The Danger of Making Rash Judgements

The repercussions of making rash judgments about people can range from surprise about that person’s real personality to instances that can be life threatening. In this novel, Olivia, Holly, and Mrs. Melbourne are all people who are judged rashly by Hodges. In the case of Olivia and Mrs. Melbourne, it was only after he learns the consequences of not believing these women that he realizes what a mistake he had made. With Holly, even though he decides to be kinder to her than he was to her cousin Olivia, Hodges is still surprised when he discovers how different Holly really is from his initial opinion of her.

In the case of Olivia, both Hodges and Pete decided she was lying when she told them she did not leave her keys in the ignition of her car the night it was...