The Chamber: A Look Into the Novel and Film
Stories about crime prove to be a strong part of America's entertainment in this day. In
The Chamber, John Grisham writes about a Klansman who is convicted of murder and a
grandson who tries to save his grandfather is on death row. This story is now a major
motion picture.
This story carries a strong emotional following to it because it both questions and
supports the death penalty in different ways. Grisham shows this when he writes: " ' I've
hurt a lot of people, Adam, and I haven't always stopped to think about it. But when you
have a date with the grim reaper, you think about the damage you've done.' " The messages
about the death penalty are brought about in different ways in the film and in the novel.
Although the novel and film adaptation of The Chamber have some significant differences,
the plot and character perspectives are used to convey a political message about the
death penalty. (378)
The various characters in The Chamber have different traits and backgrounds that affect
their perspectives on certain issues. Sam Cayhall is one of the main characters in the
story whose background is filled with hate because of his connection with the Klan. "The
second member of the team was a Klansman by the name of Sam Cayhall," "The FBI knew that
Cayhall's father had been a Klansman, . . . " (Grisham 2-3). Sam, who is brought up
under the influence of the Ku Klux Klan, uses "politically incorrect" terms for other
minorities when he talks with Adam Cayhall in death row. " ' You Jew boys never quit, do
you?' ", " ' How many nigger partners do you have?' " " ' Just great. The Jew bastards
have sent a greenhorn to save me. I've known for a long time
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that they secretly wanted me dead, now this proves it. I killed some Jews, now they want
to kill me. I was right all along.' " (Grisham 77-78). These statements reflect Sam
Cayhall's intense hate for others which is derived from his young upbringing in the Ku
Klux Klan. Sam's background as a Klansman is told by Grisham using Sam telling Adam about
generations of Klan activity:
" 'Why did you become a Klansman?'
'Because my father was in the Klan.'
'Why did he become a Klansman?'
'Because his father was in the Klan.'
'Great. Three generations.'
'Four, I think. Colonel Jacob Cayhall fought with Nathan Bedford Forrest in the war,
and family legend has it that he was one of the early members of the Klan. He was my
great-grandfather.' " (123).
Adam Cayhall is a young motivated lawyer who is driven to save his grandfather, Sam,
because he wants to find out about his family history as well as about his grandfather.
John Grisham shows Adam's desire to defend his grandfather and get him out of being
executed:
" ' I've studied his entire file.' " " ' I'm intrigued by the case. I've watched it for
years, read everything written about the man. You asked me earlier why I chose Kravitz &
Bane. Well, the truth is that I wanted to work on the Cayhall case, and I think this firm
has handled it pro bono for, what, eight years now?' " (28).
Adam's desire to learn more about his family through defending Sam is strong. " 'I'm your
grandson. Therefore, I'm allowed to ask questions about your past.' " (Grisham 123). Adam
uses his family to relate to Sam. The author shows this when he quotes Adam saying,
" 'On behalf of my family, such as it is-my mother who refuses to discuss Sam; my
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sister who only whispers his name; my aunt in Memphis who has disowned the name
Cayhall-and on behalf of my late father, I would like to say thanks to you and to this
firm for what you've done. I admire you greatly.' " (45).
Lee is Sam Cayhall's granddaughter; she has trouble getting rid of the painful memory
that is her father. Lee becomes an alcoholic to deal with her pain of being the daughter
of Sam Cayhall. Her pain surfaces again when Adam comes down to try to save Sam and the
case becomes news again. Grisham tells about Lee's problem with alcohol in many ways. "
'All right, dammit. So I'm an alcoholic. Who can blame me?' " (302). " 'No you won't,
Lee. You're not drinking any more tonight. Tomorrow I'll take you to the doctor, and
we'll get some help.' " (304). Lee is Sam's daughter, and therefore she had to live with
the memory that her father was a murderer.
