40 pages • 1 hour read
William LandayDefending Jacob
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 17-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 17 Summary: “Nothing’s Wrong with Me!”
Jacob creates a new Facebook account under the name “Marvin Glasscock” (187). Andy objects, knowing that all his interactions will become possible fodder for the trial, but Laurie allows it. When Jacob posts an image of Norman Bates from Psycho with his own face superimposed over it, Andy is livid. Jacob insists it is a joke, but Andy loses his temper, yelling repeatedly, “‘You can’t do this. You can’t do it’” (191). Laurie tells him to apologize, and when he does, Jacob tells Andy that he understands his situation perfectly well already.
Chapter 18 Summary: “The Murder Gene, Redux”
Andy and Laurie return to Dr. Vogel’s office. Dr. Vogel wants to collect genetic evidence as “mitigation” (194): if Jacob did kill Ben, showing that his genes played a role might help reduce the charge from homicide to manslaughter. She will need DNA from Jacob, Andy, and Andy’s father Billy. Andy is upset, telling Dr. Vogel, “‘I’ve never hurt anybody. I don’t have a temper’” (195). Dr. Vogel asks him how far he is willing to go in defending his son. Andy agrees to be tested for two genre variants “linked to male antisocial behavior” (197).
Chapter 19 Summary: “The Cutting Room”
Andy admits that he fell apart as the days wore on. He returns to the Yoo’s home, walking through an open back door and sitting down next to Derek. He questions the boy, and Derek reveals several disturbing anecdotes. He states that Jacob has a “mean streak” (205). Jacob makes racist comments as well as inappropriate remarks about women’s bodies. He reads torture porn on a website called the Cutting Room. In addition, he once found a dog and told Derek that he “‘had to bury it’” (209) even while the owners posted notices around the neighborhood. Andy returns home and finds the porn website on Jacob’s iPod. There is a story written from the first-person that closely parallels the public details of Ben’s murder, along with embellishments. While there is no clear evidence that Jacob wrote it, Andy smashes the iPod.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Our Son Was Here, the Other Was Gone”
The Barbers have not ventured to the local Whole Foods in weeks: Jacob’s bail was expensive, and they do not have the money to shop at an expensive chain. In addition, Andy wants others to “see [their] family as shattered” (214). However, over Labor Day weekend, they go to Whole Foods and run into the Rifkins. Laurie tries to approach them, but Joan Rifkin spits in her face. The Barbers leave without paying for their groceries.
Chapters 17-20 Analysis
This group of chapters produces significant evidence pointing to Jacob’s guilt, but Andy asks the reader to discount it all. First, Jacob is posting images that seem to show a lack of remorse, fear, and understanding of the seriousness of his situation. Next, Derek describes Jacob as cruel and uncaring: Jacob may have killed a neighborhood dog, and he reads torture porn in his spare time. These details paint a picture of an unstable boy, one with the violent tendencies associated not just with murderers but also with serial killers. Nonetheless, Andy insists that Jacob simply has poor judgment: Jacob enjoys these stories, but this does not mean that he writes them; even if he writes them, this does not mean they are his fantasies—he is merely fascinated with the macabre.
At the same time, Andy’s dark side resurfaces when he loses his temper with his son and essentially breaks into the Yoo residence. Derek is a witness against Jacob, and Andy’s behavior might qualify as intimidation. Furthermore, having already disposed of Jacob’s knife, Andy destroys another piece of evidence.
