saving max
Antoinette van Heugten
Presentation by Rachel Johnson
“Danielle’s heart feels as if it will burst. ‘Sweetheart, please let us help you! Killing yourself is not
the answer, I promise you.’ Danielle rises and tries to embrace him.
Max shoves her so hard she slams her head against the wall and slides to the floor. His eyes
widen in alarm, and for a moment, he reaches out to her, but then lurches back; grabs the
journal; and bolts out of the room. The slamming of the door split the air.” (pg. 16)
Danielle is the protagonist and the author uses her emotions to make the story more believable.
The suspense of what will happen afterwards makes the story stronger. The author’s attitude
makes the writing drip with anticipation, and words like lurching and split make the solemn
nature of the idea come out.
“’No!’ She slips and slides toward the form, finally rolling it over. Frantic hands cup his face. She
shakes him. ‘Max! Max!’ He lies listlessly in her arms. She searches desperately for a pulse. The
strong, steady beat pierces her horror with joy. He is alive. Alive. She makes a frenzied search of
his body for wounds. There are none. The blood is Jonas’s, not his. She moans and starts to
cradle him, to pick him up, to get him out of there, to get help- and then she sees it. Clutched in
her son’s hand is something silver, sinister. It is her metal comb, coated in the ruby rage of the
room.” (pg.108)
Danielle refuses to believe that her son is crazy, and believes the medicines he is given at
Maitland are why he is especially violent to another patient named Jonas. This shows the
strength of the author’s character and gives people something to relate to. The focus around
Danielle makes the suspense thick as you look at her specific emotions. “…pierces her horror
with joy…” shows off the specific emotions of her character.
“At nine, Sevillas will be here, and they will plan the strategy that will compromise Max’s
defense- and her own. But as the moments go by, black thoughts we her brain. If she is
convicted, there will be no one to ensure that Max gets out of Matiland, or to financially fund
his appeal…..She refuses to even entertain the possibility that a jury would give him the death
penalty” (pg. 132)
Danielle here is portrayed as a normally calm woman who lets dark thoughts get to her. She
knows that there is a very real posibility of a conviction, and the author does well in showing her
fear through figurative language. For example, saying “black thoughts weave her brain” makes
the story more poetic and realistic.
“Danielle nods. ‘The diaries are clear that she kept trophies of all of her murders. Se even kept
the poison ampoules that she used on her other children. Marianne was obviously convinced
she would never be caught. She had outsmarted the best and the brightest.’ Hempstead nods
numbly, mute in shocked silence. ‘We recall Marianne Morrison to the stand.’ Doaks hits the
switch, and the room is suddenly awash in light. Everyone takes a moment to readjust their
eyes. “Marianne Morrison to the stand!’ A silence falls over the room. Marianne had vanished.”
(pg. 357)
The writer shows the setting well as she talks about the way the room is ‘awash in light.’ She
also shows the suspense of the moment by talking about all of the people, not just Danielle
and Doaks. The dialouge is well placed and shows the very realistic horror that the characters
are going through.
“Nothing, she vowed, would ever tear them apart. It is then she looks up at the white, arched
gate. It is then that she reads the weathered sign. Faded words hang in black, metal letters,
pierced against the sky. Maitland, it says, swinging in the breeze. Maitland Psychiatric Asylum.”
(pg. 19)
The sudden contradiction of good feelings and the harsh and final show of Maitland provides an
interesting contrast. Danielle sees Maitland as both a blessing and a curse, it seems- it will help
her son, but the intimidating force the author describes is enough to make anyone nervous.
“Danielle stares up at the forbidding sign posted on the thick glass doors. Secure unit. No
unauthorized persons. No exit without pass. The black, merciless eyes of one of the 24-hour
security cameras glare down at her from a corner of the room. They learned at orientation that
they are installed in each patient’s room and in the common areas. This is supposed to make
them feel safe.” (pg. 24)
The fear the main character feels is shown as Danielle observes Maitland from the inside. The
asylum may or may not be that bad looking, but the omniscient narrator shows Danielle’s fear
and magnifies it through her perception. The irony added in the “this is supposed to make them
feel safe” also shows Danielle’s struggle to see Maitland as anything other than a prison.
“Wedged into the opposite corner is a wooden desk. Odd green lights shine dully from a
bookcase onto the desktop. They make a strange, buzzing noise. The table is completely covered
with small plastic disks and glass containers of varying shapes and colors. She leans over them
and sniffs. The foul odor does not emanate from them. Danielle flicks on her tiny flashlight and
passes it slowly over each item. Petri dishes nestle against one another, a neat white label
affixed to each. Angry puffs of mold in all shades of the color wheel fill each container to
bursting. She comes closer. Stachybotrys atra. Aspergillus. Fusarium. Claviceps pruperea. It looks
like a Level 4 Lab at the Dieses Control.” (pg. 246)
The setting adds to the suspense of the moment- Danielle has snuck into her suspect’s house to
look around, only to find monstrosities that are much out of place with Marianne’s attitude.
Words like foul, angry puffs, and odd add to the feeling of the room. You feel as if you are there
yourself.
“Her anxiety lessens as she settles into the thrum of the road. She lights a cigarette and lowers
her window, hoping that Max won’t wake up. He hates it when she smokes. It is only after they
reach Plano and turn off the highway that all around them explodes.” (pg.18)
The way the author relates information that is unknown by both parties shows omniscient
narrator. The author uses ‘they’ when Max is supposed to be asleep, making you aware that
there is a person watching all of the car, not just Danielle.
“The doctor returns to his desk. The deep crevice between his eyes threatens to sew both brows
into a single, furry line. She can tell he is trying to humor her so she will finally give up and leave.
He is obviously of the generation of men who are not accustomed to throwing a woman out of
his office.” (pg. 202)
The omniscient narrator shows the background of a character that has just been introduced. You
don’t know this man, and he is just a man in the story, but the author focuses on him and his
thoughts in order to add depth to the scene.
“Marianne, in a somber suit, sobs. The reporters who have fought hard to win seats next to her
have their arms around her, offering comfort. Mascara runs down her face like dark icing
dripping down a white cake.” (pg. 306)
The way the author discloses information that was previously unknown is important to the
narrator’s point of view. The detail may not be extremely important, but the way it is written
shows the entire courtroom, and Danielle the main character isn’t even there.
“She will do anything to set him free.” This is the essence of the entire novel. Danielle
is convinced that her son is innocent of any crime, but she has a hard time believing
even herself when there is so much evidence against Max, so much so that she doubts
if her defense is purely a mother’s defense of their child. The author’s purpose is to
show the psychological effects of a trial on all parties involved, not just the criminal
and victim. It also shows the way the system works, and shows that it isn’t always
about what’s right, but going for the conviction. The purpose shines through the
author’s narration of the events and by keeping the story in the present tense (She
shivers. She has to get out of here now) - showing that these things could happen in
real life. A final effect of the author’s purpose is the darkness of a person’s own heart.
Shown through Marianne, a Texan woman who is all smiles on the surface but has in
fact killed three of her own children, Heugten shows how looks can be decieving. “She
takes a last look at Jonas. He stares at heaven.” This is a scene from the last part of the
book, where they see on camera Marianne brutally murdering her son whom she had
also done many experiments on and given him autism. These darks elements ring true
for the many heinous cases of murder all over the world. In essence, the story is a very
real example of doubt and darkness that comes from any trial.
~Presentation by Rachel Johnson~