These four chapters focus on Grant's first four visits with Jefferson at the county jail. In Chapters 9 and 10, Grant and Miss Emma make three trips to Bayonne to visit Jefferson. Chapters 11 and 12 focus on the events surrounding Grant's first solo visit with Jefferson.
One of the overriding images in Chapter 9 is the courthouse. Traditionally a symbol of justice and democracy, here it is a bastion of institutional racism. As indicated by the statue of the Confederate soldier and the Confederate flag in front of the courthouse, the justice dispensed here does not apply to black Americans. With its separate but unequal facilities, the courthouse symbolizes the racist white power structure of the Jim Crow South.
The scene between the white chief deputy and the young black prisoner illustrates the contempt of Southern racist whites toward Southern blacks. This attitude is further exemplified by Miss Emma's initial encounter with the chief deputy. Note that Paul saves Miss Emma from further embarrassment and humiliation when she misinterprets the deputy's curt, one-word response — "Quiet" — as an order instead of as a description of Jefferson's behavior. By doing so, he steps outside his official role as a white authority figure and demonstrates his compassion.
