The Desperate Hours | Themes

The Desperate Hours Themes

Code of Honor

Glenn Griffin, the leader of the trio of escaped convicts, is, in his own way, a man of honor. His main motivation is not a desire for freedom, as would be expected of a man who is fleeing from the jail that has held him for years; rather, he is willing to risk everything he has in order to avenge an insult visited upon him. He feels he was betrayed when he surrendered to the authorities; he came out with his hands in the air, and a sheriff's deputy, Jesse Bard, hit him and broke his jaw. To Glenn, the idea that a lawman would strike a man while he is making himself vulnerable, holding his hands in the air and putting his faith in the legal system, is the worst betrayal imaginable, and so he is focused on killing Bard.

Bard's view of the story of Glenn's...
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