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Summary: Saturday, July 11th 

Steve notes that O’Brien warns him the prosecutor might see anything he writes in his notebook. He also writes about talking to O’Brien and not wanting her to leave. He realizes that O’Brien thinks he is guilty. Sunset, Steve’s fellow prisoner, gets his verdict: guilty. Sunset declares that it’s no big thing and expects a sentence of seven to ten years. A ball of fear in Steve’s stomach grows. He knows he just can’t stay in prison for twenty or more years. Steve’s fellow prisoners discuss their cases, and Steve reflects on the meaning of guilt. Sunset is obviously guilty—he committed the crime. A guy named Ernie bungles a jewelry store stickup and gets caught in the act but then argues he is not guilty because no jewelry was stolen. Steve sees that Ernie is trying to convince himself he is not guilty. A fight breaks out, and an inmate stabs another prisoner in the eye. Steve notes that being violent makes the prisoners feel normal.

Mrs. Harmon makes her first visit to Steve in prison. She is crying. The visitors’ room is so crowded and noisy that they can hardly hear each other. Steve asks after his brother Jerry. Mrs. Harmon says she will bring Jerry tomorrow so that Steve can see him from the window. She wonders if she should have hired a Black lawyer. Steve thinks it is not about race. Mrs. Harmon gives Steve a Bible and asks him to read a verse to her. She assures Steve that she believes he is innocent despite what anyone else says. Steve knows that his mother thinks he didn’t do anything wrong. He himself is not so sure.

Steve adds only one short scene to his screenplay. Steve sits with King, who is smoking a joint. King tells Steve of his and Bobo’s plan to rob the drugstore and asks Steve if he’s up for it too. Steve does not answer. King asks, “So, what it is?” wanting to hear a “yes” or “no” from Steve. The question is repeated, louder and louder, as the camera pulls away from Steve and King.

Summary: Sunday, July 12th 

In his notebook, Steve records Sunday’s events. He gets more food than usual at breakfast. He goes to church services, where a fight breaks out. The guards calmly break up the fight. The jail goes into lockdown until one o’clock, when visiting hours start. Once the lockdown is over, most of the prisoners go to the recreation room to watch baseball on television. Steve goes down the corridor and looks out the window, down into the street. He sees Jerry down there, looking tiny. Steve waves even though he knows Jerry can’t see him. Mr. and Mrs. Harmon visit, one at a time. They talk about neighborhood news. Steve tells his mother that he just saw Jerry. After his parents leave, Steve looks over his screenplay again. He wishes his life were only a movie. O’Brien has warned him that the next day, Monday, the State will bring out the star witnesses.

Analysis: Saturday, July 11th and Sunday, July 12th 

Steve’s notes at the beginning of each section reveal his growing concerns about guilt: who thinks he is guilty, what guilt consists of, whether the jury will find him guilty, and how he will suffer from a guilty verdict. Steve’s notes begin with O’Brien warning him not to write anything in his notebook that he doesn’t want the prosecutor to see. Steve’s note also signals to the reader that his notebook might not reflect the whole truth about events and people, including himself.

Steve’s notes about O’Brien reveal his emotional and mental turmoil as well as his need for her approval. Steve attempts to get O’Brien on his side. When he politely asks about her weekend plans, she responds by giving him a funny look. When she smiles, Steve feels embarrassed because the smile means so much to him. His reaction shows how isolated from simple human interaction and kindness he has felt. When Steve asks O’Brien how many times she has appeared in court, she responds that it’s been too many times. Steve is lonely, so he wants O’Brien to stay with him. He is feeling guilty, so he wants O’Brien to absolve him.

When Steve tells O’Brien he is not guilty, she corrects him: Steve should have said he didn’t do it. Steve takes O’Brien’s words to mean she thinks he’s guilty. However, O’Brien might merely have been coaching Steve on what to say in court. Or she could have been making a distinction between legal guilt and moral complicity. Steve’s notes, after all, come only from Steve’s point of view. When O’Brien says she’s appeared in court too many times, she could be reminding herself not to get too personally attached to Steve, or she might be signaling to Steve that she’s too experienced not to see through Steve’s attempts at friendliness.

Sunset’s guilty verdict leads Steve toward further identification with his fellow prisoners because they are all, like him, trying to convince themselves they are not guilty. Steve compares the sentence that Sunset is likely to get to his own prospects. While Sunset claims he can serve his time without even thinking about it, Steve knows he can’t stay in prison. The story of the prisoner named Ernie adds grim humor to Steve’s notes. Ernie hopelessly messes up his crime by locking up the store employees, the only people who know the security codes Ernie needs to get out of the store. Now Ernie claims there was no crime because he didn’t manage to get away with the jewelry.

Steve’s family visits him on both Saturday and Sunday, but their visits only serve to make him feel more isolated than ever from his normal life. Saturday brings Mrs. Harmon to the prison for the first time. Her tears show how hard the visit is for her. When Mrs. Harmon uses the phrase “No matter what anybody says,” Steve realizes how much she suffers on his account. She must hear people talking negatively about Steve, accepting his guilt. On Sunday, after a fight and a temporary lockdown, Steve watches the prisoners watching a baseball game. Readers can note the irony of a violent prison scene followed by a peaceful, almost domestic-like scene. To Steve, the world he came from seems far away.

The scene in which King asks Steve to take part in the robbery is evidence that Steve did, indeed, know the robbery was about to happen. However, Steve does not respond to King’s request. Steve seems to be applying O’Brien’s warning about his notes to his screenplay as well. By leaving the question unanswered, Steve adds suspense to his movie. He also avoids admitting to any role in the crime.

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