Presumed Innocent | Themes

Presumed Innocent Themes

Revenge

Of all the character traits that could be ascribed to the evil at the heart of this murder mystery, revenge is probably the central one. Many people feel wronged in this story, not just the murderer and their various desires to avenge themselves on those who they think mistreated them create most of the misery in the novel. Raymond Hogan, who feels wronged by Rusty Sabich, responds with testimony in court aimed at sending his longtime and loyal employee to prison. At first, Tommy Molto seems to have no motive for his zealous pursuit of the prosecution of Rusty but as the trial progresses and Rusty's innocence seems to become more obvious, it also becomes apparent that Tommy had a crush on Carolyn Polhemus. His attack on Rusty could well be revenge for the affair Rusty had with her, which is something Tommy never had. Tommy's boss, Nico Della Guardia,...
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