes one particular simile really stick out like a sore anachronism:
“I arrived at Claire's lawyer's office promptly at four, and was met by an unsmiling receptionist dressed like a man.”
The Law Is a Calling...to Service
The narrator offers a glimpse into the workload and expectations of first year hires with a commonly understood reference to the military:
“Drake & Sweeney, like most large firms, treats the first year as a boot camp.”
What Is the Justice System?
The book reveals that “the law” and the criminal justice system are two different things entirely. While the law may be a calling, the criminal justice system is”
“a zoo—a lobby packed with anxious people, and four levels of hallways lined with courtrooms”
Metaphor as a Matter of Perspective
Metaphor should perhaps not be influenced by class distinction and economic disparity, but an interesting exchange between an attorney who makes nearly a million dollars a year and a lawyer pulling in thirty grand a year reveals differently when the latter encourages the former to provide a definition of what poverty means to him:
“poverty is a cheap apartment, a used car with dents and dings, bad clothing, no money to travel and play and see the world, no money to save or invest, no retirement, no safety net, nothing.”
For the rich man, poverty is revealed to be nothing but a grossly misunderstood metaphor completely divorced from the literal world.