The plot and characters have some differences between themselves in the novel and the
film. The melodramatic film takes away from the novel's descriptive plot. The first major
difference I noticed was in the level of detail. The novel seemed to be much more
descriptive than the film. The film basically focused on the relationships between the
characters which left out much of the novel's detailed plot. The major part of the
novel's detail which was left out of the film was the characters. There were characters
written about in the novel that were not included in the film. The first, and most
significant was Jeremiah Dogan. Dogan was the Imperial Wizard for the Klan in Mississippi
in the beginning of the book. He is the one who set's up the entire bombing which Sam
Cayhall is convicted of single-handedly doing. "He was not stupid. In fact, the FBI later
admitted Dogan was quite effective as a terrorist because he delegated the dirty work to
small, autonomous groups of hit men who worked completely independent of one another."
(Grisham 2).
The difference between the film and the novel that disappointed me most was the minor
but
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highly significant changes of the plot. In the novel, the first three chapters of the
book describe the
events leading up to the bombing in detail. The movie starts with the actual bomb going
off itself. The beginning of the book that was left out was one of the most interesting
parts of the novel and should not have been left out of the film. (Grisham 1-22).
John Grisham, the author of The Chamber, does not approve of Universal's film
adaptation.
"As his asking price has soared, so has his involvement. Grisham had approval of the
script, director and cast during the making of A Time to Kill (while grumping about
Universal's unapproved adaptation of The Chamber, due this fall). He is co- writing the
screenplay for The Rainmaker with director Francis Coppola." (Bellafante 1)
The author and film use character perspectives to convey a political message about the
death penalty. Adam's profession, and family influence his perspective on the death
penalty. Grisham shows this in Adam's conversation with his employer. " 'I'm opposed to
the death penalty.' 'Aren't we all, Mr. Hall?' " (Grisham 27). Besides Adam's career in
law influencing his perspective on the death penalty, seeing Sam on death row also
influences Adam's views. " 'It is not simply about someone being executed, but about a
grandfather dying and his grandson's frightening circumstance of trying to win both a
legal victory to save him and an emotional victory to reach him.' " (Greer 2-3).
Mississippi's Governor McAllister uses the Cayhall case to enhance his public stature.
John Grisham uses many different ways to show how Governor McAllister supports the death
penalty by putting Sam on death row: "In 1980, eight short years after the trial, David
McAllister was elected governor of the State of Mississippi. To no one's surprise, the
widest planks in his platform
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had been more jails, longer sentences, and an unwavering affinity for the death penalty."
(50). Sam expresses his hate of the governor as well. " 'An hour before I die, he'll
hold a press conference somewhere-probably here, maybe at the governor's mansion-and
he'll stand there in the glare of a hundred cameras and deny me clemency. And the bastard
will have tears in his eyes.' " (Grisham 122).
Ruth Kramer and her family are the characters who are also supportive of the death
penalty. Their perspective is brought about because her husband and two children were
killed by the man who awaits the gas chamber. While Sam Cayhall thinks David McAllister
is a monster, Ruth Kramer thinks David McAllister is a hero for demanding justice. These
are the two sides of the coin which is the death penalty in The Chamber. As Grisham
writes it, Ruth Kramer's situation is well described by Lee in this line:
" 'Bitter? She lost her entire family. She's never remarried. Do you think she cares if
my father intended to kill her children? Of course not. She just knows they're dead,
Adam, dead for twenty-three years now. She knows they were killed by a bomb planted by my
father, and if he'd been home with his family instead of riding around at night with his
idiot buddies, little Josh and John would not be dead.' " (61).
The Chamber is a story about life and death and how it is treated by different people.
In the film, The Chamber more about relationships. " 'The film is about a young man, very
alone in the world, connecting with his grandfather and trying to understand who he is.'
" (Greer 4). Despite the differences between the two, The Chamber proves to show a
political message on the infliction of the death penalty in America.
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