72 pages 2 hours read

John Grisham

The Client

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1993

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Themes

The Effects of Childhood Trauma

Childhood trauma is a significant component of Grisham’s novel. The theme is expressed in two different ways through the brothers, Mark and Ricky, at the center of its narrative. The two boys (aged 11 and eight respectively) were thrust into the horrific situation of witnessing Romey’s suicide, but the Sway brothers have tragic backstories as well, growing up with an abusive father and largely absent single mother who must work long hours to provide for her children. Other events in the novel worth mentioning here are the burning of the Sway family’s mobile home and Mark being locked up by Judge Harry Roosevelt. These two events reflect how the Sway brothers not only encountered trauma in their past but encounter cumulative trauma throughout The Client. Mark and Ricky thus have layers of childhood trauma that they are forced to grapple with in the novel. Grisham is not only recognizing the existence of children being thrust into unfair, harmful, and dangerous situations, but he also meditates on the physical, mental, and emotional repercussions that traumatic encounters leave on children.

Mark’s younger brother Ricky serves as a clear expression of the physical effects that trauma can have on children.

Related Titles

By John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

A Painted House

John Grisham

A Painted House

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

A Time For Mercy

John Grisham

A Time For Mercy

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

A Time to Kill

John Grisham

A Time to Kill

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

Camino Island

John Grisham

Camino Island

John Grisham

Plot Summary

logo

Gray Mountain

John Grisham

Gray Mountain

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

Playing For Pizza

John Grisham

Playing For Pizza

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

Skipping Christmas

John Grisham

Skipping Christmas

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

Sparring Partners

John Grisham

Sparring Partners

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

Sycamore Row

John Grisham

Sycamore Row

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

The Boys from Biloxi

John Grisham

The Boys from Biloxi

John Grisham

Plot Summary

logo

The Brethren

John Grisham

The Brethren

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

The Confession

John Grisham

The Confession

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

The Guardians

John Grisham

The Guardians

John Grisham

Study Guide

logo

The Innocent Man

John Grisham

The Innocent Man

John Grisham